Category Archives: conference

Almunia: EU Antitrust damages directive “most significant”

Posted on by under cartels, class action, conference, EU, legislation, policy, private actions, private enforcement

St. Gallen International Competition Law Forum Remarks Highlight Civil Competition-Law Enforcement & Cartel Victims’ Access to Evidence as Top-of-Agenda for Outgoing Commissioner

Joaquin ALMUNIA, Vice President of the European Commission responsible for Competition policy & enforcement, made the following (excerpted) remarks at the 2014 International Competition Law Forum held in St. Gallen.

From a practitioner’s perspective, the Commissioner’s emphasis on cartel victims’ access to evidence, his subtle reminder that the Directive merely sets a “minimum standard“, and the parallel observation that the upcoming collective redress Recommendation will be applicable across all policy (and legal) fields are important highlights of the prepared remarks.

I will start with the Directive on antitrust damages actions, which I regard as one of the most significant developments in the competition-policy domain in the current mandate.

Infringements of EU competition law are not only bad for the competitiveness of our economy. They also harm companies and consumers directly.

We recognise that every individual consumer and business has the right to be compensated for this damage. However, given the legal systems of EU countries, only a few victims obtain compensation in practice.

The time has come to translate our principles into actual practice.

Last year the Commission tabled a proposal to remove existing obstacles in national rules and make it easier for victims to obtain compensation across the EU through private enforcement.

The European Parliament and the Council have seized the opportunity and reached a political agreement with remarkable speed.

The Parliament voted the final text by an overwhelming majority, and the formal approval by the Council is expected before or shortly after the summer.

This outcome is a major success for a number of reasons.

First, from the perspective of victims, the Directive will make it easier for them to get hold of the evidence they need to prove the damage, because national courts will be empowered to order disclosure of relevant evidence.

The Directive also allows victims to rely on decisions taken by national competition authorities when these find an infringement.

Moreover, it introduces clear rules on several aspects of competition litigation, thus reducing the existing uncertainties, which have a cost for all parties.

From the perspective of the internal market, the Directive sets a minimum standard in all Member States, which means more legal certainty and a more level playing field throughout the EU.

Finally, from the perspective of competition authorities, the Directive fine-tunes the interaction between their work and the compensation claims by private parties. This is thanks to rules that preserve the incentives of companies to cooperate in antitrust investigations.

In parallel to the Directive, the Commission has also adopted a Recommendation inviting Member States to introduce collective redress mechanisms at national level by mid-2015.

The Recommendation includes basic principles that would ensure fair, timely and affordable procedures across the EU. The Recommendation is not limited to competition law but covers all policy fields.

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Class Actions in South Africa? Attend the 12 June 2013 seminar @ Wits Law School

Posted on by under BRICS, class action, conference, South Africa
Nortons Inc., together with the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) and the Mandela Institute at Wits School of Law, have gathered together a panel of experts to discuss the judgment, handed down by Judge Wallis of the Supreme Court of Appeal last year, and the effects it has on South Africa’s jurisprudence.

The seminar is entitled: “A new class – the problems and promises of class action litigation in South African law” and runs from 8:00 am – 4:30 pm on Wednesday, 12 June 2013, in Johannesburg at the Wits School of Law (map).

For more information, a full schedule, and to sign up, please visit the event page here.

Background:

On 29 November 2012, Judge Wallis of the Supreme Court of Appeal (the “SCA”) handed down judgment in The Trustees of The Children’s Resource Centre / Pioneer Foods (Pty) Limited & Others. The case related to the certification of a class in respect of a number of class actions against three bread producers arising from an investigation by the Competition Commission into price fixing and market allocation in respect of various bread products (the “Bread class action litigation”).

The appeals were brought by a bread distributor in the Western Cape and by a number of organisations in relation to a so-called “consumer” class action for damages after their applications were dismissed by the Western Cape High Court (the “WCHC”).

In its decision the SCA held that class actions should be recognised, not only in respect of constitutional claims, but also in any other case where access to justice in terms of Section 34 of the Constitution required that it would be the most appropriate means of litigating the claims of the members of the class. The SCA then laid down the requirements for such an action, commencing with the need for certification by the court at the outset, before even the issuing of summons. For this purpose, the SCA set out the following criteria before a court could certify a class action:

  • there must be an objectively identifiable class;
  • a cause of action must exist which raises a triable issue;
  • there must be common issues of law and fact that can appropriately be dealt with in the interests of all members of the class;
  • there must be appropriate procedures for distributing damages to the members of the class; and
  • the representatives must be suitable to conduct the litigation on behalf of the class.

The SCA found that the appellants’ case had changed during the course of the litigation; and it held that their definition of the proposed class was over-broad and the relief they sought inappropriate. However, Wallis JA held that their claim was potentially plausible and, as this was the first time that the SCA had laid down the requirements for bringing a class action, it was appropriate to afford the appellants an opportunity to remedy the flaws in their papers in compliance with these new requirements.  Accordingly, the SCA remitted the matter back to the WCHC.