Article 17(3) of the EU Antitrust Damages Directive and the Possibility for National Competition Authorities to Assist in the Quantification of Harm

Abstract

One of the explicit aims of the Directive on competition damages actions (the Directive) is to make the quantification of harm resulting from violations of European Union (EU) competition rules easier for damages claimants. One of the several ways envisioned by the Directive to achieve that aim is Article 17(3), according to which national competition authorities (NCAs) may assist national courts in quantifying the harm caused by anti-competitive conduct. In this paper, I focus on the transposition of Article 17(3) of the Directive in Sweden and make the argument that Sweden has not correctly implemented the Article in Swedish law. The topic is admittedly rather limited at first glance, but a discussion on the (non-)transposition of Article 17(3) of the Directive in Swedish law offers three significant insights which make pursuing it worthwhile. Firstly, it informs us about the nature and degree of interaction of the Swedish Competition Authority (SCA) with Swedish courts and tells us something about the relationship between the two. Secondly, it reveals some important procedural differences between private and public enforcement of EU competition rules in Sweden and exposes a certain tension between national rules of procedure, on the one hand, and the effective application of EU competition rules in Sweden, on the other. “Effectiveness” is a requirement that follows both from well-established case law of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) and from the Directive itself. As a result, the second insight inevitably leads to a discussion on whether certain aspects of Swedish procedural law may be impeding the effective application of EU competition law. Thirdly, it explores different courses of action for Swedish courts and claimants that may find, like this author, that Article 17(3) has not been implemented correctly in Swedish law.