De publieke handhavingsprocedures van het mededingingsrecht in het licht van de mensenrechten

Abstract

Public enforcement of competition law is in the hands of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM). The ACM has a wide variety of instruments at its disposal to combat unfair competition. The increasing attention to administrative fines, the qualification of the administrative fine as a form of criminal prosecution and the introduction of more informal types of settlement have led to the question whether public enforcement procedures satisfy fundamental procedural rights. The research studies the various public enforcement procedures of Dutch competition law and compares them to fundamental procedural rights as stipulated in Article 6 ECHR and European law. The analysis brings to light the tension between safeguarding a fair trial on the one hand and the effectiveness of the enforcement of competition law on the other. Based on the concept of the right to a fair decision process, this thesis puts forward specific recommendations which will eliminate this tension. These recommendations are aimed at procedurally enhancing the administrative decision-making – for example by questioning witnesses – and at offering adequate judicial assessment.