Dissertation

The vigilance of individuals

How, when and why the EU legislates to facilitate the private enforcement of EU law before national courts.

Author

Dhr. F.G. Wilman

Date

18 December 2014

Links

https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/30219

This PhD thesis is concerned with EU legislation facilitating the private enforcement of EU law, i.e. the enforcement of that law by private parties in legal proceedings before the courts of the Member States. The relevant EU-level legislative developments in four fields of EU law are assessed in detail, namely those relating to public procurement law (in particular Procurement Remedies Directives 89/665 and 92/13), intellectual property law (in particular IPR Enforcement Directive 2004/48), consumer protection law (in particular Consumer Injunctions Directive 2009/22, Unfair Terms Directive 93/13 and Product Liability Directive 85/374) and competition law (in particular Article 101(2) TFEU and the recent Competition Damages Directive). These EU legal acts and related developments are analysed first separately and subsequently in a comparative and contextual manner. Specific attention is paid in this connection to the remedies and procedural provisions for private enforcement purposes that are to be made available to aggrieved private parties under the said legislation. In addition the concept of private enforcement generally and EU legislation on this subject-matter specifically are considered in a broader perspective. On this basis conclusions are drawn as to how, when and why the EU legislates to facilitate the private enforcement of EU law.