Yaroslav Kulik gave a report at the joint session of the FAS Russia and the Competition Support Association

On 4 February 2016, a joint meeting the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia and the Competition Support Association discussed the results of ongoing work under the 2015-2016 plan.

The head of FAS Russia, Igor Artemyev, spoke about the application of the fourth antimonopoly package, explaining both its preliminary achievements and the complexity arising from one of the new instruments the package introduced, the mechanism of intra appeal.

The Deputy Head of FAS Russia, Sergey Puzyrevsky, told about the preparation of legal acts within the framework of the fourth antimonopoly package.

The head of FAS Russia noted that the work on harmonization of the “anti-recessionary” bill, which will enter immunities from antitrust investigations concerning small businesses, also will prevent the creation of state unitary enterprises and municipal unitary enterprises in competitive markets.

The Deputy Head of FAS Russia, Andrey Tsyganov, noted that the Agency for Strategic Initiatives recognized the execution of the Action Plan (Roadmap) titled “The development of competition and improvement of antimonopoly policy.” Now, the second phase of work will begin, during which the responsible departments and experts of ASI will analyze the implementation of the adopted legal acts, paying special attention to the development of competition and performance controls.

Also, representatives of FAS Russia and members of the Competition Support Association discussed antitrust compliance implementation. Igor Artemyev said that the introduction of the antitrust Compliance Institute is a problem that has to be solved quickly. In his opinion, it is necessary to provide the concept with a legislative definition before applying leniency, in the form of a reduced fine. The participants of the meeting agreed that they will prepare the text of the bill soon.

The head of FAS Russia outlined the main directions for the preparation of the fifth antimonopoly package of legislative amendments. Igor Artemyev said that the next package of amendments will include legislative changes with regard to tariffs, the law on natural monopolies, legal relations of intellectual property, and antitrust law. Work on the fifth antimonopoly package will begin later this year.

Continuing the theme of changes to the antitrust laws, Yaroslav Kulik, a member of the General Council of Competition Support Association and partner at ART DE LEX Law Firm, reported on the general conditions regarding private lawsuits, in which he highlighted the current judicial practice and raised a number of problems.

In particular, Mr. Kulik discussed the legal grounds for filing independent claims, including the most common claims about unfair competition. He discussed judgments to invalidate trades parties carried out in violation of Article 17 of the Law on Protection of Competition, the consequences of contracts that are invalid, and the proceedings to compel the completion or the amendment of contracts parties concluded in violation of antitrust laws.

Private suits are the most common actions that lead to the recovery of unjust enrichment that result from the abuse of a dominant position and the recovery of damages as a result of unfair competition. They lead to declaratory judgments on invalid trades carried out in violation of Article 17 of the Law on Protection of Competition, decisions that invalidate contracts, based on improper trades, and court actions that deal with the consequences of invalid contracts. Private suits also compel the execution or amendment of contracts concluded in violation of antitrust laws.

Yaroslav Kulik also highlighted the recent changes to Chapter 9 of the Law on Protection of Competition, contributing to the realization of the right to appeal to the antimonopoly body for the protection of violated rights, in conjunction with a court case. During his presentation, Mr. Kulik talked about different approaches when calculating the time limitations for going to court with a suit, based on the decisions of the antimonopoly body. Uniformity of this practice will allow business entities to recover damages more effectively.

About the Competition Support Association

The Competition Support Association is a platform for the formation of a consolidated position in the business community and the government on issues of antimonopoly regulation and competition.

The purpose of the Association is the interaction between the legal community and the FAS Russia in such areas as the formation of an effective practice regarding antimonopoly legislation and setting standard activities in the field of competition.

The Competition Support Association was established in 2007. It brings together leading lawyers in the field of Russian antimonopoly law, economists, and educators specializing in competition matters.

Throughout its existence, the Competition Support Association established itself as a close associate of the FAS Russia, and it serves the business community as a professional, objective, and effective tool for dialogue on issues regarding antitrust regulation.

The Association participated in the development of the most important legal acts, including recent changes to the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” and related legislation (the so-called “second,” “third,” and “fourth antimonopoly package”), resolutions of the Russian Government, and other legal acts.

Currently, the Association has created more than 20 working groups for the improvement of antimonopoly legislation and its implementation. On the basis of a cooperation agreement, the Competition Support Association and the Federal Antimonopoly Service regularly host joint public meetings.