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Sorkin, Laurence T. --- "International Settlements" [2010] ELECD 777; in Foer, A. Albert; Cuneo, W. Jonathan (eds), "The International Handbook on Private Enforcement of Competition Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Book Title: The International Handbook on Private Enforcement of Competition Law

Editor(s): Foer, A. Albert; Cuneo, W. Jonathan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848448773

Section: Chapter 37

Section Title: International Settlements

Author(s): Sorkin, Laurence T.

Number of pages: 15

Extract:

37 International settlements
Laurence T. Sorkin1


Introduction
Many jurisdictions, including the United States and the European Union, devote consid-
erable enforcement resources to detecting and prosecuting cartels. At the governmental
level, the response to cartels has become increasingly global. Antitrust enforcement
agencies throughout the world are cooperating in their efforts to detect and punish cartel
behavior, and at the governmental level, the war against cartels has been characterized by
increased cooperation, coordination of resources, and convergence of best practices.2
Companies that find themselves the subjects or targets of multi-jurisdictional cartel
investigations also tend to respond globally to the risks posed by such investigations.3
Companies will often seek to make simultaneous amnesty applications in multiple juris-
dictions, or, if amnesty is not available, will seek to negotiate plea agreements or other
dispositions in all of the affected jurisdictions. Counsel representing these companies will
typically coordinate their efforts in all of the relevant jurisdictions, and although plea
agreements or other dispositions may have to be negotiated on a jurisdiction by jurisdic-
tion basis, counsel dealing with multiple investigations at the governmental level will
typically adopt a global strategy for trying to resolve their clients' potential exposures.
This process of trying to resolve potential exposures for cartel violations at the gov-
ernmental level should be contrasted to what typically happens with respect to the reso-
lution of private antitrust claims arising out of the same conduct. In the United States,
where there is a well-developed tradition of private enforcement, ...