Hausfeld article wins Readers' Choice award in Concurrences Antitrust Writing Awards 2024
The article authored by London Partner Wessen Jazrawi and Associate Nanret Senok on the interpretation of Brexit litigation in competition claims, scooped the Readers' Choice award in the ‘Best Business Articles – Europe’ category at the Concurrences Antitrust Writing Awards 2024.
In Tribunal issues first ruling on the interpretation of Brexit litigation in competition claims, Wessen and Nanret analyze the first judgment since the UK's exit from the European Union ("EU"), which considers the withdrawal legislation and its impact upon the substantive and procedural rights of claimants who brought competition damages claims for infringements which took place before Brexit.
In July 2023, the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled that the European Court of Justice's 2022 Volvo judgment on limitation periods did not change the Tribunal's interpretation of English limitation rules. The Tribunal also found against arguments that it was required to follow post-Brexit EU case law developments where a competition law infringement took place prior to the completion of the UK's exit from the EU.
The Tribunal's judgment offers for the first time its interpretation of how the UK's withdrawal from the EU impacts the substantive and procedural rights of pre-Brexit claims. Although the same outcome was ultimately reached, the two different judgments show that the assessment was not straightforward. The ruling shows a clear consistency in how the Tribunal viewed the pleadings on "accrued EU law rights" and "matching" English class members to Scottish class members: legal jurisdictions each have their own rights and obligations, and the Tribunal will respect these constitutional boundaries when they arise.
This article derives from Hausfeld's Competition Bulletin where each quarter, our lawyers share their insight into noteworthy antitrust investigations, judgments, regulatory decisions, competition law, and digital markets developments in the United States and Europe.
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