Public and Private Enforcement of Competition Law in Europe – Introduction and Overview

Most competition law enforcement systems are based on two enforcement pillars: public and private enforcement. Public enforcement refers to state authorities that enforce antitrust rules; such authorities are vested with special powers and use special procedures to investigate and punish infringements. Private enforcement, in contrast, is litigation initiated by individual plaintiffs before a court to remedy an infringement of competition law. Remedies include damages, restitution, injunction, nullity or interim relief. They can be asserted in stand-alone actions or they can follow an infringement decision by a competition authority. Unlike public enforcement agencies, private parties have no special powers in civil law disputes.