Fines in Turkish competition law: Has the lottery ended?

Temel amaçları, tesebbüsleri rekabete aykırı davranışlarda bulunmaktan caydırmak olan para cezaları, rekabet otoritelerinin elindeki en önemli araçlardan bir tanesidir. Söz konusu amacın gerçekleştirebilmesi için gerekli olan ceza miktarının belirlenmesi sürecinde, rekabet otoriteleri birçok sorunla karşılaşmaktadırlar. Gelişmiş rekabet hukuku sistemlerinde, para cezalarına ilişkin ikincil mevzuatların kabul edilmesi, söz konusu sorunların çözümünde kritik bir öneme sahiptir. Türk rekabet hukukunda, yakın zamanda kabul edilen Para Cezaları Yönetmeliği, bu yaklaşımın bir ürünü olarak görülmektedir. Söz konusu Yönetmelik, para cezalarının belirlenmesi sürecinde seffaflık, tutarlılık ve nesnellik sağlamayı amaçlamasının yanı sıra daha caydırıcı para cezalarının uygulanabilmesine de olanak tanımaktadır. Bu çalışmada temel olarak, anılan Yönetmeliğin bahsi geçen seffaflık, tutarlılık ve nesnellik amaçlarını ne ölçüde gerçekleştirdiği ve beklentilere ne oranda karşılık verdiği, Avrupa Birliği rekabet hukuku uygulamasıyla karşılaştırmalı olarak irdelenmektedir.

Türk rekabet hukukunda para cezaları: Piyango bitti mi?

Monetary fines are one of the most important weapons at the competition authorities’ disposal. Their main task is to deter undertakings from engaging in anti-competitive behaviour. In determining the appropriate level of fines in order to achieve this task, competition authorities encounter wide range of issues. In the advanced competition law regimes, adoption of a secondary legislation as to the method for setting fines is a crucial step in dealing with these issues. Recently introduced Fining Regulation in Turkish competition law clearly reflects this idea. Apart from aiming at providing transparency, consistency, and objectivity as to the methodology for setting fines, the Fining Regulation also allows for the imposition of more deterrent level of fines compared to pre-regulation era. Within this context, it is primarily questioned in this paper whether the Fining Regulation has fulfilled its objectives of providing transparency, consistency, and objectivity in the determination of fines. In doing so, a comparative approach will be adopted to consider both the EU and Turkish competition law.

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