New Zealand Seeks Feedback On Draft Cartel Leniency Policy

New Zealand’s Commerce Commission is consulting on its revised cartel leniency and immunity policy and revised template leniency agreement.

The cartel leniency and immunity policy has been updated to reflect changes to the Commission’s cartel leniency policy resulting from the introduction of the new criminal cartel offense, which comes into effect in April 2021.

“As well as bringing in the risk of jail time for cartel conduct, the new law means that cartel participants may apply for immunity from criminal prosecution. Only the Solicitor-General can grant this immunity, following a recommendation from the Commission. We want to provide clarity on our process before the new law comes into effect, and we are especially interested in views from legal practitioners on our proposed revisions to the leniency policy,” said Commerce Commission Chair Anna Rawlings.

The leniency policy outlines the process for the Commission recommending that an individual or firm should be granted criminal immunity by the Solicitor-General.  

The Solicitor-General has revised its draft Guidelines on immunity from prosecution for cartel offenses, which set out the criteria the Solicitor-General will consider in deciding whether to grant immunity.

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