영국에서의 경쟁법상 형사 집행

A criminal cartel offence was introduced in the UK to enhance cartel deterrence as a complement to corporate fines. The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 has made substantial amendments to the criminal cartel offence in the Enterprise Act 2002. These amendments removed the dishonesty element from the offence and introduced several exclusions which prevent an agreement from constituting a cartel offence. Further, they introduced three defences to the criminal cartel offence. Some argue that the amendments provide flaws. First, there is not enough evidence that shows that the dishonesty requirement was an obstacle to a successful prosecution. Second there may be a conflict between the incentives of the individual and those of the company regarding the exclusion. Lastly, the legal advice defence may be an absurd one because the legal advice received would not need to be followed. A number of reasons have been suggested as to why the offence did not live up to expectations. These are related to: (i) the lack of a consensus with criminalization; (ii) the cost of enforcement and a lack of plea bargain; and (iii) conflicts with leniency programs. Several policy considerations arise in relation to cartel offences in the UK. First, cartel offences are designed to punish individuals responsible for cartels. In addition, sanctions such as Director Disqualification Orders can play an important role in deterrence of cartels. Further, it is necessary to develop an antitrust system which conform to our economic and social circumstances, considering strengths and weaknesses of the U.S. system.