An Indirect Purchaser as an Eligible Person to Claim the Cartel Damages

Considering the large scope of damages resulting from the violation of the competition rules, it is likely, that the number of private antitrust damage actions will keep increasing in the nearest future in Georgia. The key objective of this study was to investigate the legal status of the indirect purchaser of cartelized goods or services in the process of claiming the cartel damages. It is also to be mentioned that, there is not any perfect and complete substantive or procedural rules with respect to the cartel damages in Georgian Legislation. The article gives respective analysis of this issue and provides recommendations to solve these legislative problems.
The issue of private damage actions is of a higher importance in the reality of European Union. Hence, it is not a surprise that the case law of European Court of Justice and the practice of respective European Competition Authorities embrace the countless decisions that can serve as an example for the reformation of Georgian competition legislation in terms of private damage actions. This paper gives an appraisal of the recent developments of private damage actions of indirect purchaser in Europe. Based on these comparative analysis and argumentations the conclusion develops a set of proposals and recommendations in terms of amendments to the Georgian competition legislation that will be able to facilitate the individual damage actions of indirect purchasers in Georgia.
If an undertaking infringes competition rules, it shall traditionally assume the possibility of sanctions from the public law. The most important of these are fines that may be imposed by the competition authority. However, those, who conduct the anti-competitive activities, are not only faced with the probability of fines and other sanctions deriving from public law. Furthermore, they should also take into consideration the court actions brought by the private individuals, who have suffered losses as a result of an anti-competitive conduct. Victims of such infringements could be competing undertakings, direct and indirect purchasers, final consumers, etc. Following the purpose of the preceding article, only the peculiarities of the indirect purchasers’ claim is considered as the main subject of this study. Noteworthy is also the fact that the role of indirect purchaser claims is also of a crucial significance to achieve the completely functioning private enforcement of competition law.
Following the objectives stated above the second part of the preceding article attempts to provide with the general overview of cartel damages. The third part investigates the difference between the damage claims of direct and indirect purchasers. The fourth part provides profound discussion to the peculiarities of the indirect purchasers’ right to the compensation for the cartel damages.