Private enforcement of competition law, particularly through damages actions, has grown significantly across Europe over the past decade. Yet striking the right balance between effective public enforcement and safeguarding the rights of parties harmed by anticompetitive conduct remains a challenge. Despite important legislative initiatives, such as the Damages Directive from 2014, access to justice through national courts varies considerably across jurisdictions.

A key reason is the lack of full harmonization. Procedural autonomy continues to allow divergent national approaches to issues such as litigation funding, disclosure rules, and the balance between protecting leniency applicants and enabling effective claimant actions.

 In this seminar, BECCLE is proud to bring together leading practitioners and scholars in the field of competition law. The programme will provide insight into the current regulatory framework, covering EU, EEA, and Norwegian perspectives, and examine a broad range of issues related to private enforcement of competition law. Drawing on practical experience, speakers will discuss how to build a claimant’s case and share concrete case examples, including insights from the UK system and the latest developments from Brussels.

 The seminar will be chaired by Thomas Vinje, Senior Counsel at Clifford Chance and external affiliate at the University of Bergen. He will be joined by Nivi Balaji, Counsel at Clifford Chance; Sean Ennis, Professor at Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia; and BECCLE’s own Associate Professor Ingrid Barlund.

Title: Private Enforcement of Competition Law
Date and time: Thursday March 5, 10.00 – 11.30
Location: Auditorium 4, Faculty of Law, University of Bergen

The seminar will be streamed, and a link for the stream will be presented here.