EU antitrust law infringements and private damages actions: how to hold cartelists liable for damages

Directive 2014/104/EU on private damages actions builds on the CJEU’s landmark rulings dealing with EU antitrust private enforcement. It also harmonises certain key elements of private damages domestic actions. This article evaluates the development of the victims’ right to claim damages stemming from EU antitrust infringements. It then discerns the Directive’s added value for holding the cartelists liable to fully compensate the injured parties. The article concludes that the EU antitrust private enforcement system has come a long way since the CJEU’s Courage and Crehan ruling, thus overcoming the underdevelopment which until recently characterised it.