Selected legal instruments used in the enforcement process of cartel agreements

Abstract

The focal point of the dissertation is the term of cartel, which could be described as agreements distorting competition concluded by competitors on the horizontal level of the market, and, above all, legal instruments which are used in the process of detecting and punishing cartels. In particular, the dissertation thesis deals with three of possible instruments used in the enforcement process of cartels, i.e. with dawn rides (unannounced on-the-spot inspections/investigations carried out in business and non-business premises), sanctions and sanction policies and with the leniency programs. These instruments are generally thought to be the most important and most effective tools in the enforcement process of cartels and necessary precondition of efficiency of competition law itself. In accordance with the topic, the dissertation thesis is divided into three parts. The first part is concerned with theoretical and normative definitions of agreements distorting competition and cartels. The main purpose of this part is to provide basic characteristics of these terms and to describe them in a way which will create a basement for explanation of the three legal instruments, which form the focal point of the thesis. Second, fundamental part of the dissertation, deals with commentary to selected legal instruments, mentions already above. In particular it consists of three chapters, each one dealing with one of the instruments in question. In the final part of the dissertation are introduced conclusions and evaluations of the three legal instruments and also some proposals pro futuro