EC official flags need to focus on standard of proof in digital sector – KNect365 Brussels
25 November 2019 - 12:00 am UTC
The burden and the standard of proof required of companies in antitrust cases are often misunderstood and practitioners should focus debate on the latter, a senior European Commission (EC) official said in Brussels today (25 November).
The two concepts need to be distinguished for intellectual soundness, Thomas Kramler, DG Comp’s head of unit for antitrust in ecommerce and digital economy, said, while referring to a report authored this year by three special advisers to EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
“When one reads the report, one reads ‘burden of proof’,” Kramler said, adding: “What is meant is we should use more by object type of infringements, that is, it talks about the standard of proof.”
Shifting the burden of proof would be more difficult and requires more care, the EC official said.
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