Wie hier, hier und hier berichtet, hat die Europäische Kommission im Januar 2010 die interessierte Öffentlichkeit dazu eingeladen, drei Verwaltungsrichtlinien (“Best Practices” bzw. “Guidance Papers”) betreffend “Transparenz und Vorhersehbarkeit” in Wettbewerbsverfahren zu kommentieren. Sinnigerweise sind diese Richtlinien bereits in Kraft, trotz Konsultation, und die Frist zur Abgabe von Kommentaren war so knapp bemessen wie nie zuvor. Auch deswegen ist nicht zu erwarten, dass die Kommission zu wesentlichen Änderungen bereit ist.
Die Frist lief in dieser Woche ab. Aus der Einleitung der Kommentare der ABA, Section of Antitrust Law und Section of International Law (die Joint Comments sind hier abrufbar):
The procedural fairness of the Commission’s decision-making process in competition cases has not been free from criticism. That the investigations, decisions to initiate proceedings and findings of liability are all made by the same entity, i.e., the Commission, is an often cited example. The institutional limitations on the opportunity of undertakings to test allegations of fact is another. The degree of deference accorded to the Commission by the EU courts and the deliberate pace of appellate proceedings have also evoked concerns. As a final example, the Commission’s views on Legal Professional Privilege in competition proceedings have stimulated some controversy. While the Sections do not address those issues here, we do respectfully suggest that at an appropriate time the Commission should solicit public comments on and undertake an examination of each of these issues in terms of their ultimate effect on the fairness, accuracy and efficiency with which its competition cases are brought and decided.
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