Implementation of Antitrust Damages Directive: Dutch legislation effective as of 10 February 2017

01.03.2017 NL law

On 9 February 2017, the act implementing the Antitrust Damages Directive (Directive 2014/104 /EU, the "Directive") into the laws of the Netherlands (the "Implementation Act") was published in the official Bulletin of Acts and Decrees (het Staatsblad). The Implementation Act is effective as of 10 February 2017 [see our July 2016 Newsletter].

The Directive was adopted on 26 November 2014 and contains numerous provisions relevant to private antitrust litigation. The most important provisions relate to disclosure of evidence, the position of the immunity recipient, (proof of) loss and passing on, joint and several liability, and statutory limitation. The Implementation Act amends the Dutch Civil Code and the Dutch Code of Civil procedure. Some of the implementing provisions deviate from the pre-existing legal framework, whereas others mainly codify case law of the European Court of Justice.

This article was published in the Competition Law Newsletter of March 2017. Other articles in this newsletter:

1. European Commission opens three investigations in the e-commerce sector
2. European Commission approves German measure to support electric charging infrastructure for green vehicles
3. Belgian Competition Authority publishes Guidelines on how to identify and avoid bid-rigging

Team

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