CRIMINAL LAW SHOULD PROTECT PRIVATE BUSINESS

Head of FAS Anti-Cartel Department, Andrey Tenishev, discussed the progress in executing the List of orders of the President of the Russian Federation on organizing cooperation with the law enforcement bodies, exposing anti-cartel agreements and tightening criminal liability for cartels.

Andrey Tenishev took part in a conference of Pravo.ru on criminal liability of business.

Penal prohibitions in economic operations and sanctions for breaching them were formulated by the legislator in 1996 when the market economy and legal mechanisms of economic control just started shaping in Russia.

“Since 1996, Article 22 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on economic crimes has undergone mostly just qualitative, multidirectional changes. During this period Russian economy has changed considerably, becoming more powerful, dynamic and, to a considerable extent, digital. The terminology of the Criminal Code and the entire antimonopoly law is clearly behind the reality. The main goal and principles of the criminal policy have not been formulated so far, particularly, in the economy. One may say that coherent criminal policy in this field is simply absent”, stated Andrey Tenishev.

He added that among the tasks specified in Article 2 of the Criminal Code, along with protection of the constitutional system in Russia and public security, special objectives of the criminal law should include protection of national economic security, freedom of economic activity and competition support.

Therefore, emphasized the speaker: “Changing criminal policy is one of the ways for developing competition and freedom of enterprise. The entire 22 Chapter of the Criminal Code needs a serious review and assessment of the existing criminal bans in terms of public danger. Criminal liability for cartels as the most dangerous type of economic crimes practically is not applied in Russia, at the same time hundreds of businessmen are convicted annually for the crimes, the public danger of which is rather doubtful”.

He also explained that the amendments to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation proposed by FAS do not tighten criminal liability for cartels but differentiate it.

Finally, the speaker pointed out: “We do not persecute business; we protect competition from violators of the law, including criminal remedies. Protecting competition as a constitutional value, we work for the benefit of bona fide businessmen”.