Causal Uncertainty and Damages Claims for the Infringement of Competition Law in Europe

The article draws on research completed for I. Lianos, P. Davis, and P. Nebbia, Damages Claims for the Infringement of Competition Law (forthcoming 2015, OUP).

The study first explores the role of the concept of causation in claims for damages for infringement of EU competition law and the different approaches taken by the legal systems of EU Member States in conceptualizing the inquiry of a causal link. It then focuses on the methods used by the tort law systems of the EU Member States, the recent Damages Directive and the case law of the EU Court to engage with situations of causal uncertainty, which may frequently arise in the context of competition law actions for damages, in view of the complexity of the commercial environment and the multiple factors influencing markets.

• Published in the Yearbook of European Law 2015, Oxford Journals

About the author

• Ioannis Lianos is a Professor of Global Competition Law and Policy at UCL Laws. He is also the director of the UCL Centre for Law, Economics and Society, and executive director of the Jevons Institute for Competition Law and Economics.

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