Russian Competition Research Articles

Russian competition law: history, current state and development prospects

The article is devoted to the study of prerequisites for the codification of competition protection legislation.The author starts from the history of competition law, which is divided into four stages, and comes to the conclusion that Russian competition law was formed after the transition of the Russian economy to the market and does not have continuity with pre-existing legislation.The study of the current state of competition law allowed the author to draw a conclusion about the relevance of its codification. This conclusion is justified, in particular, by the considerable volume of regulatory material that is devoted to the protection of competition, its distribution on different legislative acts, as well as the presence of internal conflicts and inconsistencies in it.

Антимонопольный комплаенс – профилактика компаниями рисков нарушения конкурентного законодательства

<span>В статье рассматриваются риски нарушений конкурентного законодательства России и возможности профилактики этих нарушений компаниями благодаря реализации института антимонопольного комплаенса (соответствия). Представлено определение комплаенса, описывается зарубежный опыт адвокатирования этого института, в том числе</span><span class="myHorizontalScaleForEmDashSpaceBefore"> </span><span>–</span><span class="myHorizontalScaleForEmDashSpaceAfter"> </span><span>при нарушениях конкурентного законодательства. На основе опыта реализации комплаенс-систем в России описаны этапы внедрения, потенциальные выгоды и эффекты для бизнеса. Отражены нормативно-правовые инициативы по институциализации политики комплаенса в действующем законодательстве. Залогом успеха комплаенс-программы компании является публичная политика менеджмента, обеспечивающая ей статус драйвера конкурентной культуры. Актуальность представленного материала подтверждается принятым 01.03.2020 Федеральным законом № 33-ФЗ «О внесении изменений в Федеральный</span><span class="annotation-reference"> </span><span>закон “О защите конкуренции”».</span>

Application of the concept of collective dominance in the Russian competition law: challenges and solutions

The Russian competition law does not include the definition of the concept of collective dominance, and the notion of this institution itself contains many gaps. The indicated disadvantages of statutory regulation and simplified approaches of the Federal Antimonopoly Service, which became possible due to the formal approach, have led to the formation of controversial law enforcement practice by the antimonopoly authority and courts. The article presents the analysis of legal regulation, as well as the law enforcement practice, and proposition on solutions to the stated problems.

США І «ПІВНІЧНИЙ ПОТІК-2» У СУЧАСНІЙ ПОЛІТИЧНІЙ КАРИКАТУРІ

The article describes the features of representation of the US policy as to the building of the North Stream-2 gas pipeline in modern political cartoons. The US position as to the project is looked in several contexts: the USA and Russian competition on the European and Ukrainian gas markets, a global confrontation between both countries; security of EU and NATO countries, especially Germany, from Russia's energy and political pressure. The following main arguments in the US administration rhetoric against the Nord Stream-2 are highlighted: the pipeline disintegrates the European Union; opposes the interests of the countries of Western and Eastern Europe; causes a split within the NATO countries; makes Germany an energy hostage of the Kremlin; causes the environmental risks; is an instrument of Russia's hybrid war against Western countries and Ukrainian. The author traces the diplomatic attempts are being made by the United States for preventing the building of Nord Stream-2, US' lobbing for amendments to the EU Gas Directive, the system of American sanctions against both Russia and Gazprom's European business partners.The analyzed political cartoons focus on the negative attitude of the United States to the Nord Stream-2 as an instrument of increasing Russia's political influence on European countries. They also demonstrate the threat of loss of energy independence by Germany. The cartoonists often explain the American opposition to the Nord Stream-2 project by the struggle of the US and Russia for European gas markets. The most frequent personages of the cartoons are the President of the USA Donald Trump, the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The cartoons contain little symbolism, allegories, metaphors and do not need the searching of hidden contents. As usual, they are very straight, unambiguous in interpretation, clearly tied with the political context and current situation.

Сравнительный анализ бюджетно-налоговых отношений в нефтяной отрасли США, Канады, Великобритании и России

<span class="CharOverride-4">США, Канада </span><span class="CharOverride-4">и Великобритания в 2015–2018 гг. сталкиваются с вызовами глобального избытка </span><span class="CharOverride-4">добычи и переработки нефти, значительных суверенных долгов и бюджетной консолидации. </span><span class="CharOverride-4">В статье анализируются особенности бюджетно-налоговой политики этих стран в отношении </span><span class="CharOverride-4">нефтяной промышленности, выявляются решения, которые могут быть полезны для России. </span><span class="CharOverride-4">Проведен обзор бюджетных доходов, налоговых режимов, состава и эффективности налоговых </span><span class="CharOverride-4">льгот и бюджетных субсидий нефтяной отрасли по англоязычным первоисточникам финансовых </span><span class="CharOverride-4">и налоговых органов, неправительственных и международных организаций. Установлено, что структура </span><span class="CharOverride-4">налогов на добычу и потребление нефти в этих странах схожа </span><span class="CharOverride-4">с той, что сложилась в России. В Канаде зависимость консолидированного </span><span class="CharOverride-4">бюджета от нефтяных доходов сопоставима с Россией, а в США и Великобритании</span><span class="CharOverride-4"> она в разы ниже. Налоговая нагрузка на нефтяную </span><span class="CharOverride-4">промышленность в расчете на баррель в США вдвое больше, чем </span><span class="CharOverride-4">в России, особенно с учетом акцизов на нефтепродукты. Акцизы во </span><span class="CharOverride-4">всех трех странах весьма значительны по сравнению с обложением добычи, </span><span class="CharOverride-4">с точечными субсидиями отдельным категориям потребителей. В налоговых льготах трех </span><span class="CharOverride-4">стран преобладают инвестиционные налоговые вычеты и ускоренная амортизация. Небольшие бюджетные</span><span class="CharOverride-4">субсидии выделяются под единичные проекты через сокращение региональных роялти, инвестиции </span><span class="CharOverride-4">в капитал или экспортное финансирование. Все три страны поощряют экспорт </span><span class="CharOverride-4">нефтепродуктов отсутствием или нулевой ставкой НДС, без российской практики уплаты </span><span class="CharOverride-4">и возмещения. Автор пришел к выводу, что российский нефтяной налоговый </span><span class="CharOverride-4">маневр в целом соответствует практике трех стран, а акцизы в </span><span class="CharOverride-4">России вполне могут быть вдвое выше их уровня 2018 г. </span><span class="CharOverride-4">В условиях значительного налогового бремени и перепроизводства нефтепродуктов эти страны </span><span class="CharOverride-4">вынуждены изобретать санкционные меры поддержки своей нефтяной промышленности.</span>

The role of judicial review in developing evidentiary standards: The example of market analysis in Russian competition law enforcement

Despite the fact that judicial review is an important part of competition law enforcement under the administrative system, in which courts decide on claims to annul infringement decisions made by competition authorities, its role in the development of evidentiary standards of economic analysis is understudied. This paper attempts to fill this gap by analyzing the impact of judicial review on the application of market analysis in competition investigations by the Russian competition authority during 2008–2015. Although the guidelines for the assessment of competition are mandatory for many types of anticompetitive conducts and they require application of the Hypothetical Monopolist Test to delineate antitrust market, competition authority does not always do that. We test hypotheses on the impact of legal requirements, experience of application, and the outcomes of the judicial review on the probability to present either an informal market analysis or market delineation using the Hypothetical Monopolist Test in a particular decision. We find that positive outcomes of the judicial review of infringement decisions significantly increase the probability of undertaking a particular analysis in future investigations. The pressure of judicial review under the presence of mandatory standards of evidence is an important determinant of the development of evidentiary standards in competition law.

Антиконкурентные соглашения в российских судах

This article presents the analysis of implementation and interpretation of antitrust legislation in Russian courts, in the field of anti-competitive agreements cases. This article proceeds from the previous research which provided the analysis of the court decision database of litigations with the Russian competition authority (the FAS) initiated in 2008-2010. In this research (which covers court cases of 2011-2015) we provide the database of 646 court decisions and examine the tendencies of applying antitrust prohibitions and legislation in courts. We show how the database structure varies from the point of view of main markets and types of agreements, taking into account the standards of proof. The analysis reveals that the Rule of reason (ROR) approach was not actually applied in courts, despite legislative possibilities. Type 1 errors risks tends to decrease, especially in public procurement cases, cases of banks and insurance companies cooperation. Requirements in the field of market analysis in decisionmaking are also increasing.

Anti-competitive agreements in Russian courts (2008–2012): antitrust law implementation and interpretation

ABSTRACTThis article analyses antitrust enforcement practice in Russian courts in the area of competition-restricting agreements. The analysis is based on the court decision database of litigations with the Russian competition authority (the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS)). In the database litigations that officially started in the period 2008–2012 were included. Final court decisions were evaluated, taking into account litigation duration (sometimes up to 3 years). The database contains 400 cases, including 236 horizontal agreements and 164 other agreements (mostly vertical agreements). Based on the evidence of this database, important features and problems of the interpretation and implementation of competition law in Russia and priority areas of enforcement were identified. Antitrust policy was analysed taking into account the risks of type 1 and type 2 errors, including the problem of flexibility of prohibitions (per se vs Rule of reason (ROR) approaches), standards of proof and the problem of consistency of enforcement.

Antitrust Price Remedies May Facilitate Collusion in Global Commodity Markets

Difficulties of competition policy at the global level are widely debated by academics and policy-makers. However, recent discussions do not pay enough attention to those instruments of antitrust enforcement that target local companies in domestic markets. This type of antitrust price remedies becomes popular in Russian competition law enforcement towards large exporters that dominate in home markets. In this article we explain the circumstances under which antitrust price remedies imposed by national competition authorities on one exporter in a determined country may limit competition in global commodity markets. In particular, antitrust price remedies, which impose the cap on domestic prices using export or global prices of the commodity as a benchmark, increase the sustainability of collusion, either explicit or tacit. Being primarily designed to support domestic buyers, antitrust price remedies may also increase domestic welfare by facilitating collusion abroad and creating additional profits for large national producers.

The Impact of Performance Measurement on the Selection of Enforcement Targets by Competition Authorities: The Russian Experience in an International Context

ABSTRACTThis article provides evidence about the influence of performance measurement criteria on the choice of enforcement targets by law enforcement authorities, utilizing a rich dataset of decisions by the Russian competition authority in the period 2008–2015. The authors provide a comparative analysis of performance measurement by several competition authorities throughout the world. Then a hypothesis is tested suggesting that a competition authority, motivated by the criterion of “enforcement success,” tends to select relatively easy implemented enforcement targets, which lead to decisions with relatively low probability of being annulled if appealed. This is so, even though other enforcement targets would generate superior welfare effects. Thus, our analysis indicates that putting undue emphasis on “enforcement success” as a performance criterion may not lead to desirable welfare outcomes.

Two Ways of Influence-building: The Eurasian Economic Union and the One Belt, One Road Initiative

Russia and China have been pursuing the Eurasian Economic Union and the One Belt, One Road initiative since the early 2010s, employing two distinct sets of practices in their respective influence-building endeavours. Russia is interested in creating an exclusive sphere of influence in the post-Soviet space, in order to bolster its great power status and secure regional primacy. China, in turn, is expanding its economic influence over a vast geographical area disguising economic expansion behind multilateralism. These differences make Sino–Russian competition in Central Asia less plausible.

Oil explains all: desirable organisation of the Russian fuel markets (on the data of three waves of antitrust cases against oil companies)

This article considers the mutual influence of antitrust enforcement in the petroleum product markets and competition legislation in Russia. An analysis of infringement decisions by the Russian competition authority allows us to understand the perceived goals of economic policy in this sector. The shift from antitrust investigations and infringement decisions to a very specific set of remedies is explained by the desire to maintain low retail prices under increasing concentration without price subsidisation or promotion of entry at the refining stage of the value chain. The article highlights the specific use of antitrust legislation to maintain low fuel prices and support independent retailing companies. We also note the limitation this policy faces. The goals and effects of antitrust enforcement in the industry explain, in turn, the specific path of competition legislation development in Russia.

ПОЧЕМУ ПРАВОПРИМЕНЕНИЕ ПРОТИВ ЧРЕЗМЕРНЫХ ЦЕН В РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ НЕДОСТАТОЧНО УСПЕШНО?

In developed competition jurisdictions, excessive pricing is more a subject of academic and expert discussions than an actively used instrument of competition enforcement. Russian competition enforcement is an exception in this regard. During the last ten years the Russian competition authority, the Federal Antirust Service (FAS), made several hundred decisions on the violation of rules prohibiting excessive pricing. The question remains whether Russian enforcement is consistent with international experiences, and which part of enforcement limits a positive welfare effect. To achieve this objective the article explains the targets of excessive price enforcement, the legal standard for excessive pricing, and remedies applied in Russian competition law. The main conclusion is that the selection of targets does not generally contradict the objectives of competition enforcement. There are clear theories of harm specifi c to two of the main target groups: dominant exporting companies that apply third-price discrimination in the domestic market vis-a-vis export markets, and dominant companies that increase prices after deregulation, in case there is no new entry. Standards for proving price excessiveness represent a questionable part of enforcement, and they oft en turn out to be weak under judicial review. The application of either lower or higher standards for establishing price excessiveness results in decreasing the deterrence effect. A fear of decreasing deterrence explains the recent shift from ex-post intervention to ex-ante price remedies.

Anti-Competitive Agreements in Russian Courts (2008-2012): Antitrust Law Implementation and Interpretation

This paper analyses antitrust enforcement practice in Russia (2008–2012), in the area of competition-restricting agreements (horizontal and vertical). The analysis is based on a court decision database of litigation with the Russian competition authority (FAS). The database contains 400 cases, including 236 horizontal agreements (HA), 164 other agreements (vertical agreements (VA), conglomerate and mixed agreements). On the basis of this database important features of the interpretation and implementation of the competition law in Russian practice and the priority areas of the enforcement were identified. Antitrust policy was analysed taking into account the risks of type 1 and 2 errors, including the problem of the flexibility of prohibitions (per se vs rule of reason (ROR)), standards of proof, the problem of consistency of enforcement.

Дела об антиконкурентных соглашениях (2008-2010): риски ошибок первого рода

This article analyzes the antitrust enforcement practice in Russia (2008–2010) in the area of competition restricting agreements (horizontal and vertical). The analysis is based on courts decisions database (litigations with the Russian competition authority - FAS). Database contains 242 cases, including 139 horizontal agreements, 103 vertical and mixed agreements. On the basis of this database we have analyzed important features of the interpretation and implementation of the competition law in Russian practice, priority areas of the enforcement. We considered the antitrust policy taking into account the risks of errors of 1 and 2 types, including the problem of the flexibility of prohibitions (PER SE vs RULE OF REASON), standards of proof, consistency of enforcement, etc.

Investigation of Collusion in Procurement of One Russian Large Buyer

The article discusses a recent antitrust case brought against Russian manufacturers of large diameter pipes (LDPs) that aimed to investigate supposed collusive practices that contradicted the law 'On the Protection of Competition', which prohibits market sharing and restricting production. The Russian competition agency (FAS) confirmed the infringement under Article 11 of the law 'On the Protection of Competition', but at the same time exempted companies from liability under Article 13, which allows applying rule of reason to agreements which promote efficiency. We presume the infringement charge was based on weak substantial evidence standards. The case under consideration illustrates the importance of investigating the institutional details when qualifying the actions of market participants and their effects. The analysis of the evidence in this case indicates that the nature of cooperation between pipe manufacturing companies and OJSC Gazprom, namely indicative planning, may be explained from the perspective of reducing contract risk in an environment characterized by large-scale investment.

Russian Competition Law in Light of the Principles of Ex Post and Ex Ante

This article is devoted to the legitimation and application of the standards of ex post and ex ante by courts and the executive authorities in the sphere of competition regulation. The postulates of ex post and ex ante are considered as legal principles. The principle of ex post is intended solely for judicial and administrative application; it has a deontological framework; it assumes that the legality of the activity of economic entities is assessed only on the basis of positive legal criteria in terms of the subjective rights violated; it is limited to a particular case. The traditional approach to the principle of ex post limits the scope of its application on the subjects and excessively expands its objects. The postulate of ex ante has a utilitarian basis which assumes the assessment of the application of relevant rules in the future. One of the main aims of the article is to refute the common view of lawyers and economists that a legislator applies principle of ex ante not being bound by principle of ex post, while it is the other way around for the courts and the executive authorities. The principle of ex ante may be applied not only in the process of the creation of new rules but also at the application stage for existing rules on economic competition. This is justified because the arguments of the courts and the executive authorities about a refusal to take into account the consequences of a decision in a particular case are not convincing.

The Current State of Russian Competition Law in the Context of its Harmonisation with EU Competition Law

In the past ten years, Russian competition law has undergone significant changes. Most changes have been inspired by EU competition law but some remain to be harmonised with EU competition rules. In return, Russian competition law provides food for thought in such areas as state/municipal tender procedures, special antitrust requirements for tenders or non-discriminatory rules for natural monopolies.

Optimization of the assets of the living labor of agricultural organizations

The program on the modernization of the national economy is impossible without an active innovative policy. The subject matter of the research in the article is the economy of agricultural organizations. Methodological aspect of research is the optimizing methods as the leading idea of the effective innovation policy. The continuous economic increase in the agricultural production is required for the development of investment and innovation-based component of the Russian Federation economy and competition in the conditions of WTO accession. Scientific and technical potential is a basis of investment and innovation-based economy and strategically renewable Russian Federation resource. New equipment and new technologies have the future. The intensification of all processes connected to innovation policy assumes development and implementation of the state investment and innovation policy both on federal and regional levels, applications of modern methods of a program goals management, development of strategy of innovative development of territories are necessary. The developed technique can successfully be applied in the agricultural organizations of the country, and after the corresponding completion — at any enterprise. The developed scientific and methodological knowledge allows to estimate objectively the level of technical capacity of an enterprise and, respectively, its maturity for investments without risk of non-return of means.

The 2008 Russian–Georgian war via the lens of Offensive Realism

The Russian intervention in Georgia's breakaway republic of South Ossetia in August 2008, Moscow's first-ever use of military force against a sovereign state in the post-cold war period, deserves a theoretical explanation. By following the tenets of Offensive Realism, this article will argue that the US–Russian competition in the South Caucasus is the main cause of the 2008 Russian–Georgian war. During the 1990s, the USA passed the buck to Turkey to contain Russian influence in the South Caucasus. In the early to mid-2000s, however, the Russian–Turkish relations were improved so rapidly that the USA opted, through NATO expansion, to step in as an offshore balancer. Following Bush administration's decision to support the Georgian candidacy for NATO membership and Georgia's ill-fated attempt to seize South Ossetia, Moscow went to war to re-establish hegemony in the South Caucasus. In this way, as the theory of Offensive Realism claims, the Kremlin believes that Russian state will enhance its chances of survival in the anarchical international system.