Liability of the subsidiary for damages derived for antitrust infringements of the parent company is the principle of effectiveness of European Law at stake?

Abstract

One of the most controversial issues in relation to the application of competition rules to multi-corporate companies is the eventual applicability of the principle of economic unity as a means of extending liability between the different companies that comprise it. Currently, we are witnessing a new concern that assesses the extension of downstream liability, that is, the possible passive standing of the subsidiary to support the exercise of a follow-on action for an infringement committed by its parent company and for which it has not been sanctioned. The issue is the subject of a heated doctrinal and judicial debate between defenders of group liability and positions more attached to the traditional categories of attribution of liability. The object of this paper is the examination of said debate and the critical assessment of the different positions and arguments  used