Judicial Review in Hungarian Competition Law -Tetra Laval Á La Hongroise

Abstract

This paper assesses the degree of judicial scrutiny performed by administrative courts in Hungary when reviewing decisions by the Hungarian Competition Authority (Gazdasagi Versenyhivatal, ‘GVH’) in the light of the landmark ruling handed down by the European Court of Justice in Commission vs. Tetra Laval. The paper is divided into four parts. The first part provides an outline of the Hungarian Competition Act. The second part offers a brief overview of the general principles of judicial review of the Hungarian administrative authorities’ decisions. The third part examines whether the Tetra Laval ruling has influenced the judicial scrutiny applied by Hungarian courts. The fourth part concludes that although at first sight the Hungarian courts seem to draw little or no inspiration at all from the Community Courts’ case-law, a deeper analysis suggests that - irrespective of the developments in European jurisprudence - the Hungarian courts have in essence developed a finely tuned and restrained judicial review of the GVH decisions.The conclusions of this analysis point further than the Hungarian case and provides thoughts for the general discussion on the standard of judicial review of administrative authorities’ decisions.