On October 18, 2019, AmCham submitted to the European Commission a summary of our members’ comments as part of a targeted consultation on a draft Communication on the protection of confidential information for the private enforcement of EU competition law by national courts.
This consultation was initiated and opened by the European Commission (DG for Competition), and the aim of the draft communication is to provide practical, non-binding and non-exclusive guidance to national courts in selecting the most effective measure to protect confidentiality (e.g. confidentiality ring, redactions, appointment of experts, etc.) when deciding on disclosure requests in the context of damages actions.
In the submitted position, AmCham - in addition to some practical remarks - emphasized that the draft communication could elaborate more on the considerations to be weighed by courts, when ordering evidence disclosure (which was introduced throughout Europe by the Antitrust Damages Directive). AmCham also noted that the draft communication could take a more nuanced approach with respect to persons who can or cannot be included in confidentiality rings.
The submitted AmCham position was sent to the Ministry of Justice at the same time.
AmCham is thankful to András Horváth for compiling the comments, and to Péter Sükösd and Tünde Haskó for their contributions to the position.
