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    Rights statement: This is a draft of a chapter/article that has been accepted for publication by Oxford University Press in the forthcoming book The UK Competition Regime edited by Barry Rodger, Peter Whelen, Angus MacCulloch due for publication in 2021.

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The Quiet Decline of the UK Cartel Offence: A Principled Victory in the Face of Practical Failure

Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSNChapter

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The Quiet Decline of the UK Cartel Offence: A Principled Victory in the Face of Practical Failure. / Macculloch, Angus.
The UK Competition Regime: A Twenty-Year Retrospective. ed. / Barry Rodger; Peter Whelan; Angus MacCulloch. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021. p. 337-358.

Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSNChapter

Harvard

Macculloch, A 2021, The Quiet Decline of the UK Cartel Offence: A Principled Victory in the Face of Practical Failure. in B Rodger, P Whelan & A MacCulloch (eds), The UK Competition Regime: A Twenty-Year Retrospective. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 337-358. <https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-uk-competition-regime-9780198868026>

APA

Macculloch, A. (2021). The Quiet Decline of the UK Cartel Offence: A Principled Victory in the Face of Practical Failure. In B. Rodger, P. Whelan, & A. MacCulloch (Eds.), The UK Competition Regime: A Twenty-Year Retrospective (pp. 337-358). Oxford University Press. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-uk-competition-regime-9780198868026

Vancouver

Macculloch A. The Quiet Decline of the UK Cartel Offence: A Principled Victory in the Face of Practical Failure. In Rodger B, Whelan P, MacCulloch A, editors, The UK Competition Regime: A Twenty-Year Retrospective. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2021. p. 337-358

Author

Macculloch, Angus. / The Quiet Decline of the UK Cartel Offence : A Principled Victory in the Face of Practical Failure. The UK Competition Regime: A Twenty-Year Retrospective. editor / Barry Rodger ; Peter Whelan ; Angus MacCulloch. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2021. pp. 337-358

Bibtex

@inbook{f7e9761ae2f74605a5adca2a6f70f2a8,
title = "The Quiet Decline of the UK Cartel Offence: A Principled Victory in the Face of Practical Failure",
abstract = "The UK Cartel Offence was introduced in the Enterprise Act 2002 to challenge hard-core cartels and enhance the deterrent effect of the UK competition regime. In its initial phase of operation there was some success. However, a number of significant cases failed to secure convictions. This damaged confidence in the ability of the UK competition authorities to bring successful prosecutions, and ultimately questioned the usefulness of the Cartel Offence. This Chapter examines the problems that beset the original Cartel Offence and the lessons learned from the small number of prosecutions brought before the courts. It goes on to examine the reforms in 2013, that removed the controversial {\textquoteleft}dishonesty{\textquoteright} element from the offence, and replaced it with carve outs for openness and publication. Alongside the practical issues in relation to the development of the UK Cartel Offence consideration is also given to a parallel process which saw a form of consensus developing in the academic literature as to the nature of the wrong at the heart of individual cartel activity. It is suggested that this greater understanding can be used to direct efforts to rebuild confidence in the reformed UK Cartel Offence going forward. Increased importance should be given to the securing of good evidence of individual culpability in relation to cartel activity during the investigation phase. Once good evidence is secured, better prosecution cases can be built on the basis of the new narrative of wrongfulness for hard core cartel activity.",
author = "Angus Macculloch",
note = "This is a draft of a chapter/article that has been accepted for publication by Oxford University Press in the forthcoming book The UK Competition Regime edited by Barry Rodger, Peter Whelen, Angus MacCulloch due for publication in 2021.",
year = "2021",
month = may,
day = "6",
language = "English",
isbn = "9780198868026",
pages = "337--358",
editor = "Barry Rodger and Peter Whelan and Angus MacCulloch",
booktitle = "The UK Competition Regime",
publisher = "Oxford University Press",

}

RIS

TY - CHAP

T1 - The Quiet Decline of the UK Cartel Offence

T2 - A Principled Victory in the Face of Practical Failure

AU - Macculloch, Angus

N1 - This is a draft of a chapter/article that has been accepted for publication by Oxford University Press in the forthcoming book The UK Competition Regime edited by Barry Rodger, Peter Whelen, Angus MacCulloch due for publication in 2021.

PY - 2021/5/6

Y1 - 2021/5/6

N2 - The UK Cartel Offence was introduced in the Enterprise Act 2002 to challenge hard-core cartels and enhance the deterrent effect of the UK competition regime. In its initial phase of operation there was some success. However, a number of significant cases failed to secure convictions. This damaged confidence in the ability of the UK competition authorities to bring successful prosecutions, and ultimately questioned the usefulness of the Cartel Offence. This Chapter examines the problems that beset the original Cartel Offence and the lessons learned from the small number of prosecutions brought before the courts. It goes on to examine the reforms in 2013, that removed the controversial ‘dishonesty’ element from the offence, and replaced it with carve outs for openness and publication. Alongside the practical issues in relation to the development of the UK Cartel Offence consideration is also given to a parallel process which saw a form of consensus developing in the academic literature as to the nature of the wrong at the heart of individual cartel activity. It is suggested that this greater understanding can be used to direct efforts to rebuild confidence in the reformed UK Cartel Offence going forward. Increased importance should be given to the securing of good evidence of individual culpability in relation to cartel activity during the investigation phase. Once good evidence is secured, better prosecution cases can be built on the basis of the new narrative of wrongfulness for hard core cartel activity.

AB - The UK Cartel Offence was introduced in the Enterprise Act 2002 to challenge hard-core cartels and enhance the deterrent effect of the UK competition regime. In its initial phase of operation there was some success. However, a number of significant cases failed to secure convictions. This damaged confidence in the ability of the UK competition authorities to bring successful prosecutions, and ultimately questioned the usefulness of the Cartel Offence. This Chapter examines the problems that beset the original Cartel Offence and the lessons learned from the small number of prosecutions brought before the courts. It goes on to examine the reforms in 2013, that removed the controversial ‘dishonesty’ element from the offence, and replaced it with carve outs for openness and publication. Alongside the practical issues in relation to the development of the UK Cartel Offence consideration is also given to a parallel process which saw a form of consensus developing in the academic literature as to the nature of the wrong at the heart of individual cartel activity. It is suggested that this greater understanding can be used to direct efforts to rebuild confidence in the reformed UK Cartel Offence going forward. Increased importance should be given to the securing of good evidence of individual culpability in relation to cartel activity during the investigation phase. Once good evidence is secured, better prosecution cases can be built on the basis of the new narrative of wrongfulness for hard core cartel activity.

M3 - Chapter

SN - 9780198868026

SP - 337

EP - 358

BT - The UK Competition Regime

A2 - Rodger, Barry

A2 - Whelan, Peter

A2 - MacCulloch, Angus

PB - Oxford University Press

CY - Oxford

ER -