Liability for violation of competition rules in entrepreneurial activity: Criminal and administrative aspects

Abstract

According to the author’s standpoint, antitrust rules are aimed at promoting fair competition, preventing monopolies, and protecting consumers. They ensure a level playing field in entrepreneurial environment. Among other things, compliance with legislation regulating competitive relations is enforced through state coercion measures. The article argues that one of the pressing issues of modern jurisprudence is the study of the administrative and criminal aspects of liability for violation of competition rules, considering relevant circumstances. It analyzes the systemic relationship between antitrust violation proceedings, administrative infractions, and criminal offenses. The study emphases the legislator’s imperative regulation of the sequence of coercive measures applied in cases of competition rule violations. The author proposes a perspective on determining the moment an anticompetitive offense is detected, particularly for calculating reverse fines. The possibility of combining administrative and jurisdictional proceedings with criminal proceedings into a single judicial process is also explored. Given that the economy digitalization creates a new model of competition, it is proposed to introduce as an aggravating circumstance the commission of an anticompetitive action on a digital platform or using algorithms or artificial intelligence