Joint and several liability of cartel members in Spain

1. Joint and several liability
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Royal Decree Act 9/2017 (RD Ley 9/2017) provides for joint and several liability of undertakings that «have infringed competition law through joint behaviour» (art. 73(1) of the Competition Act [LDC]), with the exceptions provided for SMEs in art. 73(2) and (3) LDC. Although not explicitly defined – inasmuch as understood to appertain to the law of obligations – «joint and several liability» means that «each of those undertakings is bound to compensate for the harm in full, and the injured party has the right to require full compensation from any of them until he has been fully compensated» (art. 11(1) of Directive 2014/104/EU). Infringements of competition law prior to the entry into force of RD Ley 9/2017 will not be subject to the new joint and several liability rules (Transitory provision 1(1) RD Ley)…