Subsidiarity and Competition: Decentralized Enforcement of EU Competition Laws

The purpose of this article is to examine how the European Union has applied, and potentially will apply, the principle of subsidiarity in the enforcement of EU competition laws. This article thus focuses on how the Union envisages national court participation in the application and enforcement of EU competition laws rather than how, in practice, Member State courts have exercised their concurrent jurisdiction in enforcing Articles 85 and 86. Part One provides a brief introduction to EU competition law enforcement and examines two recent decisions by the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance clarifying the relationship between the Commission and the national courts in enforcing EU competition rules. Part Two overviews the procedures national courts should follow in enforcing competition rules as recently set forth in the Commission\u27s 1993 Notice on Cooperation with National Courts. Part Three assesses the impact decentralization may have on the Commission\u27s and national courts\u27 enforcement of EU competition law. Finally, Part Four discusses the potential for enhanced national court enforcement of competition laws through national court review of pro-competitive restraints of trade