The Standard of Proof in EC Merger Control-Conclusions from the Sony BMG Saga. IES WORKING PAPER 4/2008

One of the most important developments in EC competition policy during 2006 was the Court of First Instance’s (CFI) Impala v. Commission judgment annulling the European Commission’s approval of the merger between the music units of Sony and Bertelsmann. It harshly criticized the Commission’s Decision because it found that the evidence relied on was not capable of substantiating the conclusion. This was the first time that a merger decision was annulled for not meeting the requisite legal standard for authorizing the merger. Consequently, the CFI raised fundamental questions about the standard of proof incumbent on the Commission in its merger review procedures. On July 10, 2008, the European Court of Justice overturned Impala, yet it did not resolve the fundamental question underlying the judicial review of the Sony BMG Decision; does the Commission have the necessary resources and expertise to meet the Community Court’s standard of proof? This paper addresses the wider implications of the Sony BMG saga for the Commission’s future handling of complex merger investigations. It argues that the Commission may have set itself an impossible precedent in the second approval of the merger. While the Commission has made a substantial attempt to meet the high standard of proof imposed by the Community Courts, it is doubtful that it will be able to jump the fence again in a similar fashion under normal procedural circumstances.

Dulce domum, the burden of the song.

Poems.

The burden of the South, in verse; or, Poems on slavery,

Also appears in his Stanzas to Queen Victoria, 1866, p. 5-96.

The burden of neutrality : notes for onlookers in time of war /

Mode of access: Internet.

Burden of heart disease and stroke in Illinois : mortality, morbidity and risk factors.

"February 2007"

Illinois arthritis data report : the burden of arthritis in Illinois in 2002 /

Updates the previous Data report which provided the burden of arthritis in Illinois during 2000. This report represents an analysis of arthritis-related data gathered primarily from the Illinois Dept. of Public Health's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for 2002.

The burden of cardiovascular disease and obesity in the state of Illinois : [a report to the governor of Illinois and the Illinois General Assembly as required by S.J.R. 37]

"P.O. #301078"--Colophon.

The burden of diabetes in Illinois : medicaid, medicare, general population /

"Funding for this project was provided through a Cooperative Agreement (U32/CCU515667-04) with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Division of Diabetes Translation"--P. i.

Observations on the Discourse of natural theology by Henry, lord Brougham; chiefly relating to His Lordship's doctrine of the immateriality of the human mind, as proved by psychological phenomena; the applicability of the inductive method of proof to natural theology, so far as relates to psychological facts; dreams ... and the bearing of the "Discourse" on divine revelation ...

With this is bound the author's Additional observations on the Discourse of natural theology by Henry, lord Brougham. 1835.

Observations on the defects of the poor laws, and on the causes and consequences of the great increase and burden of the poor : with a proposal for redressing these grievances. In a letter to a member of Parliament /

Goldsmiths'-Kress no. 08743.

The burden of Isis, being the laments of Isis and Nephthys; tr. from the Egyptian,

Series title also at head of t.-p.

Workers' compensation by state : asssessing the burden of workers' compensation by business size : final report /

"March 1995."

Influence of body iron store status and cigarette smoking on cadmium body burden of healthy Thai women and men

The influence of cigarette smoking, body iron store status and gender on cadmium (Cd) body burden was examined in a group of 197 healthy Thais with overall mean age of 30.5 year (19-47 year). The lowest, geometric mean, and the highest urinary Cd excretion rate was 0.04, 0.46 and 3.84 mug/g creatinine, respectively. The prevalence of low iron stores (serum ferritin

The burden of major depression avoidable by longer-term treatment strategies

Background: Major depression is the largest single cause of nonfatal disease burden in Australia. Effective drug and psychological treatments exist, yet are underused. Objective: To quantify the burden of disease currently averted in people seeking care for major depression and the amount of disease burden that could be averted in these people under optimal episodic and maintenance treatment strategies. Design: Modeling impact of current and optimal treatment strategies based on secondary analysis of mental health survey data, studies of the natural history of major depression, and meta-analyses of effectiveness data. Monte Carlo simulation of uncertainty in the model. Setting: The cohort of Australian adults experiencing an episode of major depression in 2000 are modeled through "what if" scenarios of no treatment, current treatment, and optimal treatment strategies with cognitive behavioral therapy or antidepressant drug treatment. Main Outcome Measure: Disability-Adjusted Life Year. Results: Current episodic treatment averts 9% (95% uncertainty interval, 6%-12%) of the disease burden of major depression in Australian adults. Optimal episodic treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy could avert 28% (95% uncertainty interval, 19%-39%) of this disease burden, and with drugs 24% (95% uncertainty interval, 19%-30%) could be averted. During the 5 years after an episode of major depression, current episodic treatment patterns would avert 13% (95% uncertainty interval, 10%-17%) of Disability-Adjusted Life Years, whereas maintenance drug treatment could avert 50% (95% uncertainty interval, 40%-60%) and maintenance cognitive behavioral therapy could avert 52% (95% uncertainty interval, 42%-64%), even if adherence of around 60% is taken into account. Conclusions: Longer-term maintenance drug or psychological treatment strategies are required to make significant inroads into the large disease burden associated with major depression in the Australian population.

Burden of disease and injury in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations in the Northern Territory

Objective: To quantify the burden of disease and injury for the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations in the Northern Territory. Design and setting: Analysis of Northern Territory data for 1 January 1994 to 30 December 1998 from multiple sources. Main outcome measures: Disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), by age, sex, cause and Aboriginality. Results: Cardiovascular disease was the leading contributor (14.9%) to the total burden of disease and injury in the NT, followed by mental disorders (14.5%) and malignant neoplasms (11.2%). There was also a substantial contribution from unintentional injury (10.4%) and intentional injury (4.9%). Overall, the NT Aboriginal population had a rate of burden of disease 2.5 times higher than the non-Aboriginal population; in the 35-54-year age group their DALY rate was 4.1 times higher. The leading causes of disease burden were cardiovascular disease for both Aboriginal men (19.1%) and women (15.7%) and mental disorders for both non-Aboriginal men (16.7%) and women (22.3%). Conclusions: A comprehensive assessment of fatal and non-fatal conditions is important in describing differentials in health status of the NT population. Our study provides comparative data to identify health priorities and facilitate a more equitable distribution of health funding.