Antitrust Law in the European Community

Normally, business enterprises do not have to deal with European but only with national public offices. When they encounter European law as directly applicable, it is in the form of regulations and, even then, it is not enforced by European public offices but by their national counterparts. An important exception to this rule is European antitrust law: here the business enterprise affected has to deal directly with the European Commission as a European public office and with European law. That is perceived most acutely whenever fines are imposed on companies for violations of antitrust regulations. Thus, there exists a legal order parallel to the body of national laws, and it is essential that investors familiarize themselves with it.