Good agency principles are those principles that independent authorities can use to transform themselves into well-governed organizations demonstrating good agency behaviour. This book establishes these good agency principles for independent agencies of all kinds, while focusing on those agencies responsible for market regulation and competition law enforcement. Chapter 1 explores the regulatory space in which agencies operate and the dilemmas they face, while chapter 2 describes the various types of market and competition authorities. Against this background, Chapter 3 arrives at the core of ... More

Good agency principles are those principles that independent authorities can use to transform themselves into well-governed organizations demonstrating good agency behaviour. This book establishes these good agency principles for independent agencies of all kinds, while focusing on those agencies responsible for market regulation and competition law enforcement. Chapter 1 explores the regulatory space in which agencies operate and the dilemmas they face, while chapter 2 describes the various types of market and competition authorities. Against this background, Chapter 3 arrives at the core of this monograph’s innovative approach by analysing the values and principles that agencies around the world consider fundamental to their work and classifying them under five umbrella headings. These five fundamental principles, or good agency principles, are then captured in the acronym of LITER (legality, independence, transparency, effectiveness, and responsibility). The LITER principles are subsequently used as a framework for describing and evaluating independent agencies’ institutional design (Chapter 4), their enforcement styles and choices (Chapter 5), and how agencies are assessed by internal and external committees and their decisions are reviewed by courts (Chapter 6). Chapter 7 sets out the main recommendations for agencies themselves, as well as for legislators and governments, and for courts dealing with appeal procedures so as to show how to tailor independent administrative agencies’ governance, performance, behaviour, and outcomes to the LITER principles of good agency behaviour.