Competition law litigation in the UK courts: a study of all cases 2005-2008- Part I

It is clear from a cursory examination of the academic literature in the field that private enforcement is an established, well-developed and vibrant mode of enforcement of US anti trust law, constituting the preponderance of anti trust enforcement activity complemented by public enforcement by the DOJ and FTC. Historically, arange of factors have combined to ensure that private enforcement is effectively the default setting for antitrust enforcement in general, namely the wider litigative culture, the significant period of development of antitrust law and economics, and the specific characeristics of US civil procedure: the rules on discovery, the funding of actions, the availability of class actions and the existence of treble damages actions, together with clarification(and modification)of the legal position in relation to issues such as the passing on defence and standing for indirect purchasers.