Cartels, Markets and Crime A Normative Justification for the Criminalisation of Economic Collusion Antitrust and Competition Law Series

This study of the normative justification for the use of criminal sanctions as a means of cartel control goes beyond the historical and economic viewpoints by adding a normative evaluation of anti-cartel regimes and analysing cartel control in the USA, Europe and the UK. The analysis is unique in seeking to establish why, in a liberal society, criminal sanctions should apply to individuals who participate in this sort of activity. Although cartels have been rhetorically likened to theft and fraud, there are significant differences. Notwithstanding these differences, Cartels, Markets and Crime presents an argument for the criminalisation of economic collusion and, with this argument in mind, analyses the regimes of the USA, EU and UK and considers the possibility of global convergence.

Introduction; 1. A normative approach to the criminalisation of cartel activity; 2. Corporate responsibility, agency and the advantages of vicarious liability; 3. Closing the deterrence gap: individual sanctions; 4. The American experience of cartel control: values and effectiveness; 5. The European experience; 6. The UK experience; 7. Internationalisation and transplantation; Conclusion.

Bruce Wardhaugh is a lecturer at the School of Law, Queen's University Belfast, where his research interests include competition law and WTO law.