Earlier this month, John Temple Lang, the former Director at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition, passed away. Hereunder, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Carl Baudenbacher, the former President of the EFTA Court, discusses his legacy for EU competition law.
Dr. John Temple Lang, one of Europe’s foremost lawyers, passed away on 4 November 2022, the feast of the great church reformer Charles Borromeo, at the age of 85. I got to know John in the late 1990s when he was a Director in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition. I was the junior Judge of the EFTA Court. Our first meeting in Brussels was as interesting as it was genial. John, who in DG Comp was responsible for telecommunications and media, not only had clear ideas about how European competition policy should look. In addition, he also had an excellent knowledge and understanding of the European Economic Area Agreement and its challenges. John’s departure from the Commission in 2000 caused something of a stir with European Voice then aptly observing: “What Temple Lang doesn’t know about competition policy you can write on the back of the proverbial postage stamp”.
Having joined the leading American law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, John became a regular speaker at the St. Gallen International Competition Law Forum ICF and a lecturer on the Executive Master of Business Law program of the University of St. Gallen HSG. The latter took place on three continents: Europe, North America, and Asia. One of the highlights of the IP law module, always held at the University of Texas at Austin in the week of Halloween, was John’s lecture on C-418/01 IMS Health, an essential facility law case he had won himself before the ECJ.
John was also a prominent commentator on the most pressing EEA law issues facing the EFTA Court. To give just two examples: John’s speeches and publications prepared the ground for the jurisprudence according to which, from the perspective of loyalty and reciprocity, the national supreme courts of the EEA/EFTA States are not free in deciding whether to refer a case to the EFTA Court, despite the absence of a written requirement. It is a beautiful coincidence that the influence of the great Irish jurist came to bear in the EFTA Court’s E-18/11 Irish Bank case. And following the EFTA Court’s landmark ruling on the scope of judicial review of fining decisions in E-15/10 Norway Post, John authored several high-profile comparative law essays. For those who had witnessed the circumstances of his departure from the Commission in 2000, this was not surprising. What obviously fascinated John about the EEA was the fact that the existence of a second court in Europe opened up possibilities for systemic competition.
My last common undertaking with John was in June 2017. He had taken a keen interest in Brexit and was much involved in the Dublin Institute of International Affairs (IIEA). John and I spoke at an IIEA event with the title “Brexit’s Judicial Landscape” together with the former Irish Judge of the EU General Court John Cooke (who died in May 2022) and the now Irish Judge of the General Court Suzanne Kingston. John and I recommended to the Irish government to work towards Brexit Britain joining the EFTA pillar of the EEA. The next day, I spoke at St. Mary’s University in Belfast and noticed that John had established close contacts with Northern Irish decisionmakers in this matter. However, our endeavour was not successful. In my view, it is a pity that we were not listened to. The Northern Ireland Protocol, on which the EU and the UK agreed in the end, is by no means an ideal solution.
I am deeply indebted to my friend John Temple Lang. He was not only a grandee of European law and European affairs, who generously shared his immense knowledge and experience with others, including myself. He was also a warm-hearted man whose penetrating voice and Irish wit I will not forget. I extend my heartfelt condolences, together with my wife Doris, to his partner Enda Cogan who always accompanied John to Switzerland.
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Carl Baudenbacher, Partner Nobel Baudenbacher, Zurich/Brussels, President of the EFTA Court 2003-2017
Ex-Cleary Gottlieb Veteran and 'Father' of EU Competition Law Passes Away https://t.co/lNAWZVTZKw
— Law.com International (@lawdotcomINTL) November 9, 2022
