March Antitrust Bulletin

UK Announces Competition Regime Reforms

On March 15, 2012, the UK government announced its plan to merge the country's two competition authorities, the Competition Commission and the Office of Fair Trading, to create a single enforcement agency, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Among other duties, the CMA will be responsible for merger review, market investigations and cartel enforcement. The plan also includes a proposal to lower the bar for criminal enforcement of cartel conduct by eliminating the dishonesty element of the cartel offense. Under the current standard, the government must show that the defendant knew or should have known that the conduct was illegal. Elimination of the dishonesty element is expected to increase cartel enforcement and enhance deterrence. The announcement follows an extensive consultation during which the UK government considered a number of options to modernize and streamline its competition regime.