Oral Hearing

Abstract This chapter examines the right to an oral hearing in antitrust cases. Article 27 of Regulation 1/2003 provides for the hearing of parties, complainants, and others, but no right to an oral hearing is granted. The antitrust proceedings conducted by the European Commission are primarily written proceedings. Before adopting a decision, the Commission must address its objections in writing to the parties concerned, who may submit in writing their comments on these objections within a set time limit. In these written comments, the parties may request the opportunity ‘to develop their arguments’ at an oral hearing. The oral hearing is always ‘the oral hearing of the parties to whom a statement of objections has been addressed’. Third persons may, where appropriate, be allowed to attend the oral hearing and to express their views, but this is only secondary to the main purpose of the oral hearing. The chapter then considers a number of procedural steps that follow the oral hearing.