Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v ABB Transmission and Distribution Limited [2001] FCA 383

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

v ABB Transmission and Distribution Limited

[2001] FCA 383

TRADE PRACTICES – contravention of Pt IV of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) – pecuniary penalty – joint submission – court's role in sentencing – factors relevant to assessing appropriate penalty Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) s 76 NW Frozen Foods v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (1997) ATPR ¶41-546 cited Trade Practices Commission v TNT Australia Pty Ltd (1995) ATPR ¶41-375 cited Trade Practices Commission v CSR Ltd (1991) ATPR ¶41-076 cited Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v J McPhee & Son (Australia) Pty Ltd (No 5 ) (1998) ATPR ¶41-628 cited Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Roche Vitamins Australia Pty Ltd [2001] FCA 150 cited Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Pioneer Concrete Pty Ltd (1996) ATPR ¶41-457 cited Alice Car & Truck Rentals Pty Ltd v NT Outback Adventure Rentals Pty Ltd (1997) ATPR ¶41-582 cited O M Fiss, "Against Settlement" 93 Yale L J 1073 (1983-1984) G Fisher, "Plea Bargaining's Triumph" 109 Yale L J 857 (2000) "Developments in the Law – Corporate Crime: Regulating Corporate Behaviour Through Criminal Sanctions" 92 Harvard L R 1227 (1979) W M Landes, "Optimal Sanctions for Antitrust Violations" 50 University of Chicago L R 652 (1983) G Becker, "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach" 76 Journal of Political Economy 169 (1968) K Yeung, "Quantifying Regularity Penalties: Australian Competition Law Penalties and Perspective" (1999) 23 Melbourne University L R 440 A-M Allgrove, "The Assessment of Penalties Under the Trade Practices Act for Breaches of the Competitive Conduct Rules" (1996) 4 TPLJ 104. AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION v ABB TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION LIMITED and ORS V 553 of 1999 FINKELSTEIN J MELBOURNE 5 APRIL 2001