About the Conference
Over the last decade or so, the Indian economy has transformed into one of the largest and fastest growing economies in the world. This was possible due to liberalised trade, investment and economic policies that catered to a steadily growing market-oriented economy. The pace of economic growth has been sustained by the competitive advantages of a large market duly supported by innovation and technology development. To reap the full benefits of a market economy and ensure economic efficiency, optimal allocation of resources and equitable outcomes for consumers, an effective and modern competition law regime is vital.
Cartels have come to be seen as cancers on the open market economy, as the supreme evil of antitrust, and as striking at the very heart of the principal virtue of economic activity. Hard-core cartels have been identified as the most egregious violation of competition law underlining the importance of effective action against hard-core cartels. These cartels usually emerge in concentrated settings, where the group controls the dominant share of the market. The rationale for coordination then lies with the ability of this group to achieve equilibrium prices that are higher than would have prevailed under a non-coordinated equilibrium. Internationally, competition policy aims to punish cartel formation by imposing fines, and increasingly also allowing follow-on damage claims. Fines and damages are often related to the extent of price overcharge, i.e., the difference between the cartel price and the price that would have prevailed in the absence of the cartel.
Corporate leniency programs have become an increasingly important tool for antitrust authorities to break cartels. These programs provide fine reductions and/or rewards for reporting a cartel to antitrust authorities by one of the cartel members. The number of cartels detected has increased considerably since the introduction of leniency programs, but in principle this could even be due to an increase in cartel activity
In order for leniency program to be successful, it is essential that there is a severe threat of sanctions in case of cartel detection. Under section 27 of the Competition Act, 2002; Competition Commission of India may impose a penalty upon cartel members of up to three times of their profit for each year of the continuance of such agreement or ten percent of their turnover for each year of the continuance of such agreement, whichever is higher. This creates a race for cartel members to apply for leniency (lesser penalty) so as to get the maximum possible benefit out of the leniency program.
Experimental studies of corruption sometimes find that the possibility of whistle-blowing leads to more, not fewer, corrupt transactions (Abbink 2006; Lambsdorff and Frank 2010), and theoretical and empirical analyses of leniency programs show that while they can make cartels less stable, they can also make them more likely to form in the first place (Motta and Polo 2003; Chen and Harrington 2007; Marvao 2016). The increasing prevalence of leniency makes it important to understand their effects.
The leniency program was introduced in India in 2009 but the first time it was granted was in the Brushless-DC fans cartel in 2017. From 2009-2021, there have been 12 leniency application cases. the first leniency applicant is not guaranteed immunity from fines, as it depends on the amount of information that the CCI already has against the cartelists and the additional information offered by the applicant. The leniency reduction is not only granted to firms but also to individuals that were prosecuted along with the cartel firms/ associations, although their share of leniency reduction is the same that was granted to the firm. There are no extra provisions in place to grant individuals additional leniency for added cooperation or for being the first reporter. While there are no provisions currently of penalty plus in the leniency program, the CLRC has recommended the insertion of leniency plus provisions in the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022 on the lines of jurisdictions like the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Brazil to incentivize the parties in an ongoing cartel investigation to disclose information regarding other existing cartels. In the US, ringleaders are unable to claim immunity, whereas in the EC they can do so if they have acted as an instigator or played a determining role in a cartel but not if they have coerced others to join the cartel. Assessing which of these approaches is most effective in practice in deterring cartels would be a useful area for future research.
The standing committee on finance has made recommendation on limiting the scope of hub-and-spoke cartels to exclude those who did not intend to actively participate in the furtherance of a cartel, such as online platforms acting only as intermediaries or entities merely facilitating the organization of meetings. Also, to ensure faster market corrections and to save resources, the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022 had proposed a mechanism to settle certain ongoing CCI cases. The committee has now proposed to expand the scope of the settlement mechanism to include cartels. The bill had excluded cartels because there already exists a leniency regime for whistle-blowers who are willing to cooperate with the CCI. The impact of these recommendations needs to be researched in the context of the leniency program of CCI.
This conference is envisioned by KIIT School of Law in collaboration with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India to promote empirical and qualitative research on the leniency program designed to combat cartelisation in India and around the world. The Conference shall provide a forum for discussion amongst practitioners, academicians and researchers to deliberate on the nuances and challenges surmounting the leniency program in India and submit their recommendations to the Ministry to formulate robust regulation for the leniency program. Further, the proceedings of the conference will be published in a special edition of KIIT Journal of Law and Society. Members of NICE (Network of Indian Competition Experts) and CWG (Cartel Working Group) along with practitioners will be the Conference Chairs to promote high-quality discussions on the themes.
Sub Themes of the Conference
- Hard Core Cartels
- Hub and Spoke Cartels
- Cartels in digital markets
- Crisis Cartels
- Leniency Programme
- Leniency Plus
- Penalty Plus
- Competition Law and Artificial Intelligence
- Competition Law and Intellectual Property Law
Call for Papers
Legal practitioners, academicians, policy makers, researchers, and students are invited to submit original, unpublished manuscripts, along with an abstract, for presentation in the Conference. Select papers will be published in the Special Edition of KIIT Journal of Law and Society [Volume XIII] (ISSN: 2231-5144), double blind peer review flagship journal of KIIT School of Law which will be published in 2023. The authors whose papers are published will each receive a hard copy of the Journal in paperback.
Long Articles: Between 5000 to 7000 words exclusive of footnotes. Papers in this category are expected to engage with the theme comprehensively and offer an innovative reassessment of the current understanding of that theme. Co-authorship unto two authors is permitted.
Short Articles: Between 3000 to 5000 words exclusive of footnotes. Papers in this category are usually meant to deal with a very specific issue, and make a more easily identifiable, concrete argument. Co-authorship unto two authors is permitted.
Case Comments: Between 2500-4000 words exclusive of footnotes. These should include interpretation of any landmark judicial pronouncement related to Competition Law.
Book reviews: Between 1200 and 1500 words. These are critical analysis of a book pertaining to Competition Law. All the book reviews must embody an assessment of ideas promoted by the author of the book from the point of view of originality, extent of analysis and quality.
Submission Guidelines
- The submissions shall be in English language only and the similarity index should not be above 15% after utilising the necessary filters.
- The manuscript should be accompanied by a covering letter specifying the author(s)’s name, designation, institute, contact number, and email for future reference.
- All articles and short articles must be accompanied by an abstract not exceeding 300 words.
- The word limits are exclusive of footnotes and only footnotes are to be used and no endnotes or bibliography. The Harvard Bluebook, 20th editionis the style which is to be strictly adhered to for citations.
- Sub-headings will be formatted in Normal with case size 12 in Times New Roman & Bold. The body of the writing will be formatted in Normal with case size 12 in Times New Roman and footnotes with case size 9 in Times New Roman.
- Co authorship is permissible up to a maximum of two. The submissions will undergo a double-blind peer-review process; therefore, the author/s shall not disclose their identities anywhere in the body of the manuscript.
- The Author(s) shall have to send a Declaration as to that the work has not been published anywhere else and has not been submitted for publication elsewhere. For any issues arising in contravention to such declaration, the KIIT Journal of Law and Society, and Editorial Board shall not be liable. The author shall be personally liable for his or her actions or omissions. The declaration should be a scanned document in PDF or Image (jpg or jpeg) formats containing the above-mentioned declaration.
- The submission shall also contain a separate Cover Letter as an attachment enumerating the following details:
o Name of the author(s)
o Address of the author(s)
o Phone Numbers of the author(s)
o Title of the manuscript
o Submission Category — (Example Article/ Short Article/ Book Review)
o Name of the institution
o Year of study (in case of a student)/ Designation (in other cases)
o Email address(s)
Timeline of Submission
Submission of Abstract: By 24th January, 2023
Abstract submission link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdAh6EXFnBM5xjfepEq1f_FnWwlYZv3y8jObYUfTzDluZLgdw/viewform?usp=sf_link
Confirmation of Abstract Selection: By 26th January, 2023
Submission of Paper: By 24th February, 2023
Paper submission link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScIO8uBcC0ViMXM1mBLsUhxSDwawRmD8WsecICPuqfwVtaTpQ/viewform?usp=sf_link
Confirmation of Paper Selection: By 28th February, 2023
Conference Dates: 11th and 12th March, 2023
Registration Details
Registration fee for students – Rs 500 per person
Registration fee for academicians – Rs 1000 per person
Registration fee for Practitioners – Rs 1000 per person
Participants shall be provided with Conference Kit and hospitality, excluding accommodation, for both the days. For select participants, in-campus accommodation may be provided on additional payment.
Fee Payment Details:
Name as in Bank Account: KIIT UNIVERSITY
Bank Name: CANARA BANK
Bank Account Number: 4915101003256
Account type: Savings/Current: SAVING
Branch name: KIIT CAMPUS BRANCH
IFSC Code: CNRB0004915
Esteemed Patrons of KIIT Deemed to be University
Prof. Achyuta Samanta, Founder & Mentor, KIIT – DU
Mr. Ashok Kumar Parija, Chancellor, KIIT – DU
Prof. (Dr.) Subrata Kumar Acharya, Pro-Chancellor, KIIT – DU
Prof. Sasmitarani Samanta, Vice Chancellor, KIIT – DU
Prof. (Dr.) Saranjit Singh, Pro Vice Chancellor, KIIT – DU
Prof. (Dr.) Jnyana Ranjan Mohanty, KIIT – DU
Organising Team KIIT School of Law
Prof. (Dr.) Bhavani Prasad Panda, Director, KSOL
Prof. Umang Ghildyal, Principal Investigator and Conference Coordinator, Assistant Professor, KSOL
Prof. (Dr.) Puranjoy Ghosh, Conference Co-coordinator and Head, Department of Business Laws, Assistant Professor II, KSOL
Prof. (Dr.) Arpita Mitra, Associate Professor, KSOL
Prof. Sudipta De Sarkar, Assistant Professor II, KSOL
Prof. (Dr.) Aswini Patro, Assistant Professor II, KSOL
Prof. (Dr.) Ipsita Das, Assistant Professor II, KSOL
Prof. Pratiti Nayak, Assistant Professor II, KSOL
Prof. Maneesha Mishra, Assistant Professor, KSOL
Prof. Sundar Athreya. H, Assistant Professor, KSOL
For any queries related to the Conference, you may please contact [email protected]