The Dominance and Monopolies Review 2022

Authorities remain adamant that digital regulations will complement rather than replace their existing abuse toolboxes, and that they will continue to investigate conduct that falls outside the scope of new regulation. Agencies, in particular the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), have used their existing enforcement powers nimbly to open investigations and secure commitments from defendant companies quickly. And recent cases affirm that the abuse toolbox is not inflexible, putting into practice the classic mantra that the categories of abuse are not closed. There is space for abuse of dominance rules to be applied flexibly to conduct not previously explored, for example in relation to sustainability, although this raises separate issues regarding certainty for businesses. As these trends and developments show, the law governing abuses of dominance, and the role it plays in competition policy, are constantly evolving and becoming more complex, bringing new challenges for businesses and practitioners to navigate.

Read the Russia chapter in the Dominance and Monopolies Review 2022, prepared by Maxim Boulba, Elena Andrianova and Kristina Potapova. The chapter provides an overview of the Russian regulations in the antitrust industry.

This article was prepared for and first published by The Law Reviews in June 2022.