The EU’s Accession to the ECHR and Due Process Rights in EU Competition Law Matters: Nothing New Under the Sun?

The foreseeable accession of the European Union (EU) to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) [as per art 6(2) of the Treaty on the European Union, TEU] raises important questions regarding the extent to which amendments to the current EU competition law enforcement system are required. In view of the future (clearer) possibility to bring challenges against judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)—not least, in view of the envisaged co-respondent mechanisms discussed in detail in other contributions of this book—or, at least, the (clearer) mandate for the CJEU to apply the ECHR in full in all its jurisdictional activities; an analysis of the current enforcement mechanisms in that light seems particularly relevant and has triggered substantial attention from academics and practitioners alike.