The relationship between leniency statements and disclosure of evidence under EU competition law

Abstract

The Directive 2014/104/EU also called the Damage Directive 2014 is the first legally binding legislation harmonizing the rules of damage action brought against an undertaking that has infringed EU competition law. Considering the underdevelopment of private enforcement of EU competition law, the objective of the Directive is to improve the situation by ensuring legal certainty and equality for the claimants across the Union. At the centre of the paper is Article 6(6) of the Damage Directive 2014 that denies national courts the right to order competition authorities to disclose leniency statements – an immunity from a public fine to the first cartel participant who voluntarily gives competition authority the evidence on the existence of a cartel and other participants. The aim of the research is to understand the main problem with each enforcement system, i.e. problem with detecting cartels and information asymmetry for claimants in damage cases.