The right to avoid self-incrimination during investigations of the competition authorities according to case-law
Abstract
The article is an excerpt from my dissertation thesis concerning investigative powers of the competition authorities. This article deals with one of the manifestations of the right to a fair trial, which must be respected during the investigations of alleged infringements of competition law.
Specifically, the article deals with the right of investigated entities to avoid self-incrimination and analyzes the existing case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice of the European Union and also the Czech courts. Given the fact that the investigated entities are usually legal persons, the primary question of this article is whether and to what extent legal persons enjoy the right to avoid self-incrimination and also how this is manifested during the investigation of competition authorities, namely the European Commission Office for the Protection of Competition.