International Antitrust Litigation – Brussels Conference

A full-day conference, entitled “International Antitrust Litigation – Conflict of Laws and Coordination” has been organised by Jürgen Basedow (Max Planck Institut, Hamburg), Stéphanie Francq (Chair of European Law, UC Louvain) and Laurence Idot (Paris II, collège européen).  It will take place on 26 March 2010 at the Hilton Hotel in Brussels.

The organisers explain the theme of the conference as follows:

With the decentralization of competition law enforcement and the development of private damages actions in the European Union as well as with the increasingly international character of antitrust proceedings, there is a growing need for clear and workable rules to coordinate cross-border actions of both a judicial and administrative nature. These include not only rules on jurisdiction, the applicable law and recognition of judgments, but also on sharing of evidence, protection of business secrets and interplay between administrative and judicial procedures. Those issues, which have been overlooked for so long, have been reflected upon by a group of international experts from across Europe and the United States who will identify current pitfalls and formulate concrete proposals for improving coordination of cross-border antitrust litigations.

The topics covered include “Jurisdiction in Cross-Border Litigation – Brussels I” (Chair: Dr Karen Vanderkerckhove, European Commission), “The Applicable Law – Rome I and Rome II” (Chair Prof Jürgen Basedow), “Public Enforcement in the EU – Coordination between Authorities” (Chair: Sir Christopher Bellamy QC) and “Antitrust Litigation in the Era of Gloabalisation” (Chair: Prof Horatia Muir Watt).  A full programme is available here, with the possibility of online registration here.