The Administrative Council of Economic Defense (CADE) published last Wednesday (September 5), Resolution No. 21/2018 about the publicity of documents and information of administrative procedure, to promote antitrust damages actions in Brazil. New guidelines were defined for disclosure of documents from leniency agreements, settlement agreements in antitrust cases and search and seizure procedures.
According to the resolution by CADE, the documents and facts contained in administrative procedures will be generally considered as public, to support civil and criminal proceedings, being available in the right procedural phase, as referred in the Resolution. Nevertheless, there are expressly exceptions indicating documents and facts as restricted, unavailable for third parties – even after final decision by CADE administrative tribunal. Administrative, civil and criminal liability sanctions shall be imposed to the individual who violates the referred restriction.
Accordingly, the agency seeks to balance the publicity, since a complete disclosure of sensitive information could cause a negative impact to the negotiation of future leniency agreements and settlements. Therefore, CADE improves the relevance of its performance in the Brazilian competition area, fostering the private enforcement of antitrust law.