| Abstract [eng] |
Understanding that formal prohibition of some acts of dominant undertakings does not comply with economic and business realities, in 2003 the European Commission started considering possible changes in the application of article 102 of the Treaty Establishing the European Union. In 2009 it published a Communication introducing priorities in consideration of abusive exclusionary conduct. This enhances the principle of legal certainty, as due to the given framework of analysis, dominant undertakings will be able to evaluate their own actions more clearly. The reform is also important to the society as it is promised to focus on abusive behaviour, which is the most harmful to consumers. However, the real entrenchment of the new approach can only be proved by its application in cases. Therefore, the assessment of the changes evolving in practice since the very beginning of the reform is necessary for the identification of problems, their solution and further success in applying the new approach. That is what the three parts of this master thesis are aimed at. Firstly, the reform itself, its causes, problems and critics are described. It is followed by review of newest practice of European Commission and European Union courts in cases envolving anticompetitive behaviour of undertakings in dominant position. In the third part all Lithuanian cases related with exclusionary conduct since the adoption of the new Competition Act are discussed. The investigation led to the conclusion that the reform of article 102 of the Treaty Establishing the European Union has a significant effect both on European Union and Lithuanian case law, what is evidenced by more detailed economic analysis and assessment of the consequences of dominant undertakings’ behavior. However, as the decisions of institutions are still criticized and the stable attitude of courts is not stated yet, further development and success of the reform will only be able to be assessed in future. |
