Antitrust Alert: New UK Regime For Competition Damages Actions Comes Into Effect

On October 1, 2015, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 ("CRA 2015") comes into force in the United Kingdom, introducing significant changes to how damages claims arising out of competition law infringements can be brought.

Under the new regime, it is expected that the Competition Appeal Tribunal ("CAT") will become the forum of choice for competition damages litigation in the UK. Until now, and despite being the specialist tribunal for competition cases in the UK, the CAT could only hear certain claims arising out of competition law infringements, in particular, where there had already been an infringement decision of a competition authority. As a result, competition damages claims have been spread across two main jurisdictions: the CAT and the English High Court. The CRA 2015 gives the CAT an expanded jurisdiction and additional powers, giving it the tools to apply fully its expertise in competition law cases. The CAT's procedural rules ("CAT Rules") giving effect to this