The UK Response to the Global Effort Against Cartels: Is Criminalization Really the Solution?

30 Pages Posted: 13 Feb 2014 Last revised: 12 Apr 2016

See all articles by Alison Jones

Alison Jones

King's College London – The Dickson Poon School of Law

Rebecca A. Williams

University of Oxford - Faculty of Law

Date Written: January 1, 2014

Abstract

This article examines considers the global effort against hard core cartels and, in particular, the increasing tendency for states to introduce criminal cartel regimes and. It notes that, despite this tendency, few jurisdictions, aside from the US, have been successful in imprisoning individuals involved in cartel conduct. The article and examines why this might be, focusing on the difficulties and problems that have been encountered with the criminal cartel offence in the UK. The article discusses both theoretical and practical obstacles which appear, up until now, to have undermined the force and effectiveness of the UK regime and led to concerns about its scope. Given the difficulties identified, the article concludes that caution should be exercised before a state, intent on increasing deterrents to cartel activity, decides to criminalize such conduct. Rather, it recommends that such jurisdictions should consider not only criminalization of cartel activity but whether steps to enhance civil enforcement might be a preferable and more efficient solution for increasing the force of, and respect for, cartel rules.

Keywords: cartels, deterrence, criminal law, Article 101, Competition Act 1998, Enterprise Act 2002, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, enforcement policy

JEL Classification: K21, L40, L41

Suggested Citation

Jones, Alison and Williams, Rebecca A., The UK Response to the Global Effort Against Cartels: Is Criminalization Really the Solution? (January 1, 2014). (2014) Journal of Antitrust Enforcement 1-26, King's College London Law School Research Paper No. 2014-12, TLI Think! Paper 16/2016, Journal of Antitrust Enforcement, volume 2, issue 1, 2014 [10.1093/jaenfo/jnt017], Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2389632 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jaenfo/jnt017

Alison Jones (Contact Author)

King's College London – The Dickson Poon School of Law ( email )

Somerset House East Wing
Strand
London, WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

Rebecca A. Williams

University of Oxford - Faculty of Law ( email )

Pembroke College
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 1DW
United Kingdom
01865 286274 (Phone)
01865276418 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://denning.law.ox.ac.uk/members/profile.phtml?lecturer_code=rebecca_a.williams

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