Andrey Tsyganov gave a lecture for the students of Zurich University of Applied Sciences
On 19 - 21 October 2016, the Competition Law Department, Zurich University of Applied Sciences (Geneva, Switzerland) organized a training course on competition law and enforcement.
The course objective was to give the listeners, undergraduate students and MA students of Zurich University of Applied Sciences, an understanding of the specifics of developing and different competition law systems and their performance.
The event lecturers included Head of Switzerland Competition Authority, Vincent Martene; Competition Director, Spain’s National Commission on Markets and Competition, Eduardo Kessler; a professor at Georgetown University (US) William Kovacic, and Brazil Deputy Minister in Industry, Fernando Furlan. Deputy Head of FAS Andrey Tsyganov gave a lecture on developing competition law and policy in Russia.
At the outset, Andrey Tsyganov outlined the institutional design of Russian competition authority that was founded in1990, and in its modern format FAS has been in place since 2004. Today FAS is an independent federal executive body subordinate to the Government of the Russian Federation and there is a network of FAS regional Offices in each of the 85 subjects of the Russian Federation. FAS is also a full-cycle body authorized to consider complains, carry out investigations, analyze markets, make decisions ascertaining violations of the antimonopoly law or their absence, issue determinations on eliminating violations, impose fines upon violators, control execution of decisions and defend its decisions at Courts.
In 2015, FAS functions were expanded considerably when the powers for control over public defence procurement and tariff regulation were transferred to the Antimonopoly Service. These functions were added to the existing FAS functionalities that comprise antimonopoly regulation, control over compliance with the laws on advertising and unfair competition, retail trade, control over public procurement, and control over foreign investments in strategic companies. Thus, FAS becomes a macroregulator exercising its functions in line with the principles of procompetitive regulator, costs optimization in the regulated sectors, non-discriminatory access to the infrastructure, and a focus on consumer interests. Andrey Tsyganov pointed out that in combinations these functions generate a synergy effect.
Then Andrey Tsyganov stated that FAS priorities are combating cartels, prohibiting abuses of dominance, reducing administrative burden upon business, controlling actions of authorities and natural monopolies, increasing FAS openness as well as expanding FAS international cooperation with foreign competition authorities and tariff regulators. FAS performs such work through developing the antimonopoly law, improving control over economic concentration, introducing the mechanisms of warnings and admonitions, including the competition development principles in the industry law.
Deputy Head of FAS gave statistical data on the n number of received complaints, investigated cases and imposed fines. He specially emphasized that nearly one third of all FAS decisions are appealed at Courts; judicial statistics, however (the ratio of reversed decisions against adopted decisions), shows that FAS is an efficient regulator.
Next, Andrey Tsyganov discussed developing the antimonopoly law in the Russian Federation that started in 1991 with adopting the Federal Law “On Competition and Restricting Antimonopoly Activity on Goods Markets”. Currently antimonopoly regulation in the Russian Federation is exercised under No. 135-FZ Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” of 26 July 2006. Sanctions for violating the antimonopoly law are specified in the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Violations and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
FAS undertakes ongoing efforts to develop Russian antimonopoly law and making changes to it in the form of extensive packages of amendments designed to liberalize Russian competition law and eliminate administrative barriers to doing business. Andrey Tsyganov gave a detailed description of the amendments introduced to the Russian law with the “forth antimonopoly package”, such as extrapolating institutions of warnings and admonitions, introducing the procedure of preliminary approvals of agreements between economic entities on joint operations by the antimonopoly body, improving the procedures for antimonopoly investigations: launching the institution of preliminary conclusions by the Commission on exposed violations, formalizing types of evidence and criteria of their relevance and competence.
Continuing the lecture, Andrey Tsyganov highlighted some important cases investigated by FAS, including “four waves of cases” against oil companies, the case against “Google” and the case against liner container carriers. He also pointed out that there are precedents in FAS practice on rendering guilty verdicts in criminal cases for violating the antimonopoly law.
A considerable part of the lecture focused on the new approaches used by FAS in tariff regulation, particularly, tariff indexation in exchange for cost reduction, the focus on consumer interests rather than natural monopolies, transition of regulated markets to a competitive state, creating non-discriminatory conditions for access to the services of natural monopolies.
After that, Andrey Tsyganov talked about special FAS functions such as control over actions by the authorities, control over public procurement, control over advertising and unfair competition as well as control over foreign investments in the strategic companies. FAS also pays a lot of attention to the work in the regions of the Russian Federation. To intensify competition at the regional level the Competition Development Standard has been devised, according to which the parameter of competition development in a region is included in the methodology for evaluating efficiency of governors.
A special block of questions related to FAS competition advocacy practice. To increase awareness of broad range of interested persons, including representatives of business, the federal and regional authorities, non-profit associations and unions as well as the population in general on the importance of observing the principles and rules of competition, FAS employs the entire set of advocacy tools, particularly Consultative and Advisory Councils, cooperation with the Association of Antimonopoly Experts and other professional associations, FAS official web-site, presence in social media, social advertising, numerous training and image events, etc.
In September 2016, the Government of the Russian Federation instructed FAS to devise the National Competition Development Plan for 2017-2018 to decrease the share of the state sector in the economy and improve investment attractiveness of the Russian Federation. FAS will work on the Plan in cooperation with other interested federal executive bodies.
A special part in the lecture devoted to FAS international cooperation on a bilateral basis as well as under the format of international organizations that deal with competition issues. Currently international cooperation has a high priority since economic realities are such that competition authorities face violations of the antimonopoly law by large transnational corporations and international cartels, and countering such unfair practices across the world becomes the key issue.
Summing up, Andrey Tsyganov answered the questions raised by students from Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
“Cooperation with foreign research community is one of FAS priorities in line with the Concept of the new informational policy towards the international community. Increasing awareness of the academia on the functions and principles of FAS works is essential because the academic community is an important subject for drafting the agenda for the leading international platforms on competition. For young people, who chose competition law as their future profession, learning how the antimonopoly law is built up and how antimonopoly bodies from different countries work gives an obvious advantage”, pointed out the Head of FAS Department for Economic Cooperation, Lesya Davydova.