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Effect on Trade Between Member States:

What Is the Standard of Proof to Establish Grounds for Applying EU Law?

Martin Milán Csirszki, András Tóth

DOI https://doi.org/10.21552/core/2023/1/4

Keywords: effect on trade between Member States, NAAT-rule, market definition, applicable law, standard of proof, case law


This article examines a judgment of the Supreme Court of Hungary (the Curia), in which the Curia called upon in connection with the effect on trade between Member States its holding that competition authorities – compared to other administrative authorities – are required to establish a higher standard of proof in order to draw a reasonable conclusion as to the existence of an infringement. It ruled that this would be in order to draw a reasonable conclusion as to the existence of an infringement. This requirement comes from the quasi-criminal nature of competition proceedings. In this declaration, from the context of the effect on trade between Member States, the Curia equated the applicable standard of proof to substantial competition law infringements with the criterion of applicable law, which only determines appropriate applications of EU competition law. In this article, we present the relevant parts of this case before scrutinising the related literature, legislation and case law. After presenting the case, we analyse the effects on trade between Member States, as well as the role of the market definition in establishing inter-state trade. Then, we turn our attention to questions related to proof and evidence in competition law, both in the context of substantial infringements of law and of the effects on trade between Member States. The Ziegler case points to the direction that these two cannot be equated. In the end, we sketch out the consequences arising from the Curia’s judgment.
Keywords: effect on trade between Member States; NAAT-rule; market definition; applicable law; standard of proof; case law

Martin Milán Csirszki PhD, Head of Unit, Hungarian Competition Authority. For correspondence: <mailto:martin.csirszki@uni-miskolc.hu>. András Tóth PhD, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church, Budapest, Hungary; Vice-President, Chairman of the Competition Council, Hungarian Competition Authority. For correspondence: <mailto: toth.andras@kre.hu>. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Hungarian Competition Authority.

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