彭博社观点专栏作家哈维尔·布拉斯报道，一名德国经济学家向柏林一家法院起诉欧佩克，指控该组织推高了他购买的汽油和取暖油的价格。尽管金额微不足道，但这起诉讼最终可能会让欧佩克付出超出其承受能力的代价。

法律和经济学教授Armin Steinbach起诉欧佩克，要求赔偿50美元（50欧元）及利息，声称欧佩克是一个非法的垄断联盟，旨在推高油价。尽管美国对一项允许对欧佩克生产商提起诉讼的法案进行了几十年的一波三折的辩论，但法院还是允许了这一案件继续进行，这是对欧佩克罕见的法律挑战。

柏林一家地区法院的法官允许该案件继续审理，并已命令欧佩克和几家国家控制的石油公司提交一份文件，指定他们为该案件的律师。

"我希望欧佩克尽快对法院的命令做出反应。无视法院命令并不是与德国法院打交道的明智策略，"德国原告Steinbach周一在推特上说。

在他的诉求中，Steinbach曾写道，他正在寻求 "由于违反反垄断法 "而造成的损失。

"如果我的诉讼成功，法院将首次承认欧佩克是个垄断联盟，"Steinbach上周告诉德国商业日报Handelsblatt，"然后每个德国人都可以起诉欧佩克要求赔偿。"他补充说。

这样的先例可能会产生法律后果，尽管包括美国在内的国家一直对取消国家被起诉的主权豁免权持谨慎态度，因为担心报复性诉讼。

在美国，参议院司法委员会上个月将允许美国起诉欧佩克的反垄断行为和市场操纵的法案提交给了参议院。所谓的《禁止石油生产和出口卡特尔》（NOPEC）法案提议修改《谢尔曼法》，将石油生产和出口垄断联盟定为非法。20多年来，NOPEC一直是美国立法者和政府的一个断断续续的话题，但从未在国会委员会的讨论中取得进展。小布什总统和奥巴马总统在不同时期都讨论过针对欧佩克的反垄断立法，但他们都威胁要否决此类立法。

虽然NOPEC法案可能再次陷入僵局，但公民对欧佩克的诉讼可能为更多针对该组织的法庭诉讼创造先例。

原文：

German Economist Sues OPEC, Wants $50 in Compensation

A German economist has filed a lawsuit against OPEC with a Berlin court, accusing the cartel of pushing up the prices of the gasoline and heating oil he is buying, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Javier Blas reports—and despite the paltry sum, the suit could end up costing OPEC more than it can afford.

Armin Steinbach, Professor of law and economics, is suing OPEC for damages for $50 (50 euros), plus interest, alleging that OPEC is an illegal cartel operating to drive up oil prices. The court has allowed the case, which is a rare legal challenge against OPEC, despite decades of one-and-off debates in the United States about a bill that would allow lawsuits against OPEC producers.

The judge in a regional court in Berlin allowed the case to proceed and has ordered OPEC and several state-controlled oil firms to file a document naming their lawyers for the case.

“I hope OPEC reacts soon to the court order. Ignoring court orders is not smart strategy in dealing with German courts,” the German plaintiff, Steinbach, tweeted on Monday.

In his claim, Steinbach had written that he was seeking damages “due to violation of antitrust law.”

“If my lawsuit is successful, it would be recognized for the first time in court that OPEC is a cartel,” Steinbach told German business daily Handelsblatt last week. “Then every German could sue OPEC for damages,” he added.

Such a precedent could have legal consequences, although countries, including the U.S., have been wary of removing the sovereign immunity for countries to be sued, for fear of retaliatory lawsuits.

In the United States, the Senate Judiciary Committee moved last month the bill that would allow the U.S. to sue OPEC for antitrust behavior and market manipulation to the Senate. The so-called No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels (NOPEC) Act proposes to amend the Sherman Act to make oil-producing and exporting cartels illegal. NOPEC has been an on-and-off topic for U.S. lawmakers and Administrations for over two decades but has never moved past discussions at committees in Congress. Forms of antitrust legislation aimed at OPEC were discussed at various times under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, but they both threatened to veto such legislation.

While the NOPEC bill may be dead in the water again, a private citizen’s lawsuit against OPEC could set precedents for more court actions against the organization.