The role of commercial arbitrators in enforcing European Competition Law : with special emphasis on Swedish law

Abstract

The topic chosen for this dissertation — the role of commercial arbitrators in enforcing European competition law — may, at least for someone not familiar with arbitration, seem slightly misplaced. After all, competition law is a subject and body of law of a public nature, enforced by governmental administrative agencies, as well as national courts. What has it got to do with arbitration? The simple answer is that arbitration is an extremely common mechanism through which commercial disputes are settled. Companies wish to avoid litigating ‘in the open’, as involvement in litigation in principle reflects negatively on a company and its reputation, even if it is successful in the courtroom. Therefore they are likely to choose arbitration, by stipulating to that effect in their contracts with business partners. Furthermore, it seems to be generally held that competition law is gaining increased importance for arbitrations, something which one may assume is due, 'inter alia', to companies becoming more aware of the advantages one may gain in litigation by relying on those rules.