Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.30925/zpfsr.47.2.2
Limitation Period for the Competition Law Enforcement: Comparative Analysis and Implementation Challenges
Dubravka Akšamović
; Sveučilište J. J. Strossmayera u Osijeku, Pravni fakultet Osijek, Hrvatska
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* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The paper examines the rules governing limitation periods in competition law enforcement proceedings under EU law and selected national legal systems, in particular Croatian, German, and French law. It analyses the similarities and differences in the regulation of limitation periods across these jurisdictions, with particular emphasis on the different approaches to determining the commencement of the limitation period, the grounds for its interruption, and the circumstances in which the limitation period expires. The paper further explains the specific purpose and objectives of limitation rules in competition law proceedings. It reviews the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the national courts of the Member States, focusing on contentious issues concerning the expiry of the limitation period in relation to infringements of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Particular attention is devoted to the jurisprudence of the CJEU, which has established that the expiry of a limitation period does not preclude competition authorities from finding and declaring the existence of an infringement. Finally, the paper provides an integrated overview of the principal findings regarding the harmonisation of limitation rules at the EU level and critically assesses the need for their uniform application in order to ensure the consistent and enforcement of EU competition law throughout the European Union.
Keywords
limitation period; limitation period for establishing an infringement; limitation period for the enforcement of fines.
Hrčak ID:
350938
URI
Publication date:
15.9.2026.
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