OREANDA-NEWS. December 16, 2013. The statement was made the Head of FAS Anti-Cartel Department Andrey Tenischev at an international workshop “Cartel Investigation. International Cooperation” that took place at FAS Resource-and-Training Centre in Kazan. Andrey Tenischev focused his presentation on the practice and problems of investigating international cartels.

The Head of FAS Anti-Cartel Department pointed out that the Agreement on Cooperation within the framework of the Common Economic Space of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan provides for exchanging confidential information in the field of enforcement between national antimonopoly bodies and the Eurasian Economic Commission.

Such experience, in the opinion of Andrey Tenischev, can be used to sign the relevant agreement at the global level.

“We think it is necessary to sign an international anti-cartel convention that would formalize the mechanisms of exchanging official information. Such an agreement must not be declarative, it should be mandatory for the states –signatories to the convention”, stated Andrey Tenischev.

He reminded on the importance of observing the balance of global and national interests, ensuring a proper level of protection of confidential information provided to the antimonopoly bodies under the framework of cooperation.

Among pressing goals and objectives Andrey Tenischev also pointed out at the need to determine the sphere of national jurisdictions, the procedures of joint investigations as well as investigations upon requests from foreign antimonopoly bodies, possibility to keep common information bases and the issues of holding foreign legal persons liable.

“It is necessary to devise the procedures for notifying and handing over properly translated procedural documents to foreign respondents. We also propose to think over and implement the procedures of holding foreign legal entities liable”, stated Andrey Tenischev.

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An international workshop “Cartel Investigation. International Cooperation” took place at FAS Resource-and-Training Centre on 4 - 6 December 2013. Representatives of competition authorities from Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Korea, the Czech Republic, and Ecuador, as well as officers of the antimonopoly authorities of the countries of the Customs Union: Belarus, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.