This paper provides a study of the interaction between public and private enforcement of Lithuanian antitrust law. The study refers to the Damages Directive. It has been found that private ...enforcement depends greatly on public enforcement of competition law. Therefore, their compatibility and balance are of great importance to antitrust policy. The Lithuanian NCA prioritises cases where an economic effect on competition does not have to be proven. This creates uncertainty about the outcome of private enforcement cases. Private enforcement in Lithuania is also in need of detailed rules on the identification of harm and causality. The analysis reveals how challenging it can be to estimate and prove harm or a causal link in private enforcement cases. Support from the NCA is therefore exceedingly needed. Moreover, even though the use of the leniency programme helps, it remains insufficient to solve the problem of under-deterrence. However, measures introduced by the Damages Directive do not make the leniency programme safe.
The article analyses the provisions on limitation of antitrust damages actions set out in Directive 2014/104/EU on certain rules governing actions for damages under national law for infringements of ...the competition law provisions of the Member States and of the European Union. It presents (draft) implementing legislation of CEE countries from the perspective of their general rules on limitation, and the problems the Member States have faced in the process of transposing the Directive into their national legal systems. Within that, focus is placed upon the analysis of the types of limitation periods, their length and their suspension or interruption. In addition, the authors present the effects of the new limitation regime on the balance between the interests of the claimants and of the defendants, as well as on the relation between public and private antitrust enforcement.
This paper investigates the opportunity of a Procompetitive interpretation of Private Law through an interdisciplinary analysis of Competition Law with Contract Law. The purpose of the research is to ...demonstrate that the traditional Civil Law might be differently considered and interpreted in the specific market where contractual obligation arises. Under this point of view, for example, it is necessary to adopt a new approach to the traditional notion of legal consideration of the contract, to the ancient rule in pari causa turpitudinis melior est condicio possidentis, to the doctrinal category of protection obligations. All these institutions should be directed not only towards assuring contractual economic balance, but also towards regulating the whole market in which the single contract is done. In this way the interplay between Private and Public interests becomes decisive to make Economy and Freedom of Contract more consonant with the value of Human Person.
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