Consent Decrees

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CHAPTER IX

CONSENT DECREES

A. Decree Negotiation

“In general, adequate relief in a civil antitrust case is relief that will

(1) stop the illegal practices alleged in the complaint, (2) prevent their

renewal, and (3) restore competition to the state that would have existed

had the violation not occurred.”1 In many cases, the Division can obtain

such relief without taking a case to trial through the process of

negotiating and entering civil consent judgments.2 Decrees may deal

with present or threatened harm, and may have both retrospective and

prospective elements.3

Consent negotiations are conducted by Division staff under the

immediate supervision of the appropriate Section Chief.4 Division staff

is encouraged to reuse stock language from previous decrees to set the

tone for discussions and to refer to the Division’s merger policies in

consent decrees involving merger issues.5 The Section Chief will consult

with the Director of Operations and the appropriate Deputy Assistant

Attorney General (DAAG) when significant issues arise in negotiations.6

In all Division decree negotiations, final authority to approve a proposed

judgment rests with the Assistant Attorney General (AAG).7

1. U.S. DEP’T OF JUSTICE,ANTITRUST DIV.MANUAL IV-56 (Dec. 2008)

[hereinafter ANTITRUST DIV.MANUAL], available at http://www.

justice.gov/atr/public/divisionmanual/atrdivman.pdf.

2. See id.

3. See id. at IV-61.

4. See id. at IV-62.

5. See id.

6. See id.

7. See id.