Competition law offences

Legal systems have followed their own evolutionary paths and models of application of competition law are naturally conditioned by the existing institutional framework and its level of progress, with more developed and sophisticated regimes successfully achieving the transition to a model of criminal sanctions for competition infringements.

Whether crim-inalisation is desirable depends very much on the institu-tions in each jurisdiction.
Where, for example, it is impos-sible to allow for criminal immunity, competition law should not be criminalised, lest leniency programmes be undermined.

Both UK and EU competition law prohibit agreements, arrangements and concerted business practices which appreciably prevent, restrict or distort competition, or where this is the intended result, and which affect or may affect trade within the UK or the EU respectively.