The lead judge of the European Union's second-highest court has proposed
changing justices in the Microsoft antitrust appeal, according to several published reports.
The suggestion comes after a wave of criticism aimed at the judge heading
the Microsoft antitrust case following a newspaper article he wrote
criticizing other judges and clerks involved in the appeal, according to a
letter sent to all parties in the case.
Reuters also reported that Court of First Instance President Bo Vesterdorf said the appeal should be
transferred to a panel which he will head, primarily because public comments
made by current head justice Hubert Legal, criticizing the court's
"arbitrary power."
D.C. Federal Judge Takes Center Stage in Two Huge Telecom Mergers::
the Justice Departments antitrust actions against Microsoft in the 1990s. novice at handling pressure-packed cases -- hes been a judge at almost every
http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1153744533996HOME |
The appeal of the European Commission's antitrust ruling, which is part
of the 25-nation European Union, fined Microsoft a record $613 million after
it ruled the company abused its "virtual
monopoly" with its Windows operating system, breaking European
antitrust law governing competition.
Microsoft faces video deposition parade - Dec. 16, 1998::
In excerpts from a videotaped deposition played during the Microsoft Corp. antitrust trial Wednesday, a Packard Bell NEC executive said a majority of his customers
http://money.cnn.com/1998/12/16/technology/microsoftHOME |
Microsoft's appeal is currently in front of the Court of First Instance
in Luxembourg, which is headed by Legal.
Legal has also faced criticism for speaking publicly about the case. Calls for his removal came after he published an article in the French
journal Concurrences (Competition) saying some of the judges' clerks tended
to regard themselves as "ayatollahs of free enterprise" and should avoid an
impression of "arbitrary power," according to the Reuters.
Microsoft still hoping for EU settlement - U.S. business - MSNBC.com::
EUs case may have been bolstered by last weeks admission by the trial judge in for past antitrust abuses, they could still change their mind,
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4073424HOME |
Judge: Merger Changes Everything::
The judge presiding over the Microsoft antitrust trial says a pending merger that are reluctant to deal with Caldera because of pressure from Microsoft.
http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/1998/12/16873HOME |
All members of the 25-judge court will meet this week to vote on
Vesterdorf's proposals, once those who received the letter offer their
comments by Friday.
A Microsoft spokesman was not immediately available for comment on the developments.
Vesterdorf previously heard Microsoft's
unsuccessful attempt in 2004 to drop sanctions until the case was
complete.
"It is an attempt to make vivid for the academics a theoretical,
intellectual problem which we have to face in the future," Legal told
Reuters, attempting to explain the reason for writing the article in the
French publication.
"There was no criticism intended of Bo Vesterdorf in particular and no
criticism intended for the case law of the Court of First Instance or for
the court itself," he said.
It is not the first time Microsoft has been forced top deal with judges
speaking about their anti-trust woes with the media. In 2001 U.S. District
Judge Thomas Jackson
http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/899801">improperly gave
interviews about the U.S. antitrust case while the suit was ongoing.
 Cablevision To Go Private
 CA Aims to Help SMBs Protect, Secure and Migrate
| 
HOME