International foundations of the criminal law protection of competition
The issues of protecting competition and combating the most common and dangerous offenses committed against it and in its sphere are widely discussed by the world community at the sites of such international organizations as the UN, WTO, EAEU, BRICS. However, there are no special international conventions aimed directly at protecting competition that would unite the states on this basis, being binding on them. At the same time, there are a number of international acts in the world that establish guidelines for competition protection policy. Some of their provisions concerning the issues of criminal liability for unfair competition determine both its grounds and sanctions. International law establishes requirements for special protection in relation to unfair competition with violation of rights to intellectual property. At the same time, criminal liability for anticompetitive agreements and other types of anticompetitive practices is exclusively advisory for countries. In addition to traditional anti-competitive violations, a number of international organizations also point to the danger of collusion in tenders and non-compliance with the requirements of antimonopoly authorities, as well as obstruction of their activities. Among the recommended sanctions, both for cases of gross and intentional serious violation of the law, and for failure to comply with law enforcement order, not only a fine, but also imprisonment for individuals is suggested. Due to the peculiarities of domestic laws, the priority of protecting national interests, in practice, many problems arise in the interaction of states in the investigation of anticompetitive violations, including those that entail criminal liability, in particular, cartels. However, despite this, the countries demonstrate their intention to reach a consensus on the most complex issues of interaction, and the proposals already developed by international organizations contribute to the formation of domestic principles for the protection of competition, including its legal aspects.