This website will examine Art. 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Specifically looking at concerted practices by object. Concerted practice is collusion that does not reach the level of an agreement, parallel conduct with a common will. Under Art 101, concerted practices by object are the subject of complex enforcement actions and large fines. Unlike agreements that have a clear anticompetitve effect, however, concerted practices by object have many abstract and fuzzy attributes to them. They are often at the border between practices that merit and that do not merit government intervention. The jurisprudence is not entirely clear in defining that border, and concerted practice by objects are therefore a fruitful topic for inquiry and debate.
The following topics will be discussed:
- The progression of concerted practices since ICI (1972) – to present
- Differences between horizontal and vertical agreements related to concerted practices
- Analytical differences between objects and effects of Art. 101
- The use of presumptions in making CJEU decision making
- Burden of proof in CJEU decision making
- Evidentiary standards that constitute a violation of Art. 101
- Error types and how the CJEU uses them
This website will try to address the consistencies and inconsistencies in CJEU decision making in each of these topics and draw conclusions that may help in future application of Art. 101.