Methodology

The Competition Law Judicial Review Database is the first comprehensive study mapping out the national judicial review of competition law public enforcement in the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK). This pioneering resource is the result of a collective effort by 28 national teams of experts, culminating in the creation of a new, open-access dataset. The dataset encodes detailed case- and jurisdiction-level information from all publicly available national judgments that review the application of EU prohibitions against anti-competitive agreements (Article 101 TFEU) and abuse of a dominant position (Article 102 TFEU), as well as the national equivalents of these EU rules by national competition authorities (NCAs). The timeframe for this data spans from the entry into force of Regulation 1/2003 in May 2004 to the end of April 2021.

The database is organised as a collection of 28 Excel files, each representing a distinct jurisdiction (panel data). Each file comprises the following five tabs:

1. Coding: Encodes the case-level variables, providing detailed data for each case.
2. Source of Information: Lists the sources of the data.
3. National Courts: Codes jurisdiction-level variables, offering insights into the judicial landscape of each country.
4. Dashboard: Presents a summary and a collection of graphs that visually represent the national case-level variables.
5. Data Validation: Sets out the possible value labels for each variable, which are further elaborated in the accompanying coding book.

Team and Coding Protocol

All variables in the Competition Law Judicial Review Database were hand-coded. The coders followed a dedicated coding book to apply systematic content analysis of legal text (‘coding’) to each judgment. This coding book was designed to ensure uniformity in the analysis, regardless of the jurisdiction involved. The detailed justification for this research design is provided in the Methodology Chapter (Chapter 2) of our edited collection.

The coding book was drafted by the project leaders in collaboration with the Advisory Board. To validate its accuracy and fit, an initial pilot study was conducted. Each Advisory Board member coded 20 judgments, spanning six jurisdictions—Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and the UK. These countries were chosen for their representation of the diverse legal traditions, histories, and institutional frameworks across the EU. The pilot study’s insights led to revisions and refinements in the coding book, which was then distributed to the national experts. Following this, all national teams underwent online training, supplemented by a second pilot exercise where each team coded an additional twenty judgments. The results were reviewed by the Advisory Board, leading to further clarifications in the coding book. Throughout the coding process, any questions were addressed by the authors, who provided guidance based on the coding book and, when necessary, consulted with the Advisory Board.

Using the database, each national team of experts prepared a comprehensive national report. These reports introduce the framework of national competition law enforcement, describe the appeals system for reviewing NCA decisions, and discuss previous studies on judicial review in each jurisdiction, with a particular focus on empirical research. The reports include both quantitative analyses of empirical findings and qualitative discussions contextualising these results, concluding with key observations. To facilitate cross-jurisdictional comparisons, the reports adhere to a uniform structure and utilise standardised graphs and figures presented in the dashboards. The collection of these national reports is published in the special edited volume titled “Judicial Review of Competition Law Enforcement in the EU Member States – Empirical Mapping 2004-2021” (Kluwer Law International, 2024).

For more information, please visit our Coding Book page.

Time frame

The database encompasses all relevant judgments from national courts that were issued and made publicly available between May 1, 2004, and April 30, 2021. This period is significant as it begins with the entry into force of Regulation 1/2003, decentralising the enforcement of competition law within the EU. By starting from this date, the database focuses exclusively on cases relevant to the current enforcement framework and does not include appeals on decisions made by the NCAs prior to this reform.

This timeframe is uniformly applied across all EU Member States, including those that joined the EU post-2004—namely, Romania and Bulgaria (2007), and Croatia (2013)—as well as those that have since exited the EU, such as the United Kingdom (2020). This consistent approach ensures a comprehensive and cohesive dataset, reflecting the legal and institutional developments within the EU's competition law landscape during this period.

Case-level variables in the database

The database encompasses 32 case-level variables, providing comprehensive quantitative and qualitative insights into judicial reviews conducted by national courts across EU Member States. These reviews focus on public enforcement actions under Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, along with equivalent national provisions by the NCAs. The dataset includes a total of 5,707 coded cases, spanning all relevant jurisdictions.

The case-level variables are organised in six sets:

1. Case identification variables, providing information about the relevant jurisdiction, judgment date, relevant court, judge(s) presiding, judge rapporteur, docket number, and case name.
2. Parties to the appeal variables, detailing the types of applicants in each judgment, whether any other third parties have joined the appeal, and if so – their characteristics.
3. NCA’s decision subject to an appeal variables, encoding information about the procedure subject to the appeal, such as the case number of the original NCA’s decision subject to an appeal or the previous instance’s judgment, the type of the NCA’s procedure, the remedies imposed, the level of fines imposed, and whether one or more of the parties to the original procedure have successfully applied for leniency or a settlement.
4. Anti-competitive behaviour variables, indicating the different types of anti-competitive conduct subject to an appeal and the legal provisions applied.
5. Grounds of appeal variables, reporting whether the appeal was deemed admissible, whether procedural or substantive grounds were raised and accepted, whether the fine was contested and reduced, whether the appeal involved questions about the tension between EU and national competition laws, and whether a preliminary reference to the ECJ had been submitted.
6. Outcome variables, indicating the success of the appeal, the outcome, and any change to the original fine imposed by the NCA.

Scope of Included Cases

The database captures judicial review of final NCAs’ decisions, covering (i) infringement decisions, including cases resolved through settlements with the NCA; (ii) fines imposing decisions, levying administrative fines on companies or individuals; (iii) no ground for action findings, concluding that the competition law prohibitions were not infringed; (iv) decisions to close or not to pursue a case (rejection of complaints, decisions not to investigate or stop investigation, including due to lack of evidence or prioritisation); (v) decisions on recalculation of fines, adopted by an NCA following an appeal; and (vi) decisions accepting commitments.

Excluded Cases

The database does not include judicial review of (i) criminal or private enforcement; (ii) decisions of independent regional competition authorities; (iii) internal review proceedings within the NCA; (iv) injunctions or monitoring and compliance orders adopted by NCAs; (v) interim measures; (vi) NCA’s decisions on procedural matters (e.g., dawn raids, participation rights; confidentiality matters; fines for lack of cooperation or non-compliance); (vii) related to monitoring previously adopted NCA decisions; (viii) accepted application for leave for appeal; (ix) cases that were paused and referred for a preliminary ruling on the interpretation of EU law under Article 267 TFEU. The latter would only be included in the database after the ECJ had provided its ruling and the national court had consequently delivered its judgment.

Jurisdiction-level variables

The database also includes 50 jurisdiction-level variables that offer contextual information crucial for understanding the legal and procedural landscape across different EU Member States. These variables encompass the following aspects:

1. National competition law prohibitions, equivalent to Articles 101 and 102 TFEU.
2. National currency for fines.
3. Details of the relevant national courts, including, name and code, level of the instance of appeal, whether the court is specialised in competition law matters, whether it can examine matters of facts and/or law, standard for judicial review, whether leave for appeal is necessary, limitation periods, fee for submitting appeals, and whether there was a reform in the national judicial system during the relevant period.
4. Number of enforcement actions taken by the NCA during each of the relevant years covered by the project, both with including and exclusion of decisions rejecting complaints.

Source of information

The database gathers all judgments that are published and publicly available. Each national sub-set of the database specifics the source of information for the national judgments, and whether its respective national database is expected to be comprehensive.

The coding of the case-level variables relied on information extracted from the relevant judgments. In instances where judgments were unpublished or only partially published, additional information was gathered from the NCA’s decisions that were under appeal or from subsequent appeals related to those unpublished judgments. However, it is important to note that the coding strictly excludes exogenous information from external sources, such as background information, news items, or academic scholarship, ensuring that the data is derived solely from official legal documents.

Dashboard

The Dashboard in each Excel file provides a visual interface that presents key data and metrics from the database in a clear and concise format. Designed to facilitate quick summarisation and trend observation, the Dashboard layout is consistent across all 28 jurisdictions, ensuring a standardised approach to data presentation. This uniform design was developed by the Project's team.

The data and figures shown in each Dashboard are supplemented by detailed explanations in the national reports, which are published in our edited book collection. These reports provide essential background information, offering context and insight into the data based on the specific characteristics of each national legal system. This additional commentary helps users accurately interpret the Dashboard's metrics, considering the unique legal and procedural contexts of different jurisdictions.

Licensing and reference

The database is available to use under the terms of CC BY-NC license. This license allows reusers to distribute, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for non-commercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.

When referencing the database, please use the following citation: