On 24 October 2013, Chair of the Italian Competition Authority, Giovanni Pitruzzella, and Italy’s Minister of Justice, Anna Maria Cancellieri, spoke in favour of effective ad hoc antitrust compliance programs and their value as a mitigating factor in investigations. Mr Pitruzzella underlined the importance of an effective compliance program because “imposing fines is not appreciated by anyone”. According to Ms Cancellieri, “it’s useful to adopt effective compliance programs”, which should be taken into account as mitigating factors in determining the amount of the fine. The Italian Competition Authority will soon launch a consultation on the adoption of guidelines for the setting of fines, and there is great interest in the assessment of compliance programs.
The Italian Antitrust & Competition team at McDermott Will & Emery Studio Legale Associato has vast experience in structuring ad hoc compliance programs for Italian and international clients that are active in Italy, in order to maximise the chances of obtaining a reduction of any potential fine.