4.1 The effects doctrine : A development which is linked to the protective principle and to the objective territorial principle is the emergence of a particular type of extra-territorial jurisdiction known as the ‘effects doctrine’. According to this doctrine, States claim jurisdiction over acts committed abroad which produce harmful effects within the territory. The rationale behind the effects doctrine is the need to

doi:10.4324/9781843143802-62

Chapter

ABSTRACT

Any state may impose liabilities, even upon persons not within its allegiance, for conduct outside its borders that has consequences within its borders which the state reprehends.

An infringement of Article 85, such as the conclusion of an agreement which has the effect of restricting competition within the Common Market, consists of conduct made up of two elements, the formation of the agreement, decision or concerted practice and the implementation thereof. If the applicability of prohibitions laid down under competition law were made to depend on the place where the agreement, decision or concerted practice was formed, the result would obviously be to give undertakings an easy means of evading those prohibitions. The decisive factor is therefore the place where it is implemented.