Plea Bargaining in the EC Competition Law System
The European Commission currently discusses the introduction of procedural instruments of direct settlements in European Competition Law Enforcement. The envisaged system is inspired by what in the US is known as plea bargaining, yet takes into due consideration the substantial and procedural differences between the two legal systems. The reforms are aimed at enhancing quick and efficient enforcement of EC Competition Law, based on experiences in US antitrust enforcement.
Various questions arising from the introduction of direct settlements are hotly debated. To what extent would European direct settlements be comparable to the US plea bargaining system? What possibilities do parties to an agreement have to negotiate and commit to deals? Will the bargains be struck by the same individuals, or even the same agencies, that determine fines and amnesty? What would be the impact on the system of competition law enforcement in Europe? Do direct settlements form a risk of excessive lobbying and non-transparent decision-making? Are there potential problems of effectiveness with the leniency programs? Do the potential benefits of savings on enforcement costs weigh against the likely costs?
In this workshop, the contours and various implications of introducing plea bargaining-type instruments in Europe were discussed by two experts. The first speaker was Ewoud Sakkers, Head of Unit within the directorate F (cartels) at DG Competition of the European Commission and actively involved in the creation and implementation of the European policy on cartels and the enforcement thereof. The second was Martijn Snoep, partner at De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek and specialized in Dutch as well as international competition law. There was ample opportunity for discussion with the floor.
There will be no entrance fee.
Program
14.30–15.00 Registration and welcome
15.00–15.15 Opening by Francesco Russo
(Chair, ENCORE)
15.15–16.00 Ewoud Sakkers
(DG Competition, European Commission)
16.00–16.20 Discussion by Martijn Snoep
(De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek)
16.20–17.00 Plenary discussion
17.0–18.00 Drinks
Practical information
Date: June 28, 2007
Time: 14.30 – 18.00 hrs
Location: NMa (Dutch Competition Authority)
Muzentoren
Wijnhave 24
Zaal 4.20
Please inform the reception upon your arrival and mention “ENCORE Workshop”.
Mr. Sakkers has been with the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission since 1997. During his first 3½ years in DG Competition he worked in the so-called Merger Task Force. At the beginning of 2001 he shifted to cartel enforcement, currently as Head of Unit within Directorate F (Cartels).
Prior to joining DG Competition, between 1993 and 1997, Mr. Sakkers worked in the trade policy department of the European Commission, on anti-dumping and anti-subsidy issues. Before that, he was in-house legal counsel with KPN, the Dutch telecommunications company.
Mr. Sakkers is a lawyer by education. After spending an initial year of (undergraduate) university education in the U.S., Mr. Sakkers obtained his law degree at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands in 1990, where he specialized in Dutch civil and European law. In 1991 he obtained an LLM degree in European Law from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.
Mr. Snoep specializes in EU and Dutch Competition Law. He is involved in transactional work, representing clients before the European Commission and the Dutch competition authority, or co-ordinating multi-jurisdictional filings, in high-profile first phase and second phase investigations involving complex economic issues. In addition, he is a litigator before the European and Dutch courts, defending companies against allegations of antitrust infringements or in antitrust damage claims.
In 1997, Martijn worked as a foreign associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York, advising on US antitrust merger cases, most notably Boeing/MDD and Worldcom/MCI. Today, Martijn's regular clients include Shell, AKZO Nobel, Unilever, Rabobank, Coca-Cola, Philips, NXP and Numico.
Martijn is a regular speaker at national and international conferences and he publishes on procedural and substantive issues of competition law. Since 2003, Martijn is chairman of the Dutch Association of Competition Law ( http://www.verenigingmededingingsrecht.nl/ ), a very active professional organisation with more than 350 members for lawyers, economists, civil servants and judges in the area of competition law.
Martijn was listed in the most recent Global Competition "40 under 40", a list of the 40 best competition law practitioners in the world under 40 years. He was listed as a first tier leading individual in Chambers Global and Chambers Europe 2007, Legal 500 2006 and PLC Global Counsel Competition Law 2006/07, as well as in Who is Who Legal Competition 2005.
