EU/EEA law by Dr. Valentin Mircea
Competition Policy Insight, 2018
A new buzzword is making its way into the world, in the context of the rapid and, often, spectacu... more A new buzzword is making its way into the world, in the context of the rapid and, often, spectacular changes brought about by technological evolution and its impact in our life and in the economy. Mankind seems to be at a major crossroads and there are many who say the future will be unlike anything we have seen and lived before. We are told repeatedly, by persons with distinction and reputation, that many of the changes underway would put the world in which we live in great danger. A firm intervention in the markets is mandated, these people say, in order to safeguard our freedom and our welfare and to curtail the power of the big corporations. Antitrust law, with its powerful instruments, should be used more actively-even aggressively-to rein in the power of the behemoths of the digital economy. Are we truly in such a critical moment? Should anything change in the way the antitrust rules are enforced?
Revista de Drept Comercial
This article aims to explain the reasons why this notion is used in competition law and how shoul... more This article aims to explain the reasons why this notion is used in competition law and how should be delineated. It goes back to basics and highligts that the relevant market is the foundation of any competition case, even in case of by object infringements.
This is a synthesis of my doctorate research, with the tipic - ”Torts liability in Romanian compe... more This is a synthesis of my doctorate research, with the tipic - ”Torts liability in Romanian competition law” - defended in April 2014 at the University of Bucharest and awarded with a Magna cum Laudae evaluation.
It is the first work in this old and novel area of the law, known in the competition law as the private enforcement, aimed at recovering the damages produced to the consumers and market players by the infringement of the competition law prohibitions.
Apart the competition (antitrust) law, the researche also touched upon the recovery of damages produced by acts of unfair trade and by illegal state aid, two areas which receive less attention in the academia.
Global Competition Litigation Review, Dec 4, 2014
The article pleads in favour of a more resolute departure from the paradigm of maximisation of th... more The article pleads in favour of a more resolute departure from the paradigm of maximisation of the public enforcement to the detriment of private forms of enforcement. The superiority of one form over the other should not be accepted as a generally valid statement. It is argued that the actual constellation of possibly interested parties i.e. potentially injured persons and the facts of the case should determine which form of enforcement may be more appropriate to ensure an effective enforcement of the EU competition rules, a sufficiently high level of deterrence, proportionate punitive means and restorative justice. Thus the balance exercise should be left to the courts, not to the legislative power or the public administration.
Papers by Dr. Valentin Mircea
On 15th December, 2018, the Florence Competition Programme (FCP) organized its second advanced co... more On 15th December, 2018, the Florence Competition Programme (FCP) organized its second advanced competition seminar in the context of the FCP Annual Training, 2018/2019 edition. The seminar focused on the high-profi le Facebook case, recently decided by the Bundeskartellamt (German Competition Authority) on 7 th February, 2019. 1 The Bundeskartellamt decided that Facebook had abused its dominant position via the collection and use of personal data from third-party sources. The case represents one of the fi rst attempts to enforce competition rules in the digital economy. In particular, it represents one of the fi rst cases of exploitative abuses that are sanctioned in the context of the digital economy.
Romania is among the last countries in the European Union to have introduced the concept of the L... more Romania is among the last countries in the European Union to have introduced the concept of the Legal Professional Privilege (“LLP”) in its national legislation. This took place in 2010 when the…
European Competition Law Review, 2018
Social Science Research Network, 2013
Summary: The Romanian Competition Council issued recently its first guidelines, which supplement ... more Summary: The Romanian Competition Council issued recently its first guidelines, which supplement the EC Guidelines on the applicability of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the…
The background On 11 July 2012, the Moldavian Parliament approved, after extensive debates and co... more The background On 11 July 2012, the Moldavian Parliament approved, after extensive debates and consultations with all the stakeholders, the draft of the new competition law of Moldova, and the…
The Romanian Competition Council starts a market test in respect of commitments regarding the mob... more The Romanian Competition Council starts a market test in respect of commitments regarding the mobile termination rates* The Romanian Competition Council (RCC) launched on 13 August 2013, the…
The new legal provisions purport to implement the latest developments in the EU regulations and i... more The new legal provisions purport to implement the latest developments in the EU regulations and in the case law of the European Court of Justice. This basis, as well as an extensive consultation…
The Romanian Competition Council opened an investigation regarding a possible cartel in the Roman... more The Romanian Competition Council opened an investigation regarding a possible cartel in the Romanian market for dairy products* On 18 July 2013, simultaneous dawn raids of the Romanian…
America Movil abuse of dominance case seems to be a”happy-end” story but not for everybody* Every... more America Movil abuse of dominance case seems to be a”happy-end” story but not for everybody* Everybody at America Movil (”AM”) – and especially its owner, Mr.Carlos Slim – should have welcomed with a…
Published: December 2018The private enforcement of the competition rules is still a rarity in mos... more Published: December 2018The private enforcement of the competition rules is still a rarity in most jurisdictions of the EU and is often seen as an oddity, something between a useless instrument and an annoyance or even a threat to the flagship public enforcement. The private enforcement of the EU competition rules is not the result of some public policy aimed at supporting it, such as many other enforcement areas in the EU, but it was born from the case law of the European Court of Justice and its genial instrument of "effet utile"—interpreting the provisions of the EU treaties in a meaningful way and such as to be applicable. This origin is, by default, a hurdle in the development of an institution, given the tradition of Europe with regard to the involvement of the public authority in the public policies and its reliance on regulation. It is however unusual that in the land where the modern civil liability was born, in the form adopted in the French civil code some 200 years ago, the private enforcement of the competition rules must fight an uphill battle for full recognition. The reluctance and, sometimes, even hostility towards the private legal actions, is unwarranted and even detrimental to the public enforcement of the competition rules. I will argue in this paper why these attitudes are neither admissible, nor effective and that the private enforcement may contribute to the overall impact of the EU competition rules, without limiting its scope or the legal instruments available. The hypocrisy which has been present all along "the long march"1 that resulted in the current legal framework for legal actions based on the competition rules should come to an end. The private enforcement is here to stay and, henceforth, it should be harmonised with the public enforcement
Social Science Research Network, 2013
Romanian Abstract: Articolul trece in revistă principalele consecințe ale incălcării regulilor de... more Romanian Abstract: Articolul trece in revistă principalele consecințe ale incălcării regulilor de concurență. Cel mai adesea astfel de incălcări rezultă in aplicarea unor amenzi, care sunt printre cele mai ridicate in sistemtul de drept administrativ (până la 10% din cifra de afaceri in anul fiscal precedent aplicării sancțiunii) și care sunt in centrul eforturilior pentru a preveni comportamentele anticoncurențiale. In plus, autorii incălcărilor pot fi obligați să plătească despăgubiri celor afectați de acțiunilor lor iar persoanele fizice care sunt implicate in inițierea și coordonarea unui cartel pot atrage răspunderea lor penală - pedepse cu inchisoarea sau amenzi penale - dar aceste sancțiuni sunt incă puțin aplicate in România și datorită acestui fapt nu au incă același impact cu cel al amenzilor contravenționale. In ceea ce privește sancțiunile contravenționale, articolul discută in ce măsură o sancțiune contravențională minoră, așa cum este avertismentul, este aplicabil intr-o legislație care este cunoscută mai degrabă datorită nivelului ridicat at sancțiunilor. Articolul argumentează că posibilitatea de a aplica un avertisment pentru incălcarea regulilor de concurență ar trebui clarificat intr-o viitoare modificare a legii concurenței, fie in sensul excluderii acesteia, cu desăvârșire, fie prin prevederea că in cazul unor incălcări cu impact redus autoritatea de concurență ar putea emite avertismente, impreună cu ordine de incetare a incălcării. English Abstract: This paper represents a brief review of the main sanctions which may apply in case of the infringement of the competition rules. Such infringement trigger the application of fines which are among the highest in the administrative law system (up to 10% of the turnover in the previous fiscal year) and are at the core of the efforts made to deter anticompetitive behavior. In addition, the infringers may be obliged to pay damages to those affected by their actions and the individual persons involved in the initiation or coordination of a cartel are subject to criminal sanctions – imprisonement or criminal fine - but the latest are less frequently applied in Romania and do not have, as such, the same consequences as the administrative fines. In respect of the administrative sanctions for the infringement of the anticompetitive behavior, the paper discuss whether or not an administrative low sanction such as the warning is applicable in a legislation which is famous rather for the high amount of the sanctions. The paper argues that such a sanction should not be used except for a very few situations. An extended usage of the warning would affect the efectivness of the competition law. The author considers that the possibiliy to apply a warning for the infringement of the competition rules should be clarified in a future amendment of the competition law, either in the sense of excluding it from the range of sanctions or by providing that the competition authority may issue a warning, together with cease-and-dessist orders.
Journal of European Competition Law & Practice, Mar 26, 2014
Global Competition Litigation Review, 2014
The article argues in favour of a balance between the public and the private enforcement of the c... more The article argues in favour of a balance between the public and the private enforcement of the competition rules in the European Union. The paper touches on some taboos and it represents an invitation to a debate regarding an enforcement process which would respect both the imperative of a strong public enforcement and the right of the victims to full reparation of the damage incurred.
The FASEB Journal, 2018
In response to curricular reform, a particularly effective new approach was developed for a cours... more In response to curricular reform, a particularly effective new approach was developed for a course offered at all nine IUSM centers. Participants will learn about interdisciplinary planning, implementation of a "Grand Rounds" approach, novel use of audience response system for retrieval practice and formative assessment of teaching methods, and how Bloom scale ratings relate to student engagement and focus.. GOAL 1: Comparable at all 9 Centers GOAL 3: Active Engagement of Learner "I found myself more engaged with the Q & A response so that I wouldn't feel like I was disrupting class." NOVEL USE OF Audience Response System End of Session Questions-formative teaching evaluation GOAL 4: Development of Higher Order Skills "Pulmonary Grand Rounds! This was BY FAR the best learning experience we have had throughout Phase 1 curriculum thus far."
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EU/EEA law by Dr. Valentin Mircea
It is the first work in this old and novel area of the law, known in the competition law as the private enforcement, aimed at recovering the damages produced to the consumers and market players by the infringement of the competition law prohibitions.
Apart the competition (antitrust) law, the researche also touched upon the recovery of damages produced by acts of unfair trade and by illegal state aid, two areas which receive less attention in the academia.
Papers by Dr. Valentin Mircea
It is the first work in this old and novel area of the law, known in the competition law as the private enforcement, aimed at recovering the damages produced to the consumers and market players by the infringement of the competition law prohibitions.
Apart the competition (antitrust) law, the researche also touched upon the recovery of damages produced by acts of unfair trade and by illegal state aid, two areas which receive less attention in the academia.
Institutul de Cercetari Juridice “Acad. Andrei Rădulescu” al Academiei Române – CSDE – Centrul de Studii de Drept European si ARDAE – Asociaţia română de drept şi afaceri europene
Evenimentul se va desfăşura la Academia Română, Calea Victoriei, nr. 125, Sala de Consiliu,
14 iulie 2016, orele 13-15
PARTENER PRINCIPAL: Editura Univeristară
Participanţi confirmaţi:
Conf. univ. dr. Adriana Almăşan, avocat,
Dr. Anamaria Toma-Bianov
Dr. Valentin Mircea
Dr. Dan Pascu, avocat
Prof. univ. dr. Daniel Mihail Şandru, moderator
Cu acest prilej va fi prezentat volumul Aplicarea privata a regulilor concurenţei în Uniunea Europeană. Acţiunile în despăgubire promovate în faţa instanţelor naţionale şi tribunalelor arbitrale, Anamaria Toma-Bianov, Ed. Universitară, 2016.