This chapter describes the direct enforcement of European law in the European Courts. The judicial competences of the European Courts are enumerated in the section of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) dealing with the Court of Justice of the European Union. The chapter discusses four classes of judicial actions. The first class is typically labelled an ‘enforcement action’ in the strict sense of the term. This action is set out in Articles 258 and 259 TFEU and concerns the failure of a Member State to act in accordance with European law. The three remaining actions ‘enforce’ the European Treaties against the EU itself. These actions can be brought for a failure to act, for judicial review, and for damages.
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All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter discusses the grounds for judicial review of a Union act. Article 263 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) specifies four grounds for review: lack of competence; infringement of an essential procedural requirement; infringement of the Treaty or any rule of law relating to its application; and misuse of power. Judicial review, whether direct through Article 263 or indirect through Article 267, is designed to ensure that decision-making is legally accountable. The UK version contains a further section analysing the relevance of these grounds of review in the UK post-Brexit.
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All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter discusses the grounds for judicial review of a Union act. Article 263 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) specifies four grounds for review: lack of competence; infringement of an essential procedural requirement; infringement of the Treaty or any rule of law relating to its application; and misuse of power. Judicial review, whether direct through Article 263 or indirect through Article 267, is designed to ensure that decision-making is legally accountable. The UK version contains a further section analysing the relevance of these grounds of review in the UK post-Brexit.
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This chapter describes the direct enforcement of European law before the Court of Justice of the European Union. The judicial competences of the European Court are enumerated in the section of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) dealing with the Court of Justice of the European Union. The chapter discusses three classes of judicial actions. The first class is typically labelled an ‘enforcement’ or ‘infringement’ action in the strict sense of the term. This action is set out in Articles 258–60 TFEU and concerns the failure of a Member State to act in accordance with European law. This legal action has been complemented by the political action in Article 7 TEU. The two remaining direct legal actions ‘enforce’ the European Treaties against the EU itself. These actions include judicial review and the action for a failure to act.
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This chapter focuses on the Treaty provisions providing for judicial review of European Union (EU) law in Article 263 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). It explains the grounds for challenge and the consequences of a successful challenge to EU regulations. The chapter also highlights criticisms of Article 263 TFEU concerning restrictive tests for the admissibility of actions by individuals, and the restrictive attitude to the locus standi of trade associations and pressure groups. The implications of the case law after the Treaty of Lisbon, particularly regarding the term ‘regulatory act’, are explained. It considers the scope of indirect review under Article 277 TFEU. Finally, this chapter examines the provisions of Article 265 TFEU concerning action for failure to act. It discusses the notion of ‘reviewable omissions’, the scope of the EU institutions’ duty to act and the consequences of a successful action.
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This chapter focuses on the Treaty provisions providing for judicial review of European Union (EU) law in Article 263 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). It explains the grounds for challenge and the consequences of a successful challenge to EU regulations. The chapter also highlights criticisms of Article 263 TFEU concerning restrictive tests for the admissibility of actions by individuals, and the restrictive attitude to the locus standi of trade associations and pressure groups. The implications of the case law after the Treaty of Lisbon, particularly regarding the term ‘regulatory act’, are explained. It considers the scope of indirect review under Article 277 TFEU. Finally, this chapter examines the provisions of Article 265 TFEU concerning action for failure to act. It discusses the notion of ‘reviewable omissions’, the scope of the EU institutions’ duty to act and the consequences of a successful action.
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10. Judicial Powers I
(Centralized) European Procedures
This chapter highlights the ‘centralized’ powers of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It begins with an analysis of the Court’s annulment power. The power of judicial review is the founding pillar of a Union ‘based on the rule of law’. The chapter then moves to the remedial power of the European Court, and the question of when the Union legislative or executive branches will be liable to pay damages for an illegal action. It also investigates the Court’s power to adjudicate disputes between parties. In addition to a number of direct actions (direct actions start directly in the European Court), the EU Treaties also envisage an indirect action starting in the national courts: the preliminary reference procedure. This procedure is the central pillar of the Union’s cooperative federalism for it combines the central interpretation of Union law by the Court of Justice with the decentralized application of European law by the national courts.
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10. Judicial Powers I
(Centralized) European Procedures
This chapter highlights the ‘centralized’ powers of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It begins with an analysis of the Court's annulment power. The power of judicial review is the founding pillar of a Union ‘based on the rule of law’. The chapter then moves to the remedial power of the European Court, and the question of when the Union legislative or executive branches will be liable to pay damages for an illegal action. It also investigates the Court's power to adjudicate disputes between parties. In addition to a number of direct actions (direct actions start directly in the European Court), the EU Treaties also envisage an indirect action starting in the national courts: the preliminary reference procedure. This procedure is the central pillar of the Union's cooperative federalism for it combines the central interpretation of Union law by the Court of Justice with the decentralized application of European law by the national courts.
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This chapter provides an overview of EU merger control and the jurisdictional rules which determine whether a particular merger should be investigated by the European Commission or by the national competition authorities. It deals with procedural considerations such as the mandatory pre-notification to the Commission of mergers that have a Union dimension and the timetable within which the Commission must operate. It discusses the substantive analysis of mergers under the EU Merger Regulation (‘the EUMR’) and explains the procedure for the Commission to authorise a merger on the basis of commitments offered by the parties to address its competition concerns. Finally, it describes the Commission’s powers of investigation and enforcement, judicial review of Commission decisions by the EU Courts and cooperation between the Commission and other competition authorities, both within and outside the EU. The chapter concludes with an examination of how the EUMR merger control provisions work in practice.
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This chapter provides an overview of the UK system of merger control and explains the procedure of the Competition and Markets Authority (‘the CMA’) when determining whether a merger should be referred for an in-depth ‘Phase 2’ investigation and when deciding to accept ‘undertakings in lieu’ of a reference. It describes how Phase 2 investigations are conducted and discusses the way in which the CMA applies the ‘substantially lessening competition’ (‘SLC’) test in practice. It then explains the enforcement powers in the Enterprise Act 2002, including the remedies that the CMA can impose in merger cases, and discusses various supplementary matters, such as powers of investigation and enforcement. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how the merger control provisions work in practice and provides a brief account of the provisions on public interest cases, other special cases and mergers in the water industry.
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This chapter explains the public enforcement of Articles 101 and 102 by the European Commission and the national competition authorities (‘the NCAs’) under Regulation 1/2003. It begins by describing the Commission’s powers of investigation and enforcement, including its power to accept commitments, its leniency programme, the cartel settlement procedure and its power to impose financial penalties. It then discusses the operation of Regulation 1/2003 in practice, with particular reference to the European Competition Network (‘the ECN’) that brings together the Commission and the NCAs. The chapter concludes by providing a brief account of judicial review of the Commission’s decisions.
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This chapter analyses direct actions filed before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) against European Union (EU) institutions. These include actions for damages for loss caused by an act of the Institutions under Articles 268 and 340 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), action for failure of the institutions to act under Article 263 TFEU, and judicial review of EU acts under Article 263 TFEU. This chapter explains that the cases involving Article 263 TFEU and Article 340 TFEU received the most attention for their admissibility and merits. It also includes a consideration of Article 265 and 277 actions.
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This chapter analyses direct actions filed before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) against European Union (EU) institutions. These include actions for damages for loss caused by an act of the Institutions under Articles 268 and 340 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), action for failure of the institutions to act under Article 263 TFEU, and judicial review of EU acts under Article 263 TFEU. This chapter explains that the cases involving Article 263 TFEU and Article 340 TFEU received the most attention for their admissibility and merits. It also includes a consideration of Article 265 and 277 actions.
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This chapter describes the UK system of market studies and market investigation references. It begins by describing the CMA’s ‘general function’ of gathering information about markets, followed by an explanation of what is meant by a ‘super-complaint’. It then examines the purpose, procedure and outcomes of market studies, including the various outcomes that are possible. Market studies sometimes lead to market investigation references, though, as explained later, there are several other possible outcomes of a market study. The chapter describes the making and determination of analyses the market investigation provisions references under Part 4 in of the Enterprise Act 2002. Having briefly considered public interest cases, enforcement and other supplementary matters, the chapter discusses how the market investigation provisions have been working work in practice. The final section of the chapter briefly refers to the enforcement and review of undertakings and orders still in force under the monopoly provisions in the former Fair Trading Act 1973.
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This chapter is concerned with the prohibition of cartels. It begins with a discussion of the widespread consensus among competition authorities worldwide that cartels should be condemned, and gives examples of recent enforcement that led to the imposition of significant fines and sentences of imprisonment. It also looks at anti-cartel enforcement in the EU. The chapter then considers the application of Article 101 to particular types of cartels: price fixing, market sharing, production quotas and other ‘hard-core’ cartel practices. The final section of this chapter looks at anti-cartel enforcement in the UK.
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This chapter describes the system of public enforcement under the Competition Act 1998. This chapter begins with a consideration of the way in which inquiries and investigations are carried out under the Competition Act. It briefly considers the position of complainants to the CMA, followed by a discussion of the extent to which it may be possible to receive guidance from the CMA on the application of the Act. The chapter then describes the powers of the CMA to enforce the Competition Act, the criminal law cartel offence and the provisions on company director disqualification. It concludes with a discussion of concurrency, appeals under the Competition Act and the Government’s review of the operation of the Competition Act between 2014 and 2019.
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This chapter explains the public enforcement of Articles 101 and 102 by European Commission and the national competition authorities under Regulation 1/2003. It begins by describing the Commission’s powers of investigation and enforcement, including its power to accept commitments, its leniency programme, the cartel settlement procedure, and its power to impose financial penalties. It then discusses the operation of Regulation 1/2003 in practice, with particular reference to the European Competition Network (‘the ECN’) that brings together the Commission and the national competition authorities of the Member States (‘the NCAs’) and the ECN+ Directive that strengthens the powers of the NCAs. The chapter concludes by providing a brief account of judicial review of the Commission’s decisions.
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This chapter examines EU merger control. The chapter is organized as follows. Section 2 provides an overview of EU merger control. Section 3 discusses the jurisdictional rules which determine whether a particular merger should be investigated by the European Commission in Brussels or by the national competition authorities (‘the NCAs’) of the Member States. Section 4 deals with the procedural considerations such as the mandatory pre-notification to the Commission of mergers that have a Union dimension and the timetable within which the Commission must operate. Section 5 discusses the substantive analysis of mergers under the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR), and section 6 explains the procedure whereby the Commission may authorise a merger on the basis of commitments, often referred to as remedies, offered by the parties to address its competition concerns. The subsequent sections describe the Commission’s powers of investigation and enforcement, judicial review of Commission decisions by the EU Courts and cooperation between the Commission and other competition authorities, both within and outside the EU. The chapter concludes with an examination of how the EUMR merger control provisions work in practice.
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This chapter discusses UK law on the control of mergers. The chapter is organized as follows. Section 2 provides an overview of the domestic system of merger control. Section 3 explains the procedure of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) when determining whether a merger should be referred for an in-depth ‘Phase 2’ investigation and when deciding to accept ‘undertakings in lieu’ of a reference. Section 4 describes how Phase 2 investigations are conducted and Section 5 discusses the ‘substantially lessening competition’ (‘SLC’) test. Section 6 explains the enforcement powers in the Enterprise Act 2002, including the remedies that the CMA can impose in merger cases. The subsequent sections discuss various supplementary matters, such as powers of investigation and enforcement. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how the merger control provisions work in practice and a brief account of the provisions on public interest cases, other special cases and mergers in the water industry. The withdrawal by the UK from the EU means that many mergers that were subject to a ‘one-stop shop’ under EU law are now subject to investigation in the UK as well.
