Madrid Competition Litigation Seminar 2026
7-8 May 2026
San Pablo-CEU University
School of Economics and Business (Moncloa Campus)
Julián Romea, 23
Programme
Thursday, 7 May 2026
11:00-11:30 Registration
11:30-11:45 Welcome & Introduction
- Jerónimo Maillo (Full Professor of EU Law and Jean Monnet Chair, San Pablo-CEU University)
- Purificación Martorell Zulueta (Magistrate, Appeal Court of Valencia)
- Paul Hitchings (MCLS Director)
11:45-13:00 The effective judicial protection of EU competition law rights and the procedural autonomy of the Member States
Maciej Szpunar (Advocate General, Court of Justice of the European Union)
Moderators: Burkhard Hess (Professor, University of Vienna) and Pieter van Cleynenbreugel (Professor of EU Law, University of Liège)
13:00-14:00 Effective collective redress: Introduction
- Rachael Mulheron KC (Professor, Queen Mary University of London and Member of Competition Appeal Tribunal)
- Xandra Kramer (Professor, Erasmus University, Rotterdam)
- Angel Galgo Peco (Magistrate, Court of Appeal, Madrid)
What are the current key challenges to effective collective redress in the EU?
System fragmentation: opt-out / opt-in regimes? UK review, new Dutch regime, Spain
Funding? EP Recommendation, Commission & ELI reports, regulation / judicial control.
Multi-jurisdictional and multi-level harm: cross-border claims, legal standing, jurisdiction.
14:00-15:15 Lunch
15:15-16:30 Effective collective redress: Break-Outs
Dr. Andreas Ruster (Partner, Wilkie Farr & Gallagher)
Blas González (Partner, Hitchings & González)
Opt-in, assignment or mandate models: are these a working solution?
– Legal challenges: validity, judicial control.
– The practical challenges of managing opt-in claims for courts and parties: access to data, communication, case management
– Cross-border claims?
Kieron Beal KC (Barrister, Blackstone Chambers, London)
Marc Ivaldi (Professor, Toulouse School of Economics)
Gustavo Andrés Martín (Magistrate, Commercial Court nº 1, Alicante)
Collective consumer actions and individual direct purchaser claims: how do we resolve it all?
– Avoiding contradictory judgments through procedural mechanisms (Art 15 Directive 2014/104). Experience and possible solutions.
– Proving and quantifying pass-on at different levels: standard of proof, methods.
Belinda Hollway (Hausfeld, Londres)
Mª Arantzazu Ortiz (Magistrate, Court of Appeal, Baleares)
Guillermo Schumann (Assistant Professor in Procedural Law, Madrid Complutense University)
Distribution – do the economics work?
– Mechanisms of distribution and their effectiveness. Case of settlements.
– Effective compensation of victims? Effective recovery of funding and litigation costs?
– Judicial control
16:30-17:00 Coffee Break
17:00-17:45 Effective collective redress: Conclusions
- Rachael Mulheron KC (Professor, Queen Mary University of London and Member of Competition Appeal Tribunal)
- Xandra Kramer (Professor, Erasmus University, Rotterdam)
- Angel Galgo Peco (Magistrate, Court of Appeal, Madrid)
17:45-19:00 Case management
- Gérard Terneyre (Presidente, Tribunal de Commerce, Paris)
-
Berta Pellicer (Commercial Court nº 3, Barcelona)
- Elske Boerwinkel (Judge, Netherlands Commercial Court )
Chair: Cristian Gual (Socio, Uría Menéndez)
20:00-22:00 Cocktail Dinner
Welcome Cocktail comes courtesy of Burford Capital at Hotel Palacio de los Duques Gran Madrid located at Cuesta de Santo Domingo, 5.
Dinner courtesy of
Friday, 8 May 2026
9:15-11:00 Private enforcement and digital platforms
- Richard Whish (Professor, King’s College London)
- Chris Myers (Assistant General Counsel Competition, Amazon)
- Dra. Avantika Chowdhury (Partner, Oxera)
Chair: Dr Niklas Brüggemann (Associate, Latham & Watkins)
Abuse of dominance (relevant markets, dominance and theories of harm); DMA follow-on litigation; forum selection.
Quantification of harm (counterfactuals, excessive pricing cases, …)
Examples: Google Shopping; Rachael Kent v. Apple; Robert Hammond v. Amazon; Stichting Consumenten Competition Claims v. Booking, 1&1 v Google
11:00-11:30 Coffee Break
11:30-13:00 Private Enforcement and the Health Sector
- Ann Pope (Former Senior Director Antitrust, CMA)
- Roberto García Soto (Competition Counsel, GSK)
Chairs: Jon Turner KC (Barrister, Monckton Chambers) and Jerónimo Maillo (Full Professor of EU Law and Jean Monnet Chair, San Pablo-CEU University)
“Pay for delay”; Cartels; Abuse of dominance.
Affected parties: public administrations, insurance, health professionals
Opportunities and challenges
Examples: Perindopril (NHS v Servier), Citalopram, Pharmacros v Vifor, CNAM v Sanofi, Avastin
13:00-14:00 Interview and wrap-up with judges
- Ignacio Sancho Gargallo (President, Civil Chamber, Supreme Court)
- Andrea Postiglione (Deputy Advocate General, Corte di Cassazione)
- Dr Jan Tolkmitt (Magistrate, Bundesgerichtshof)
Chairs: Paul Hitchings (MCLS Director) and Gustavo Andrés Martín (Magistrate, Commercial Court nº 1, Alicante)
Institutional questions (judicial organization): specialized courts; concentration mechanisms.
Case management: reclamaciones masivas, acuerdos de financiación, pruebas complejas y economistas.
Lessons learned from the seminar
14:00-15:00 Lunch
Programme sponsored by
Speakers
Andrea Postiglione
Angel Galgo Peco
Ann Pope
Mª Arantzazu Ortiz González
Burkhard Hess
Chris Myers
Cristian Gual
Dr Andreas Ruster
Dr Avantika Chowdhury
Dr Jan Tolkmitt
Dr Niklas Brüggemann
Gérard Terneyre
Guillermo Schumann Barragán
Gustavo Andrés Martín
Ignacio Sancho Gargallo
Jerónimo Maillo
Kieron Beal KC
Maciej Szpunar
Marc Ivaldi
Paul Hitchings
Pieter van Cleynenbreugel
Rachael Mulheron KC
Richard Whish
Roberto García Soto
Xandra Kramer
Berta Pellicer
Blas González
Jon Turner KC
Belinda Hollway
Purificación Martorell
Elske Boerwinkel
Steering Committee 2026
Paul Hitchings
MCLS Director
Sir Peter Roth
Hight Court Judge, London
Ignacio Sancho Gargallo
President, Civil Chamber, Supreme Court, Spain
Purificación Martorell Zulueta
Magistrate, Appeal Court of Valencia
Pieter Van Cleynenbreugel
Professor of EU Law, University of Liège
Burkhard Hess
Professor, University of Vienna
Rachael Mulheron KC
Professor, Queen Mary University of London and Member of Competition Appeal Tribunal
Zsuzsa Cserhalmi
Deputy Head, Private Enforcement & ECN+ Unit, DGCOMP, European Commission
Jon Turner KC
Barrister, Monckton Chambers
Dr Niklas Brüggemann
Associate, Latham & Watkins, Munich
Organisers 2026
MCLS26 is promoted by Hitchings Legal Services, S.L.P.. It is co-organised with the San Pablo-CEU University and supported by the Hitchings & González law firm. The Organising Committee for this edition is composed of: Jerónimo Maillo (Full Professor of EU Law and Jean Monnet Chair, San Pablo-CEU University, Madrid), Guillermo Schumann Barragán (Assistant Professor in Procedural Law, Madrid Complutense University), Arantzazu Ortiz (Magistrada, Audiencia Provincial de Baleares), Gustavo Andrés Martín (Magistrate, Court of Appeal, Baleares) and Samantha Pérez (Director of Organisation, MCLS)
Sponsors
MCLS26 is supported by Oxera as programme sponsor, and the welcome dinner is courtesy of Burford Capital.
Venue
San Pablo-CEU University
School of Economics and Business (Moncloa Campus)
Calle de Julián Romea, 23 (Chamberí), Madrid
The Center for Competition Policy and Regulation (CPCR) is a section of the Royal University Institute for European Studies (RIDEE) specialized in the study of Competition Law and Policy, as well as market regulation.
It promotes undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral education, organizes conferences and develops R&D projects, such as the current one on “Judges and Competition Law”. It also holds Jean Monnet Chair in “Single Market and Competition Law in the Digital & Ecological Transition Era”.
The RIDEE is a research center of the CEU San Pablo University, specialized in the study and analysis of European integration and international relations.
Designated a Jean Monnet Center of Excellence, it has received the European Excellence Award from the Community of Madrid and in 2020, the Royal House granted it the title of Royal. CEU San Pablo University is a private and Catholic higher education institution, based in Madrid, and sister universities in Barcelona, Valencia and Seville.
Accommodation
The Hotel Palacio de los Duques Gran Meliá
Cuesta de Sto. Domingo, 5, Centro, Madrid
A five-star establishment, will host the exclusive Welcome Cocktail on the evening of 7 May. Located in the heart of historic Madrid de los Austrias and included in the seminar’s selection of recommended hotels, it could be the perfect setting for those participants who wish to stay there.
For participants’ convenience, a discount on the official website rate has been negotiated at a selection of three centrally located hotels. You may make your individual booking here:
*We strongly recommend booking your accommodation well in advance to avoid potential rate increases.
MCLS Code
MCLS seeks to promote constructive debate among representatives from the various fields involved in this area in a professional and respectful environment.
It is important that participants read the principles and rules set out in the attached MCLS Code, which they agree to abide by when registering for the seminar.