Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Reference definition

What does Reference mean? In employment practice, a reference is information provided by a current or former employer to a prospective employer about a worker’s employment history, performance and suitability for a role. The term is descriptive rather than statutory, but its legal features are shaped by case law. Across England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, an employer owes a duty of care to take reasonable care in preparing a reference so it is true, accurate and fair overall, and not misleading (often cited by reference to Spring v Guardian Assurance). References attract qualified privilege in defamation, defeated by malice, and may give rise...

Donau Chemie (CJEU): Austrian blanket consent bar on third‑party access to cartel leniency programme files unlawful; courts must balance disclosure and leniency to facilitate Article 101 TFEU damages actions

Published by a LexisNexis Competition expert

Practice notes

CASE HUB ARCHIVED – this archived case hub sets out the position as at the judgment handed down on 6 June 2013; it is no longer maintained. See further: timeline, commentary and related/relevant cases

Case facts

Outline

National reference from the Austrian cartel Court on whether Austrian rules, which in practice bar third‑party access to leniency materials lodged with the national court, are consistent with EU law.

Parties

Verband Druck & Medientechnik, a trade body representing businesses in the Austrian printing industry
Oberlandesgericht Wien (Austrian Cartel Court)
Bundeswettbewerbsbehörde (BWB) — the Austrian Federal Competition Authority
Donau Chemie AG and six others

Market(s)

Austria’s wholesale supply market for printing chemicals.

Background to reference

Following a leniency submission in April 2009, the BWB petitioned the Cartel Court to impose penalties on several companies active in Austria’s printing chemicals market for participating in a cartel. On 26 March 2010 the Cartel Court allowed the application and later ordered fines totalling €1,519,000, a ruling upheld by the Supreme Cartel Court on 4 October 2010...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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