The Leniency Programme was established by the Leniency Act (Law 39/2006, 25.8.2006) and it introduced in Portugal a special framework for granting full or partial immunity from fines in proceedings for infringement of competition rules under article 4 of the Competition Act (Law 18/2003, 11.6.2003) and article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
The Leniency Programme is an important instrument in the fight against cartels, in particular agreements and concerted practices between two or more undertakings aimed at restricting competition, namely by fixing prices, sharing markets, allocation of production quotas and bid-rigging. By rewarding the cooperation of undertakings involved in such practices, the Leniency Programme is fundamental in the detection of cartels, and it has been adopted, in one way or another, by most countries in the European Union.
The Leniency Act sets the conditions undertakings will have to satisfy in order to qualify for leniency when reporting to the Competition Authority any agreements and concerted practices in which they are or have been involved; subject to evaluation, undertakings may be granted full immunity, a reduction of more than 50% of the fine or a reduction not exceeding 50% of the total amount of the fine.
For information on the European Commission (Directorate General for Competition) Leniency Programme, follow these links (1) (2).