{"title":"Article: Competition on the Merits","authors":"Pablo Ibáñez Colomo","doi":"10.54648/cola2024026","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the meaning and contemporary relevance of the notion of competition on the merits in Article 102 TFEU case law. It also considers whether a finding of abuse presupposes that a practice is “abnormal” or amounts to a “wrongful act”. The analysis identifies friction between the old and the most recent case law. This friction was exposed in Servizio Elettrico Nazionale. Seminal rulings such as Hoffmann-La Roche, where the notion of competition on the merits was introduced, are grounded on the assumption that it is possible to distinguish, ex ante and in the abstract, between lawful and unlawful conduct. The case law that followed moved away from these ideas and clarified that whether or not a practice amounts to an abuse is typically a context-dependent inquiry.Against this background, the article provides a structure that reconciles the old and the newstrands of case law and shows that there is a place for competition on the merits within Article 102TFEU.\nCompetition on the merits, Article 102 TFEU, unlawful conduct, abuse of dominant position","PeriodicalId":47406,"journal":{"name":"Common Market Law Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Common Market Law Review","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.54648/cola2024026","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This article examines the meaning and contemporary relevance of the notion of competition on the merits in Article 102 TFEU case law. It also considers whether a finding of abuse presupposes that a practice is “abnormal” or amounts to a “wrongful act”. The analysis identifies friction between the old and the most recent case law. This friction was exposed in Servizio Elettrico Nazionale. Seminal rulings such as Hoffmann-La Roche, where the notion of competition on the merits was introduced, are grounded on the assumption that it is possible to distinguish, ex ante and in the abstract, between lawful and unlawful conduct. The case law that followed moved away from these ideas and clarified that whether or not a practice amounts to an abuse is typically a context-dependent inquiry.Against this background, the article provides a structure that reconciles the old and the newstrands of case law and shows that there is a place for competition on the merits within Article 102TFEU.
Competition on the merits, Article 102 TFEU, unlawful conduct, abuse of dominant position
期刊介绍:
The Common Market Law Review has provided a forum for the keenest legal minds in the fields for more than 40 years. Because of the international composition of its Editorial Board, and in view of the fact that it is able to attract contributions from all over Europe, and from the United States, the Review is able to adopt a unique approach to capitilize Community issues. Each issue contains articles dealing with matters of current interest; the authoritative treatment given to each topic ensures lasting juridical value. This pre-eminent journal brings you detailed, in-depth examination of the most pressing and far-reaching issues on Community Law.