2016 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Anti-Cartel Enforcement: Towards a Holistic Understanding of Leniency Policies
| Project/Area Number |
15K03152
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| Research Institution | Kyushu University |
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Principal Investigator |
VAN・UYTSEL S 九州大学, 法学研究院, 准教授 (30432842)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
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| Keywords | cartels / leniency / compliance / class action / public enforcement / private enforcement / Asian competition law / innovation |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The research for 2016-2017 has been developed according to the following lines. First, the research has focused on whether legal reforms on private enforcement is changing the expectations of cartel participants whether or not to apply for leniency. The general observation has been that the legal structure for private enforcement has been expanded to include class actions, both in Japan and the EU, but that the environment necessary for successful class actions has not yet been established. This is at least more the case in Japan than in the EU. This will mean that there will only be a relative slight increase of private enforcement cases, due to which potential leniency applicants are not more deterred to use the leniency policy than today. Also, and this is specific to Japan to achieve procedural fairness, procedures that allowed for the private parties to obtain documents has been revised. As the result, there is less potential for private parties to obtain documents. Second, the research has focused on the question whether leniency policies are the ultimate method of dealing with cartel conduct. The temporary result of this research is that more focus could be paid to compliance and compliance manuals.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed.
Reason
The reason for the slight delay in the main project is that the research has expanded into the following areas. First, by doing research on leniency, a review has been written on the leniency program in China. China is one of the (few) Asian countries to adopt a leniency program. The conceptualization of the leniency policy in China is exceptional. The conventional wisdom for designing an effective leniency policy has been discarded. This observation has brought me to the point of looking at Asian competition law with a view of why competition law in Asia has developed along different lines. At the end, Asia has different kinds of economies. There is a potential for a book in this respect. Second, leniency is a 'legal innovation' that has been tested in several jurisdictions now. Innovation is extending beyond the law. The Internet has facilitated startups. The research on the application of competition law to startups has been limited. One aspect of the study was to look to which aspects of competition law are important to either provide a shield of protection to the startup or to work as a sword to discipline the startup. Anti-cartel law has been identified as a part of competition law that could both function as a shield (punishing a cartel that prevents a startup to grow) or as a sword (discipline a startup entering a cartel).
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
The future research scheme is along the following lines. First, the research's focus is on the leniency programs, for which a book is in progress. The research will focus on how the leniency program cross-cuts different aspects of the enforcement of competition law. Second, another emphasis will be put on the research is on competition law in Asia, of which leniency is a part. This project will more in detail look at how different Asian jurisdictions have adopted competition law and why and to what extent they have differentiated from existing (mature) competition laws. Third, research will be conducted on competition law and innovation.
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| Causes of Carryover |
During the past year, I have used budget to update the materials on the topic of the research. Further, I have presented my research progress at several academic events. I need to push forward a part of the budget in order to make a native check of results of the research project.
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| Expenditure Plan for Carryover Budget |
The spending plan is threefold: first, updating books in relation to the topic of the research. Second, attending a conference to present updates of the research. Third, native check of the materials to be published in relation to the research.
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Research Products
(3 results)
