This book discusses the procedural rights enjoyed by those being investigated under Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty and of the Merger Control Regulation, and their right to challenge the Commission's decision in the Community Courts. It further assesses how their rights to 'due process' in competition proceedings before the European Commission comply with the notion of 'administrative fairness' enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights, in accordance with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. In this study, Arianna Andreangeli takes into account key developments such as modernisation and its impact on competition proceedings before the Commission, the debate on the principles of legal professional privilege, the protection against self incrimination, the rule of ne bis in idem and the possibility of establishing an 'EU competition court'. It offers an examination of the right to be heard, the right to have access to the Commission-held evidence, and to legal professional privilege, and the right to silence and to seek judicial review of Commission decisions and assess them in the light of the Strasbourg court's case law. Academics active in the area of competition law, EU law and human rights, as well as practitioners active in the area of competition law will find much to interest them in this book.

Based on general concepts of collective action, Private Enforcement of Antitrust analyzes how collective litigation mechanisms can be designed to encourage victims of anti-competitive conduct to access justice.Through the expert assessment of the US Federal Courts' case on competition law, alongside that of domestic Europe, Arianna Andreangeli provides a fresh response to the issues surrounding collective litigation. The discussion is skillfully placed in the wider context of competition enforcement, whilst at the same time exploring both past and present trends. The book concludes that collective litigation of competition claims must strike a 'fair balance' between respecting rules of due process and ensuring fuller access to justice. An enlightening perspective, this book will be an invaluable resource for academics and competition civil justice experts. It will also be of interest to practitioners active in competition cases and policy makers concerned with human rights issues. Contents: 1. Setting the scene: European debates on collective Redress in competition law 2. Rule 23 FRCP: 'aggregating' individual antitrust claimants in diffuse injury cases-the certification criteria of commonality , predominance and superiority and the obligation to serve notice 3. 'Managing' antitrust class actions under Rule 23(b)(3) FRCP: who 'plays the pipe'? And who pays the piper? 4. The EU Commission agenda on collective redress: from a 'sector specific' to a mainstream discussion of group justice questions 5. Collective litigation in competition cases in the United Kingdom: between personal autonomy in civil litigation and effective judicial protection 6. Collective litigation and collective redress in competition claims: continental solutions-the case of Italy and of the Netherlands 7. Access to justice, diffuse torts and competition litigation in the EU: where do we go from here? Index