Assistance with doing business

IN RUSSIA

Nowadays we can retrace one stable process occurring in the Russian business sphere. A lot of Russian companies were held liable by the authorized governmental bodies for competition law infringement and as a result, the demand for complex legal services in that sphere has increased.

Abovementioned legal services may be divided in several groups depending on the form of government control:

1. Control over public contracts

The regulation of Russian government No. 94 dated 20 February.2006 “On federal executive body, authorized to exercise control over public contracts for goods delivery, works execution, rendering of service for federal state requirements” stipulates that Federal Antimonopoly Service (hereinafter – antimonopoly authority) is authorized to exercise control over public contracts.

Our services may include but not limited to:
• preparation of tender documentation
• protection of competitioners’ interests

2. Control over economic concentration

In accordance with Chapter 7 of Federal law “On protection of competition” Federal Antimonopoly Service exercises governmental control over economic concentration

Our services include:

• establishment and reorganization of commercial enterprises with the advance consent of antimonopoly authority
• assistance with different transactions (i.e. sale or purchase of shares (capital interest), property of commercial enterprises, rights disposal etc.) requiring the advance consent of antimonopoly authority
• assistance with different transactions (i.e. sale or purchase of shares (capital interest), property of financial enterprises, rights disposal etc.) requiring the advance consent of antimonopoly authority
• assistance with any other transactions subject to the advance consent of antimonopoly authority

Besides the abovementioned services, our Company may perform assistance in prior clearance of transaction with FAS (as well as assistance in filing post-transaction notification) in accordance with Article 32 of Federal law “On protection of competition”.

3. Competitive policy

Federal Antimonopoly Service exercises control and supervision over the law observance in the sphere of competition on commodity and financial markets as well as over observance of the antimonopoly law by federal executive bodies, by the constituents of the Russian Federation and by the local government authorities.

Our services in that sphere are focused on the protection of markets’ participants from bringing to responsibility, i.e.:

• judicial protection in the course of administrative process
• judicial protection in the course of legal proceedings

4. Control over advertising activity

Federal Antimonopoly Service exercises control and supervision over the law observance in the sphere of advertisement, and enacts relevant bylaws.
The functions and powers of FAS are determined by the Federal law “On protection of competition”,  adopted in 2006, whereby it is set forth that the general fields of governmental concern include:
• prevention and extinction of incorrect advertising able to mislead consumers or cause harm
• protection from the unfair advertising competition
• bringing economic entities to administrative responsibility for the advertising law infringements
• conjunction with self-regulatory bodies

5. Control over natural monopolies

FAS exercises control over activities undertaken or involving natural monopoly entities and that may result in impairment of interests of consumers of products subject to the provisions of Federal Law, or in restraining the economically justified transition of the relevant commodity market from the status of а natural monopoly market into the status of а competitive market.
 

IN UKRAINE

1. Control over economic concentration

The Law of Ukraine No. 2210-III “On the Protection of Economic Competition” dated 11 January 2001 (the “Competititon Law”) outlines the transactions which require obtaining the permission of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (the “AMCU”):

• mergers or acquisitions of business entities;
• acquiring of direct or indirect control over a business entity;
• establishment by two or more business entities of a business entity that will be carry out business activities independently for a long time, provided that such establishment will not result in the coordination of the competitive conduct among business entities that established such business entity or the business entities and the newly established business entity;
• direct or indirect acquisition, obtaining the ownership title over the shares or particpartory interest of a business entity in any other way, or transfer of such shares (particpartory interest) in trust if such acquisition results in obtaining or exceeding of 25% or 50% of the voting rights of such business entity.

The abovementioned transactions shall be subject to prior AMCU approval if the aggregate assets value or aggreagate sales volume exceeds the threshold values specified by the Competititon Law.

Our services in the sphere of legal support to economic concentration include:

• establishment and reorganization of commercial enterprises with the advance consent of antimonopoly authority;
• assistance with different transactions (i.e. sale or purchase of shares (equity interest), property of business entities etc.) requiring the advance consent of antimonopoly authority;
• assistance with different transactions (i.e. sale or purchase of shares (capital interest), property of financial enterprises, rights disposal and etc.) requiring the advance consent of antimonopoly authority;
• assistance with any other transactions subject to the advance consent of antimonopoly authority.

2. Competitive policy

The AMCU exercises control and supervision over the law observance in the sphere of competition on commodity and financial markets.

Our services in that sphere, for the first, are focused on the protection of market participants from bringing them to responsibility, i.e.:
• judicial protection in the course of administrative process;
• judicial protection in the course of legal proceedings.

3. Control over natural monopolies

According to the Law of Ukraine No. 3659-XII “On the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine” dated 26 November 1993 (the “Antimonopoly Committee Law”) and the Law of Ukraine No. 1682-III  “On the Natural Monopolies” dated 20 April 2000, the AMCU exercises control over the observation of legislation on economic competition in relation to the activities undertaken or involving natural monopoly entities, and in partircular the price regulation for the commodities manufactured by the natural monopolists.

4. Control over public contracts

According to the Antimonopoly Committee Law and the Provisions on the Procurement of Goods and Services for Public Funds approved by the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 921 dated 17 October 2008, the AMCU is authorized to exercise control over the observation of legislation on economic competition in the sphere of public contracts for goods delivery, works execution, rendering of services.

Our services may include but not limited to:

• preparation of tender documentation
• protection of competitioners’ interests 
 

For more information please refer to our legal experts:

IN RUSSIA:

Alexander Timofeev - Alexander.Timofeev@lp.ru
Mihael Malinovskiy - Mihael.Malinovskiy@lp.ru
Anna Burkova -  Anna.Burkova@lp.ru
phone: +7(495)664-28-90

IN UKRAINE:

Radmila Hrevtsova - radmila.hrevtsova@lp.com.ua
Svetlana Dovbnya - svetlana@lp.com.ua
phone: + 38 044 492 7794