Case 550/07 P, Akzo Nobel Chemicals Ltd and Akcros Chemicals Ltd v European Commission, Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 14 September 2010, not yet reported

The judgment annotated here raises a number of questions worthy of attention. Based on the findings of the Court of Justice, this contribution assesses the stance followed since AM & S, and advocates a more substantive approach in ascertaining the requirement of independence. To that end, it will be necessary to verify: first, whether the exclusion of in-house lawyers complies with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (hereafter, CFR or the Charter) and, in a de lege ferenda perspective, with the standard applicable under the European Convention on Human Rights (hereafter, ECHR); second, whether the AM & S formula, as recently clarified, is truly viable in the context of EU antitrust proceedings. Some final considerations will try to clarify the legal implications of the decision in light of the specific regulatory features of EU competition enforcement.