By 27 December 2016, the Croatian Parliament needs to implement
the Directive 2014/104/EU on antitrust damages actions
("Damages Directive"), which is expected to streamline
the procedure for private individuals and businesses to sue for
damages in cases of competition law infringements. Will Croatia be
successful in taking its cut of one of the fastest growing niche
areas in law, which in the EU alone is estimated at EUR 20
billion?
Competition law rules can be enforced in two principal ways
– either through public enforcement, which in the EU is the
task of national competition authorities and the European
Commission or through private enforcement, which relies on private
initiatives of private entities damaged by certain competition law
infringements. To illustrate, if there is a pricing cartel, it
could be prosecuted by the competent regulator (by imposing fines
capped at 10% of the annual turnover of each cartelist), but also
by its customers, distributors and
