Contemporary Trends in International Law in Relation to the Protection of Individuals from Multinationals’ Malpractice: Greek Competition Law After the Implementation of EU Directive 2014/104

Abstract

Our discussion of the topic of the protection of individuals from big companies’ and multinationals’ malpractice, according both to the European and the Greek Competition Law, moves along two separate axes: one having to do with a presentation of the current situation prevailing in the field of the Greek Competition Law, i.e. the situation prior to the implementation of the EU Directive 2014/104 and the other related to a forecast of the possible consequences of this implementation. For this second part, we make the choice to refer ourselves to the US Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and the possibility of the formation of a framework of international law rules protecting human rights from the breaches and trespasses of big companies. We conclude that when Competition Law rules fulfil their inherent goal, that is welfare of the society as a whole, they have the potential to operate as a tool of enhancing civil society vis-a-vis big companies and multinationals, thus moving in parallel with international law’s endeavour to create an area of protection of human rights from their malpractice.