Cartel Criminalisation Submission

03 May 2010

Simpson Grierson has responded to the invitation by the Hon. Simon Power, Minister of Commerce, for submissions on the issues raised by the Discussion Document on Cartel Criminalisation, published by the Ministry of Economic Development in January 2010.

The firm's submission makes five key points in respect to cartel criminalisation:

• Sanctions against this type of conduct are already very substantial and we are not convinced that the criminalisation of cartel conduct is warranted.
• We are concerned that the costs of criminalisation will be disproportionate to any benefits to the New Zealand economy.
• If the criminalisation of cartel conduct is to proceed, then certainty of the law is paramount.
• The institutional structures required to implement criminalisation of cartels need further consideration.
• There still needs to be consideration of whether, at a policy level, it is justified requiring a suspect in an indictable case under the Commerce Act to attend a compulsory interview unless, at the very least, the existing protections limiting the use of that evidence in criminal proceedings remain.

To read Simpson Grierson's submission in full, please click on the link below:

http://www.med.govt.nz/upload/72471/022-Simpson-Grierson.pdf