This book is the first detailed treatment of the approaches taken to enforce competition laws against cross-border cartels (CBCs) from the perspective of young and small competition authorities (more than 70% of the total number of authorities worldwide). No other legal or inter-disciplinary scholarship exists in the market that deals with the issue of a taxonomy of CBCs combined with young/small competition authorities’ problems.
The book looks at the extent of the harms caused by CBCs and issues associated with tackling them at a transnational level. It explains why past solutions to problems with cooperation have failed and proposes novel ideas on how to improve cooperation and coordination in certain types of CBC investigations (transnational and regional CBCs). The proposals are based on primary-source information and observations made by the author as part of his work in the UN, and interviews with leading enforcers from young, small, old and large jurisdictions.
Young/small competition authorities, competition lawyers and economists, scholars and students within the fields of competition law and international law, and those interested in international cooperation and coordination in the area of cartel enforcement in emerging markets will greatly benefit from this book. It is clearly structured and extensively referenced, providing a valuable guide to the topic.
Catching the Uncatchable Pathways to Cooperation in Cartel Enforcement Dismantling Perceptions about CBCs in the Developing World Perception 1: Younger or Smaller Competition Authorities Should Prioritise Going after Domestic Cartels before Investigating Complex CBCs Perception 2: Cross-Border Cartels are All the Same, and there are One-Size-Fits-All Solutions Perception 3: Regional CBCs can only be Successfully Targeted by Effective Regional Competition Authorities Perception 4: Anti-Cartel Laws in Emerging Markets are Still in their Infancy Perception 5: Trust is the First Issue to Look at when Dealing with Younger Jurisdictions Perception 6: In Cartel Enforcement, All Information Exchanged by Competition Authorities is Confidential Turning a Paper Tiger into an Effective Hunter Methodology and Exposure PART I CROSS BORDER CARTELS 1. Conceptual Framework 1.1. Definition of Cross-Border Cartels 1.2. Implications of the Size and Maturity of Competition Regimes for CBC Enforcement 1.3. CBCs and Algorithms 1.4. Summary 2. Classification of Cross-Border Cartels 2.1. Rationale for the Classification of CBCs 2.2. Types of CBCs 2.3. Summary 3. Theory and Practice of International Cooperation 3.1. Rationale for Cooperation 3.2. Tools for International Cooperation and Information-Sharing 3.3. International Organisations 3.4. Summary PART II CHALLENGES OF CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION IN MULTIJURISDICTIONAL CARTEL ENFORCEMENT 4. Multinational vs Transnational CBCs 4.1. Challenges in Multinational CBC Enforcement 4.2. Challenges in Transnational CBC Enforcement 4.3. Summary 5. Specific Issues for Young or Small Competition Authorities in Investigating Regional Cross-Border Cartels 5.1. Lack of Effective Regional Competition Authorities 5.2. Different Legal Standings Regarding Cartel Offences 5.3. Diverse Set of Rules Concerning the Powers of Investigation 5.4. Diverse Adjudication Techniques 5.5. Issues Related to Export and Import Cross-Border Cartel Investigations 5.6. Summary 6. Past Solutions to Combatting Cross-Border Cartels 6.1. Most Common Solutions to Improve Multijurisdictional Cooperation in Cross-Border Cartel Investigations 6.2. Most Common Partial Solutions to Improve Cooperation in Regional, Export and Import CBC Investigations 6.3. Summary PART III NOVEL PROPOSALS TO TARGET SELECTED TYPES OF CROSS-BORDER CARTELS 7. CBCs in Latin America 7.1. Competition Law and Policy Developments in Latin America 7.2. National Cartel Cases with Regional Cross-Border Dimensions 7.3. Cross-Border Cartels in Latin America 7.4. Existing Efforts of CBC Enforcement in Latin America 7.5. Summary 8. Strengthening Cooperation between Mature and Young Competition Authorities in Transnational Cross-Border Cartel Investigations 8.1. Introducing Calculus-Based Trust Activities 8.2. Towards an International Benchmark for the Definition of ‘Sharable Information’ 8.3. Strengthening the ICN for Sharing Non-Confidential Information 8.4. Summary 9. Strengthening Cooperation Among Young Competition Authorities in Regional Cross-Border Cartel Investigations 9.1. From Calculus-Based Trust (CBT) to Knowledge-Based Trust (KBT) 9.2. Strengthening Information Cooperation Through Coordination Games 9.3. Summary and Outlook 10. Conclusions 10.1. Building Blocks for Effective Transnational CBC Investigations 10.2. From Cooperation to Coordination in Regional CBC Investigations 10.3. Final Reflections
Pierre Horna is a Legal Affairs Official at the Competition and Consumer Policies Branch of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
