PhD theses with a connection to the Research Group for EU/EEA Commercial Law

Kristian Strømsnes: Uten virkning: vilkår for og virkningen av at en kontrakt etter offentlig anskaffelser kjennes "uten virkning"

The thesis analyses the conditions for finding a contract between a contracting authority and a private supplier ineffective because it constitutes an illegal direct award, as well as the legal consequences of such ineffectiveness. The focus is on Norwegian public procurement law, and which solutions EU/EEA law gives room for in Norwegian law.

Ingrid Margrethe Halvorsen Barlund: A Legal Analysis of Leniency in the Interaction of Public and Private Cartel Enforcement within EU Competition Law

The topic of the thesis is cartel enforcement, and more specifically, the functioning of leniency as one of several enforcement instruments fighting cartels within EU competition law. Leniency allows cartel members to cheat on their co-members by confessing and delivering evidence about the cartel to the competition authorities so that the cartel is detected, and the investigation streamlined, in return for amnesty from or reduction of one or several types of sanctions. The thesis examines the question of what the scope of leniency can and should be to allow a leniency applicant to self-report with confidence, without undermining the right to compensation of those having suffered losses due to the cartel, to assure the interest of society at large of undistorted competition. 

The dissertation is also published as a book: Ingrid Margrethe Halvorsen Barlund, Leniency in EU competition law (Wolters Kluwer 2020).

Ignacio Herrera Anchustegui: Byer Power in EU Competition Law

The topic of the dissertation is the analysis of buyer power and its treatment in Eu competition law. Buyer power represents the other side of competition law, focusing on buying conducts and how a buyer can exert its market power to the detriment of competition. The aim of the study and its main research question is connected to identifying, synthesizing, discussing, and evaluating the buyer power regulation in EU competition law. To do so, the research seeks to clarify what buyer power is, how it is legally treated, and whether there is a consistent and coherent buyer power competition policy and legal regulation in EU competition law. One of the main findings in the thesis is that the exploitation of buyer power can be harmful to competition and the EU competition law is apt to handle such exploitation. The thesis does, however, show that buyer power can have a positive effect on the market, in that it generates effective competition by reducing or neutralizing the power of the seller.

The dissertation is also published as a book: Ignacio Herrera Anchustegui, Buyer power in EU competition law (Institut de droit de la concurrence 2017).

Malgorzata Agnieszka Cyndecka: The Applicability and Application of the Market Economy Investor Principle

The subject of the present study is the applicability and application of the Market Economy Investor Principle, the MEIP. The MEIP is a well-established yardstick for determining whether a given state intervention amounts to aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU. It does so if this intervention confers an economic advantage upon a recipient undertaking, which it would not have obtained under normal market conditions. Consequently, granting of such an advantage, and thus aid, may be ruled out if the said intervention corresponds to a normal commercial transaction that would have been undertaken by a comparable private market operator in similar circumstances under normal market conditions.

The dissertation is also published as a book: Malgorzata Agnieszka Cyndecka, The Market economy investor test in EU state aid law : applicability and application (Wolters Kluwer 2016).

Herdis Helle: Konkurransereglane i EU- og EØS-retten som skranke for nasjonale styresmakter

The aim of the thesis is to provide a comprehensive overview of the obligations of Member States and EFTA-States under EU and EEA competition law. In particular, the thesis examines the question of how far the competition rules hinder national authorities to adopt measures that affect competition in the internal market.

Halvard Haukeland Fredriksen: OFfentligrettslig erstatningsansvar ved brudd på EØS-avtalen

The aim of the dissertation is to analyse and discuss both the legal basis and the content of the principle of State liability for breach of EEA law. At the core of the dissertation is, thus, the conditions for State liability, as laid down by the EFTA Court. It is on the basis of national law which the State must make reparations for the damage caused. The analyses in the dissertation are, thus, conducted from a Norwegian perspective, with an aim to clarify the impact of the EEA law principle of State liability upon the existing substantive and procedural conditions for the liability of public authorities laid down by Norwegian law.

The dissertation is also published as a book: Halvard H. Fredriksen, «Offentligrettslig erstatningsansvar ved brudd på EØS-avtalen» (2013), Fagbokforlaget (ISBN : 9788245015461).

Anniken Suominen: Gjensidig anerkjennelse i straffesaker mellom EUs medlemmer

Ronny Gjendemsjø: Oligopolproblemet - Om anvendelsen av TFEU artikkel 101 og 102 på koordinerte priser i et oligopol

The thesis deals with the application of Article 101 and 102 TFEU on coordinated pricing in oligopoly markets, and especially the question of whether tacit collusion is an infringement of Article 101 and 102 TFEU.

Christian Franklin: Consistency in EC External Relations Law

The thesis seeks to guide the reader along the evolutionary path of the Community principle of consistency – mapping out its origins, its present status and its future potential. The aim is to provide the fullest possible picture of the principle of consistency within the setting of the Community’s external relations law from whence it originally sprung.