CADE publishes the English version for the Compliance Guidelines

The English version of the Guidelines on Competition Compliance Programs was published this February 18 on the website of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense – CADE. The document received civil society’s contributions during the second semester of 2015.

Elaborated by the authority, the Guidelines detail the required actions for a sound compliance program and which benefits are brought to companies that implement them. The suggestions may help in preventing abusive practices that are prejudicial not only to a specific entity, but also to their competitors. The Compliance Program may also be a possible criterion to be considered in determining the aliquot of the pecuniary contributions in Cease and Desist Agreements (TCC in its acronym in Portuguese).

The text is non-binding and does not have the character of a rule. In other words, its orientations may be changed by CADE’s direction accordingly to the specificities of each case under analysis.

Awards

The Guidelines were nominated for the Antitrust Writing Awards 2016, on the Best Soft Law category, and is competing with Guides elaborated by other competition jurisdictions, such as Canada, Hong Kong, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The award is promoted by the French publication Concurrences, specialized in antitrust policies. The winners will be known in a ceremony held on April 5, in Washington, D.C.

The announcement of the English version of the document will also happen on this Thursday, February 18, in the United States. CADE’s President, Vinícius Marques de Carvalho, is in New York in order to participate at seminars promoted by the New York University School of Law and by the Antitrust Section Meeting of the New York State Bar Association.