Plea Bargaining – Settlement of Cartel Cases

Plea agreements or negotiated settlements can be an efficient way to formally dispose of cartel cases. They can provide substantial benefits to competition authorities by allowing them to allocate their resources more efficiently and to increase enforcement activities, thus achieving greater deterrence. Plea agreements have substantial benefits for defendants as well. Negotiated settlements or plea agreements can be regarded as contracts in which each side agrees to give up some entitlements it would have if the case went to a full trial or through a full administrative procedure ending with a formal decision the competition authority gives up the right to seek or impose higher penalties