The Disclosure of Files and Documents in EU Cartel Cases: Fairytale or Reality?

Introduction:

"Section B will examine cases where the request for documents is addressed either to the national competition authorities (NCAs) or the national courts. In this section, particular attention will be drawn to the recent cases Pfleiderer and NGET. These judgments provide the first hints on how the courts (both on the EU and the national level) intend to treat disclosure of documents in cartel cases. Section C will examine the request of leniency documents, addressed to the Commission. With regard to cases on the EU level, a slightly different structural approach will be followed. Without the burden of different national procedural rules applicable in different cases, a more thorough categorisation of cases can be drawn. Rights of access to the Commission file and documents can be derived both more “directly” and “specifically” through the relevant provisions of EU competition law, or more “indirectly” and “generally” through the so-called Transparency Regulation. The final sections of the article, Sections D and E, will propose and evaluate possible solutions that may achieve the ideal “weighing” by enhancing the protection of both leniency applicants and third parties."