Law of Cartels

The law against hard-core cartel activity involving conspiracies - such as price fixing, bid rigging, and marketing sharing agreements between competitors - is widely regarded as the centerpiece of competition law. It is a priority for both EU and UK competition authorities. The Law of Cartels is an authoritative work offering practical advice for both lawyers advising companies and for company directors. In addition to a comprehensive overview of the main aspects of the law, it offers guidance on dealing with cartel investigations by the competition authorities, implementing compliance programs to reduce the risk of cartel activity taking place, and it examines the options for companies accused of hard-core cartel activity. This second edition has been extensively re-written to take into account changes in the law affecting the enforcement regimes at both the UK and EU level. It examines in detail recent developments, such as the increasing regulation of information exchange, the refinement of the concept of 'hub and spoke' cartels, the first criminal conviction under the UK's cartel offense, revised EU fining guidelines and rising fines, and revised EU leniency guidelines.