6 Months To Go To Implement The EU Antitrust Damages Directive

In a move to facilitate private damages claims resulting from anti-competitive infringements, the European Commission adopted in 2014 a directive on EU antitrust damages actions (the Directive).  Member States of the European Union have until 27 December 2016 to implement the Directive into their legal systems.

Private antitrust claims are governed by the national laws of Member States and introduced by claimants before national courts. What the Directive does is to provide a minimum set of harmonised rules in Member States to enable consumers to have an effective right to compensation for antitrust infringements throughout the European Union.

State of implementation

No Member State has yet fully implemented the Directive into its national laws.  Depending on the private enforcement regime in place in each Member State, implementation of the Directive will impose a varying degree of changes to a Member State's rules.  Some Member States already provide a