Supervision over the International Activities of National Competition Authorities (The Polish Experience)

Abstract

This unit was published in "International Cooperation of Competition Authorities in Europe: from Bilateral Agreements to Transgovernmental Networks" Błachucki, M., ed., (2020). In recent years, there has been growing international cooperation between national competition authorities (NCAs). This takes various forms – from bilateral cooperation to establishing transnational competition networks. At the same time, this process has not been accompanied by the development of supervisory mechanisms. The article seeks to review the national control mechanisms that may be used to supervise international cooperation between NCAs. They are based on the Polish example and presented in a comprehensive way in order to capture all possible forms of control, such as hierarchical administrative control, control exercised by an ombudsman, a public prosecutor, specialised supervisory administrative authorities and the European Commission, covering judicial (both national and European) supervision, parliamentary and social control. The article supports the view that proper mechanisms of control over the activity of specialised and often independent administration authorities (such as NCAs) are crucial for their accountability. Such mechanisms are also beneficial for the accountability of transnational competition networks.