CADE publishes English version of the Guidelines on Antitrust Leniency Program

The Administrative Council for Economic Defense – CADE, published, on Thursday 23, the English version of the Guidelines on Antitrust Leniency Program, document that includes the best practices and procedures usually adopted by CADE's General Superintendence when negotiating and signing leniency agreements. The Guidelines received contributions from the civil society and from national and international entities, until February 10, of this year.

The publication is a milestone in the Brazilian Leniency Program, which reflects more than 15 years of the Brazilian antitrust agency experience in the celebration of leniency agreements. Currently, CADE’s Leniency Program is nationally widespread and is considered one of the most relevant and efficient programs in the world.

The main goal of the Guides is to strengthen and expand CADE’s Leniency Program, by giving greater transparency, accessibility, predictability and legal certainty to the rules and procedures related to the negotiation of agreements.

Although the Guidelines do not have normative character, the most part of its content results directly from the Law No. 12.529/2011 and from CADE´s Internal Statute – which have binding quality. The publication aims at registering the accumulated institutional memory, providing interpretations of existing provisions and serving as reference for the negotiations and the management of leniencies cases.

The Portuguese version of the Guidelines was released in May 25, 2016 and is already available on CADE’s website.