Download Competition Law in Ukraine: Unfair Competition and Economic Concentrations and more Slides Competition Law and Policy in PDF only on Docsity! Competition Law In Ukraine (general overview) Docsity.com Main spheres of the competition law: I. Protection against unfair competition: • Illegal use of business reputation • Creation of obstacles to other enterprise in the process of competition • Illegal use of commercial secrets II. Protection of competition: • Coordinated actions • Economic concentrations ©Ukrainian Legal Group, LLC, 2005 Docsity.com C. Illegal use of commercial secrets • Illegal gathering of commercial secrets; • Disclaiming commercial secrets; • Instigating to disclaiming commercial secrets; • Illegal use of commercial secrets. Practical aspects: • These violations happen sometimes. However, it is difficult to prove these types of violations in practice. Thus, precedents of fighting against these violations are very rare. ©Ukrainian Legal Group, LLC, 2005 Docsity.com Certain Risks related to unfair competition violations I. Fines • Up to 3% of the annual turnover of the guilty party; • Confiscation of profit or income of the guilty party. II. Civil: • Compensation of losses and damages; • Compensation of moral damages; • Requesting termination of illegal actions (including terminating agreements); • Any other civil claims. III. Administrative and Criminal • Officials of the guilty party can be held liable under administrative or criminal law. ©Ukrainian Legal Group, LLC, 2005 Docsity.com II. Coordinated actions and economic concentrations Who are the parties? • Companies which belongs to two (or more) different groups; • Companies which belongs to the same group are not treated as parties to coordinated actions or economic concentrations. ©Ukrainian Legal Group, LLC, 2005 Docsity.com Coordinated actions and economic concentrations are prohibited before the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMC) issues its PRIOR APPROVAL if all of the above criteria are satisfied: • Either the worldwide assets or the worldwide turnover of all parties, combined, exceed 12 million Euros; and • At least two of the parties have worldwide assets or worldwide turnover of over 1 million Euros; and • At least one parties has assets or turnover in Ukraine exceeding 1 million Euros. OR • any of parties, or all of the participants combined, control(s) more than 35% of a particular market and • the concentration takes place on this or a neighbouring market ©Ukrainian Legal Group, LLC, 2005 Docsity.com Certain risks of failure to obtain the AMC prior approval: I. Fines: • Up to 5% (for economic concentrations) and 10% (for coordinated actions) of the of the annual revenue of the relevant party's entire group of companies or a substantial amount defined by the AMC. • Confiscation of profit or income obtained as a result of the coordinated action of economic concentration made without the AMC prior approval. II. Contractual • Nullification of the transaction agreements. III. Other • Administrative fines imposed on the management. • Split of the enterprises. • Various civil claims from the competitors. ©Ukrainian Legal Group, LLC, 2005 Docsity.com When special attention should be paid in practice? I. Coordinated actions: • Entering into agreements related to the sales network (e.g. distributors contracts, agreements with retail sellers, etc.); • Signing agreements on mutual understanding (cooperation), market policy, etc.; • Entering into agreements which grants competition benefits (e.g. best position of the selling places in shops/markets); • Performing similar market actions with another party which may affect market situation (e.g. simultaneous increasing of the prices to approximately the same level). ! These actions are relevant when performed in the Ukrainian market ©Ukrainian Legal Group, LLC, 2005 Docsity.com
