The European Union’s highest court has upheld the authority of competition regulators to collect employee and executive emails during antitrust inspections without obtaining prior authorization from a judge, reinforcing investigative powers used in cartel and market abuse cases.
In a judgment issued Thursday, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) said EU law does not prohibit national competition authorities from seizing business-related electronic communications during so-called “dawn raids,” provided adequate procedural protections and judicial review mechanisms are available.
The ruling stems from legal challenges brought in Portugal by companies including Imagens Médicas Integradas, Synlabhealth II and SIBS, which contested actions taken by the Portuguese Competition Authority during antitrust investigations.
According to Reuters, which first reported the decision, the companies argued that the seizure of emails without prior court authorization violated fundamental rights protections under EU law. The CJEU rejected that position, finding that effective competition enforcement may justify such investigative measures when accompanied by appropriate legal safeguards.
The Luxembourg-based court stated that preserving fair competition within the EU’s internal market is a matter of public interest that can warrant intrusions into corporate communications, as long as affected parties retain access to judicial review.
The decision is expected to strengthen the hand of competition authorities across the European Union as regulators increasingly rely on digital evidence in investigations involving alleged anti-competitive conduct, abuse of dominance and cartel activity.
Competition agencies in Europe have expanded the use of electronic evidence gathering in recent years as business communications have shifted from paper records to emails, messaging platforms and cloud-based systems. Antitrust investigations frequently depend on internal communications to establish whether companies coordinated pricing, exchanged sensitive information or engaged in exclusionary practices.
The judgment also comes amid growing tensions between corporations and regulators over the scope of investigative powers. A number of companies have challenged EU competition authorities in court, arguing that information requests and inspection measures have become overly broad.
In June, the EU’s General Court rejected a challenge by French media group Vivendi over document requests linked to its acquisition of Lagardère, another case highlighting judicial support for regulators’ investigative powers. Reuters reported that Vivendi had argued the requests threatened journalistic confidentiality and privacy protections. The court dismissed those claims and upheld the European Commission’s authority to seek relevant information during merger investigations.
European competition authorities have in recent years intensified scrutiny of large companies across sectors ranging from technology and media to healthcare and financial services. The European Commission and national regulators have pursued cases involving digital market power, merger control and alleged restrictions on competition, reflecting broader efforts to address market concentration and preserve competitive conditions within the bloc.
According to the CJEU’s ruling, however, the exercise of investigative powers must remain subject to clear legal rules and subsequent review by national courts. The judgment does not eliminate procedural protections for companies but clarifies that prior judicial authorization is not necessarily a prerequisite under EU law for the seizure of business emails.
The Portuguese court that referred the questions to the EU tribunal will now apply the CJEU’s interpretation in resolving the underlying disputes involving the companies challenging the inspections.