The last decade has seen a massive increase in the levels of private enforcement of EU and UK competition law, with numerous damages actions being raised in national courts, both on a ‘stand-alone’ and ‘follow-on’ basis, the latter referring to actions which take as their evidential basis decisions by public regulators finding infringements of competition law. This increase in private enforcement has, to some extent at least, resulted from very deliberate attempts by both legislators and regulators to encourage the raising of private damages actions, including the EU’s Damages Directive introduced in 2014 (2014/104/EU), which introduced “rules governing actions for damages under national law for infringements of the competition law provisions of the Member States and of the European Union”. An important element of the strategy to develop private enforcement has been the introduction of new legal mechanisms to support the bringing of collective actions. In the UK, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 saw the advent of a new type of ‘opt-out’ collective action, which has already been used in a number of cases. Most significantly, in the case of Merricks v Mastercard Inc and others [2020] UKSC 51, the UK Supreme Court held that it was appropriate to allow an opt-out action brought against certain credit-card providers on behalf of all purchasers of goods and services resident in the UK during the period of an infringement by the credit card providers, to go to trial. This was despite the potential difficulties that the court might come up against in making an aggregate award of damages.
This project will examine the opt-out damages actions that have been brought in the UK to date, the challenges they have come up against and seek to assess, based on the early evidence, whether they are an effective way of providing redress to the ‘victims’ of competition law infringements. There shall be a particular focus on the challenges of (i) proving loss by the class of claimants in the context of the ‘passing-on’ defence’; (ii) quantifying the aggregate loss of the class of claimants; and (iii) distributing damages amongst the class of claimants.
Academic qualifications
A first degree (at least a 2.1) ideally in law with a good fundamental knowledge of EU and UK competition law.
English language requirement
IELTS score must be at least 6.5 (with not less than 6.0 in each of the four components). Other, equivalent qualifications will be accepted. Full details of the University’s policy are available online.
Essential attributes:
• Experience of fundamental study of the law
• Competent in legal research and analysis
• Knowledge of EU and UK competition law
• Good written and oral communication skills
•Strong motivation, with evidence of independent research skills relevant to the project
• Good time management
Desirable attributes:
Experience of carrying out research in the area of EU and/or UK competition law