The deterrentand Enunciating effects Of consent decrees

massarotto, giovanna;

More than 90 percent of U.S. civil antitrust cases settle by consent decrees. This
phenomenon raises two questions. First, do consent decrees sacrifice antitrust
deterrence, given that no finding of liability is made and no fine imposed?
Second, do consent decrees sacrifice the public good of adjudication to say what
the law is? A comparison of the Intel investigations in Europe and the United
States shows that consent decrees need not sacrifice deterrence. However, the
current European approach to consent decrees, unlike the U.S. approach, does
sacrifice the benefit of having courts explain the content of competition law.