FUNDAMENTAL PROCEDURAL RIGHTSAND ECB BANKINGSUPERVISION:AN ECB HEARING OFFICER?

This article explores the possibility of establishing a position at theEuropean Central Bank (ECB) along the lines of the Hearing Officer(HO) provided for in European competition law; a position whose taskwould be to safeguard the effective exercise of procedural rightsthroughout the supervisory proceedings carried out by the ECB. To thisend, after identifying the reasons that might justify such a regulatoryintervention, the article outlines the legislation on the HO laid down inEuropean competition law. It then illustrates some functions that could beentrusted to the HO of the ECB and the regulatory instruments that couldconcretely be used to establish the HO position. In the conclusions, thearticle suggests that the introduction of this position within the frameworkof the ECB should be undertaken gradually