p. 43110. Competition Act 1998 and the cartel offence: public enforcement and procedure
- Richard WhishRichard WhishEmeritus Professor of Law at King’s College London
- , and David BaileyDavid BaileyProfessor of Practice in Competition Law at King’s College London
Abstract
This chapter describes the system of public enforcement under the Competition Act 1998. It begins with a consideration of the way in which inquiries and investigations are carried out under the Competition Act. After a section on complaints, the chapter examines the extent to which it may be possible to receive guidance from the CMA on the application of the Act. Section 5 describes the enforcement of the Competition Act. Section 6 deals with the criminal law cartel offence and section 7 with company director disqualification, a tool that the CMA has used several times in recent years. Section 8 deals with the sectoral regulators’ concurrent powers, with the CMA, to apply the Chapter I and Chapter II prohibitions in the Competition Act in the sectors for which they are responsible. Section 9 describes the system of appeals under the Competition Act. The chapter incorporates the amendments to the Competition Act made by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.
