Superior Bargaining Power in Russian Contract and Competition Law

Abstract

Chapter 15 provides a glimpse of alternative approaches to deal with supermarket power, outside the competition law toolbox, by exploring the various Russian law instruments designed to protect the weaker party to a contractual agreement, which is subject to the principles of Russian law. The authors argue that both Russian law and Russian judicial practice dispose of all the necessary instruments to help contracting parties achieve economic justice in specific cases. The authors describe the genesis and further development of Russian legislation, judicial practice and legal policy regarding the protection of the weaker party, through a comparative law perspective. In particular, the authors describe the impact of the concept of ‘superior bargaining power’ in both contract law and competition law in Russia. They argue that this traditional civil-law concept may narrow down antitrust enforcement and make it more balanced and fair from the perspective of market actors. By fostering the expansion of the superior bargaining power concept, the authors contend that it will mitigate the problems that arise out of the complexity and excessive formality of the traditional antitrust enforcement criteria applied in Russia.