Abstract

On 15 February 2007 the Italian Antitrust Authority, according to the new Article 15 (2-bis) of the Law No. 287/1990, issued its first leniency programme: immunity from penalties or a reduction of them will be awarded to those firms which actively cooperate with the IAA in discovering hard-core cartels in which they took part. The programme was clearly inspired by the 2006 EU Commission leniency programme and the European Competition Network model, even if in some aspects it moves away from them. The essay examines critically the IAA leniency programme, stressing some interpretative questions which arise from it.