Justin Lindeboom: Competition Law & Digital Markets through the prism of Legal Theory and EU Law

Justin Lindeboom, Associate Professor of Law, University of Groningen
Pleasure to record a conversation with one of the very few academics combining their expertise in competition law with deep understanding of the broader issues of Legal Theory and EU law. Both trajectories are quintessential for maturing the area of competition law & digital markets and his contribution in the process is very noticeable. In this conversation Justin Lindeboom reflects upon the foundational issues of European Competition Law, Legal Theory and DMA.
Among the topics covered in this interview are the following:
• Increasing sophistication of the factors examined in individual competition law cases and its implications
• Market definition: how discoverable markets are
• Is the degree of discretion in any competition case wider than conventionally acknowledged?
• Is competition enforcement a part of scientific process?
• Implications of the established combination of extensive use of economic analysis and application of strict standards of judicial scrutiny
• Emergence of new forms of legal formalism as a countermovement
• Other countermovements to economic sophistication: relativism and realism
• Issues we can (should!) learn from US constitutional jurisprudence
• Another solution – fighting fire by fire: complexity theories
• Does the DMA cut the Gordian knot (in the right place)?
• Will the DMA’s enforcer discretion last long – or only until the first wave of cases?
• Will the courts accept the degree of discretion granted to the Commission by the DMA?
• Will the DMA deliver? What should it aim to deliver? What are the yardsticks? What is the counterfactual?
• Implications of the DMA on the enforcement philosophy of 102 TFEU
• How important is the role of EU competition law in the general EU law?
• The relevance of general EU law precedents has not been operationalised in full by competition law/-ers
• The role of CJEU in these processes
• Recommendations to students

In previous 82nd episode (published last Tuesday) we discussed with Rita Wezenbeek the latest development with enforcing the DMA:    • Rita Wezenbeek – The Digital Markets ...  
In the next 84th episode (to be published next Tuesday) we’ll have a panel on EU judicial activism with three remarkable EU legal academics: Prof. Elaine Faley, Prof. Sabine Saurugger and Dr Giulia Gentile.
----------------------------------
The Digital Markets Research Hub is an independent academic initiative aiming at scrutinising the functioning of competition/regulation in digital markets. We host one-to-one interviews with leading policymakers, regulators and practitioners. We also organise online mini-workshops inviting high-profile experts and academics in various fields of digital competition law & policy to discuss the most vibrant issues of the ongoing regulatory reforms in digital markets. While having our clear normative stand on the matters discussed within the hub, we value different views and invite relevant stakeholders and thinkers representing the whole spectrum of reasonable positions on how to regulate competition in digital markets. All our materials are available at YouTube channel, which you are very welcome to subscribe to. This interview is organised & conducted by Prof. Oles Andriychuk, School of Law, University of Exeter.