Since 2002, FAS Russia is an active International Competition Network (ICN) member – the unique international organization joining competition agencies of developed and developing countries with the common aim of addressing practical antitrust enforcement and policy issues.

ICN exercises cooperation with different international organizations including OECD, WTO, UNCTAD and different bar associations.

Since 2008, FAS Russia has been an elected member of the ICN Steering Committee. FAS Russia has been actively participating in the planning and implementation of almost all of its projects.

FAS Russia within the ICN has contributed to significant achievements in the development of ICN Working Groups and the successful preparation of their products and other results. FAS Russia was co-chair of the Advocacy Working Group. After four years of co-chairmanship, FAS Russia handed it over to new co-chairs, including younger antimonopoly authorities. Currently FAS Russia is the co-chair of the Cartel Working Group.

FAS Russia is actively introducing products and advanced experience of the ICN into its work. Based on the practical experience developed earlier within the organization, FAS Russia has developed recommendations, made changes to the national legislation, which are considered as the guidelines for the economic entities operating in the Russian Federation.

Structure of ICN:

ICN Steering Group

The Steering Group consists of fifteen elected members and three ex officio members. The ex-officio members represent ICN members designated to host an annual conference. Elected Steering Group members serve renewable two-year terms. Steering Group members are confirmed by consensus of ICN Members in odd-numbered years at the annual conference.

ICN Operational Framework Working Group

ICN Operational Framework Working Group was established following the First ICN Annual Conference in Naples on an interim basis, to consider outstanding issues, such as the constitution of the Steering Group and the funding needs of the Network.

Current Working Groups

Advocacy

Competition advocacy – competition agencies’ activities that address existing and proposed disproportionate public restrictions on competition and build public support for competition and markets – is an important part of our work. Recognizing its importance, one of the ICN’s first initiatives was the establishment of the Advocacy Working Group (AWG).

Agency Effectiveness

Effectiveness of the competition agencies is the primary focus of the Agency Effectiveness Working Group, which was previously named as Competition Policy Implementation Working Group. It aims to focus on various aspects contributing to efficient and effective enforcement of competition rules such as institutional and operational characteristics of competition agencies and to enable exchange of experience among the ICN members.

Cartel

The mandate of the Cartel Working Group is to address the challenges of anti-cartel enforcement, including the prevention, detection, investigation and punishment of cartel conduct, both domestically and internationally, across the entire range of ICN members with differing levels of experience and resources. At the heart of antitrust enforcement is the battle against hardcore cartels directed at price fixing, bid rigging, market allocation and output restriction.

• Anticartel Enforcement Template
• Anticartel Enforcement Manual: Relationships between Competition Agencies and Public Procurement Bodies
• ICN Cartel Workshop

Merger

Merger Working Group was established in 2001, as one of ICN's first initiatives. Working Group promotes the adoption of best practices in the design and operation of merger review regimes to enhance the effectiveness of each jurisdiction's merger review mechanisms.  Working Group has developed recommended practices and practical guidance for the design and operation of merger review systems across issues of merger notification, investigation and analysis.

Unilateral Conduct

ICN Unilateral Conduct Working Group was established in May 2006, at the 5^th Annual ICN Conference in Cape Town. Its primary objectives are to examine the challenges involved in addressing anticompetitive unilateral conduct of dominant firms and firms with market power, and to promote greater convergence and sound enforcement of laws governing unilateral conduct.

Every year ICN organizes International Competition Conferences. In 2007, Russia hosted the 6^th annual ICN Competition Conference.