Cyriel Ruers works as a lawyer in the field of public economic law, with a focus on competition law, market regulation and consumer protection matters.
He has a broad experience in administrative enforcement proceedings – such as administrative fines – before inter alia the Dutch Competition Authority (ACM), the Human Environment and Transport Directorate (ILT), The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) and the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM).
His competition law practice covers the full width and ranges from investigations by the ACM into antitrust infringements, merger notifications and advice on various forms of cooperation and (online) distribution. Additionally, he assists companies on investment screenings by the Investment Screening Agency (BTI), also known as the Investments Screening Bill.
Cyriel furthermore advises companies in regulated sectors, such as telecom, aviation and energy. For example, he assisted a big telecom provider in the most recent state auction of telecom frequencies (the "5G auction"). He also assisted airline companies in proceedings on the allocation and use of scarce slots at Schiphol Airport. In the energy sector, Cyriel advised on a range of issues, including access to district heating networks and compliance with the REMIT Regulation.
He also has extensive experience in consumer law. Cyriel advises and represents companies in various cases about unfair trade practices and online pricing. He has particular experience in greenwashing cases, most recently in proceedings before the Advertising Code Committee (RCC) concerning carbon offsets in the aviation sector.
Cyriel also regularly advises on other administrative law issues, such as scarce permits, subsidies and public access to government information (Open Government Act, formerly Wob).
Cyriel litigates on behalf of companies in civil law matters involving sector-specific regulation or consumer law. For example, he successfully defended an airline in proceedings brought by the Dutch Consumers' Association (Consumentenbond) and represented a telecom provider in various damages actions brought by a competitor regarding network access and access tariffs.
Cyriel has been recognized in the Legal500 lawyer’s guide as a Next Generation Partner in the Netherlands in the field of competition law. Clients describe him as “very knowledgeable,” “commercially savvy” and “not afraid to take a stand.”
Besides his practice, Cyriel regularly teaches courses for lawyers and in-house lawyers on developments in competition law, including at the Academie voor de Rechtspraktijk. The media also regularly consults him to comment on legal developments, such as RTL Nieuws on the auction of radio frequencies, Het Financieele Dagblad on fines for territorial supply restrictions, Het Parool on online trade in restaurant reservations and BNR Nieuwsradio on cartel fines, the Digital Markets Act, the abuse of a dominant position and the resale of concert tickets.
Cases that Cyriel has worked on:
- Succeful defense of a financial services firm against a multi-million euro fine imposed by the Dutch Financial Markets Authority (AFM);
- Representation of an international energy company in civil (damages) proceedings against the Dutch State regarding the mandatory closure of coal-fired power plants in the Netherlands;
- Assisting an international electronics company against a EUR 39 million fine by the ACM for alleged prohibited vertical influence on retail prices;
- Successful summary proceedings on behalf of two Dutch airlines against the slot coordinator (ACNL) regarding the application of new slot allocation rules.
- Assisting a major telecom provider during the latest State auction of telecom frequencies;
- Successful defense of a major telecom provider against a EUR 115 million damage claim by a competitor based on the abuse of a dominant position.
In 2021, Cyriel completed the Grotius specialization course in General Administrative Law. He is a regular contributor to the Journal for Corporate Law in Practice (Tijdschrift voor de Ondernemingsrechtpraktijk) and has written articles in various journals, most recently on merger control (gun jumping) in the Journal for Corporate Law in Practice and on the abuse of airport slots in the Journal for Transport & Law (Tijdschrift Vervoer & Recht). Previously, Cyriel published the 'Chronicle of unfair commercial practices 2020-2022' in the Journal for Consumer Law and Commercial Practices (Tijdschrift voor Consumenten en Handelspraktijken), a scientific article in TvC on the use of pricing algorithms and an article in the Journal for Energy Law (Tijdschrift voor Energierecht) on access to district heating networks. Other contributions have been published in, inter alia, SEW, JBPlus and the Aviation Law Review.
Cyriel obtains at least ten training credits annually in the legal practice area competition law in accordance with the standards set by the Netherlands Bar.
Before joining Maverick Advocaten, Cyriel was a lawyer at Allen & Overy (Amsterdam) for nearly 10 years.
