NEW MEASURES WOULD CUT RED TAPE AND IMPROVE COMPETITION LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

Bonn, Germany, June 8, 2005 – The International Competition Network (ICN) wrapped up its fourth annual conference today, in Bonn, Germany, with solid proposals to cut red tape in multi-jurisdictional merger review and improve competition law enforcement and advocacy in the global economy.

This year's conference, held from June 6-8th, attracted more than 400 competition experts. Officials from more than 80 competition agencies were joined by international organizations and non-governmental advisors, including representatives of the legal, business, economic, consumer and academic communities.

The ICN was formed in 2001 as a project-oriented and consensus based organization. Its membership includes nearly all the world's competition agencies. Non-governmental advisors with expertise and interest in competition matters work with ICN members to produce Recommended Practice proposals and substantive reports to promote convergence among the laws, processes and policies of different authorities. The Recommended Practices are non-binding but, once adopted by the ICN, they form a baseline for sound antitrust enforcement throughout the world.

This year's reports and adopted ICN Recommended Practices include the following:

• Model waiver of confidentiality - merging parties and competition agencies can use this new model waiver for information that parties submit in the merger review process. Waiving confidentiality facilitates information sharing among reviewing agencies which can expedite proceedings, avoid conflicts, and promote convergence.
• Merger remedies - a remedy should address the identified competitive harm arising from the proposed transaction. The merger review system should provide a transparent framework for the proposal, discussion, and adoption of remedies. Procedures and practices should be established to ensure that remedies are effective and easily administrable. Appropriate means should be provided to ensure implementation, monitoring of compliance, and enforcement of the remedy.
• New anti-cartel enforcement manual - chapter on searches reflects approaches that have proven to be effective in contributing to investigative success.  Searches are widely recognized as an effective investigative tool in the battle against cartels. 
• Competition agency powers - competition agencies should have the authority and tools necessary for effective enforcement of applicable merger review laws. They should also have sufficient staffing and expertise to discharge their enforcement responsibilities effectively and have sufficient independence to ensure the objective application and enforcement of merger review laws.
• Report on effective sanctions - provides a comprehensive review of the diverse methods and range of options available for sanctioning cartel conduct. The report offers important observations relevant to assessing those options deemed as offering agencies the most effective deterrents.

Other ICN reports addressed interrelations between antitrust and regulatory authorities and competition advocacy in regulated sectors. Methods and effects of various forms of technical assistance and consumer outreach in competition matters were empirically examined. The ICN also adopted a set of best practice suggestions for an increasing role of competition in the banking sector.

All ICN documents are available at
www.InternationalCompetitionNetwork.org.

The next annual ICN conference will be held in Cape Town, South Africa in May 2006.