The object of the present article is to undertake a critical analysis of the role of the Hearing Officer within the administrative procedure for the enforcement of European Union (EU) competition law, in the light of the Terms of Reference of October 2011. In section 2, the author analyses the powers of the Hearing Officer as regulated in the Terms of Reference of 2011 and his present institutional status. In section 3, after referring to the need to introduce far-reaching reforms in order to tackle the structural deficiencies in the administrative procedure, the author critically assesses the present legal framework regulating the post of the Hearing Officer by suggesting a wide array of less ambitious reforms that should be envisaged in the short term. Finally, the author concludes by stating that although the proposed reforms would indeed contribute to the creation of a more solid and effective check and balance within the administrative procedure, they do not suffice to definitively allay the concerns as to the potential incompatibility of the procedure with Article 6 of the ECHR.
World Competition