Settlement Procedure in Turkish Competition Law

Abstract

Settlement procedure, whose legal basis is to be found in the Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition, is conceptually discussed in this article by focusing on its legal nature and comparing it to other alternative dispute resolution methods. Our study in this article is limited to competition law, with settlement procedure being the most used procedure in the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (USA) in this area of law. The study, which was based on the Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition, was completed by making maximum use of the scholarly works on the subject.

In the study, comparisons have been made with EU competition law on how the settlement procedure can be conducted in Turkish Competition Law. The regulations in the Draft are also discussed while making a comparison. The settlement procedure, which did not have a legal basis before in Competition Law, has been evaluated in the light of the decisions in which leniency programs are implemented in current practice. In Turkish Competition Law, the problems that may be encountered in the implementation of the settlement procedure regulated by the Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition and suggestions on the solution of these problems are included.