Antitrust Litigation: Access to Documents Held by Regulatory Authorities

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The English High Court has confirmed that the principles established by the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (the ECJ) in Pfleiderer apply to the disclosure of leniency documents submitted to the European Commission as well as to EU national competition authorities.

This means that, in principle, EU national courts may order disclosure of leniency documents submitted to the European Commission or national authorities provided that the court weighs the interest in disclosure against the need to protect the effectiveness of the relevant leniency programme and also determines that it is proportionate on the facts of the particular case to order disclosure.