Objektivne utemeljitve v konkurenčnem pravu Evropske unije

slovenian

2024

volume 50, issue 1

abuse of market dominance   competition law   EU law   legitimate goal   objective justification   proportionality   reasonability

Lexpera d. o. o.
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

In the article, the author sheds light on the institute of objective justification as it is understood in European competition law. In this context, it is explained that a company with a dominant market position can avoid liability for abuse of this position by successfully invoking an objective justification, even if its conduct meets all the signs of abuse of market dominance. In terms of content, objective justifications can be divided into three categories, namely those based on the legitimate business interests of the company with market dominance, efficiency gains, and reasons of public interest. From the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the administrative practice of the European Commission, it is possible to derive the conditions that must be met in order to successfully invoke an objective justification, namely the legitimacy of the objective pursued by the conduct and the appropriateness and proportionality of the said conduct. The absence of an exhaustive list of objective justifications opens the door to the creation of innovative objective justifications. An objective justification for the protection of personal data could thus prove to be a highly effective defence against requests for access to databases and/or datasets.

09.05.2024