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Scheurleer, Daan Lunsingh; Speyart, Herman; Wijers, Flip --- "Netherlands" [2010] ELECD 760; in Foer, A. Albert; Cuneo, W. Jonathan (eds), "The International Handbook on Private Enforcement of Competition Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Book Title: The International Handbook on Private Enforcement of Competition Law

Editor(s): Foer, A. Albert; Cuneo, W. Jonathan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848448773

Section: Chapter 20

Section Title: Netherlands

Author(s): Scheurleer, Daan Lunsingh; Speyart, Herman; Wijers, Flip

Number of pages: 12

Extract:

20 Netherlands
Daan Lunsingh Scheurleer, Herman Speyart, Flip Wijers
and Joost Fanoy1


Introduction
As in most countries, adherence to competition law is enforced in the Netherlands
through public enforcement by the European Commission or the Dutch Competition
Authority (Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit, hereinafter NMa), and through private
damages claims before civil courts.
National Dutch competition law, which is laid down in the Dutch Competition Act
(DCA), is largely copied from European legislation. The mechanisms for private enforce-
ment, however, are not; it follows from European case law that the private enforcement
of competition law is expressly left to the Member States.
Historically, the private enforcement of claims based on infringement of competition
rules has not been widespread in the Netherlands. That changed somewhat following the
introduction of the DCA in 1998, but that led to only a limited increase in such claims.
To date, such claims are still scarce. An often used explanation for this scarcity is that it
is rather complicated to establish the amount and scope of the damage suffered and to
provide sufficient proof of such damage.

1. How does a damages action case get started?

a. Meeting clients and ethical restrictions
A plaintiff's attorney can identify clients with potential antitrust claims in a number of
ways, depending upon the specific circumstances of the case.
If an antitrust violation has been established in a competition authority decision with
respect to companies supplying specific sectors or clients, it is easy to identify potential
claimants, either directly or through an ...