Balancing competition authorities’ investigative powers and fundamental rights in the EU legal order

Competition authorities across the European Union wield extensive investigative powers in enforcing antitrust laws. These powers – including dawn raids, home searches and document seizures – can impinge upon fundamental rights such as privacy, the inviolability of the home, legal privilege, the right to communications and secrecy, and fair trial guarantees. This article examines how EU law seeks to balance effective antitrust enforcement with the protection of fundamental rights, analysing key jurisprudence from the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU), the General Court, and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), and the increasing tension with national constitutional defences. It discusses the evolution of this balance from early permissive approaches to more recent decisions that impose stricter safeguards on investigative practices. A comparative perspective is provided through the lens of several Member States – Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain – illustrating diverse national approaches and constitutional constraints in implementing EU competition law. The article further explores the rule of law principle, the doctrine of national procedural autonomy, and the convergence between the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), to conclude that uncovering cartels and abuses of dominance shall not come at the expense of Europe’s foundational commitment to fundamental rights and the rule of law.