The Fifth Antimonopoly Package: Scientific and Practical Commentary of Novelties

On September 1, 2023, amendments to the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”, named by antimonopoly community the fifth antimonopoly package, came into force. Amendments are long-awaited. The legislative process caused discussions and took almost six years, while the draft bill was repeatedly subjected to numerous adjustments and amendments. As a result, the adopted version of the fifth antimonopoly package has become a compromise between the regulator and the business community. The article contains detail analysis of the main newly introduced legal rules of that law, analysing new categories and institutions that have been legally enshrined: digital platform, network effect, new criteria for dominance of digital platform owners, new thresholds for antimonopoly control over merger and acquisitions and many others. The newly introduced legal rules are compared with available analogues in the legislation of foreign jurisdictions. The authors separately analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the amendments, offer options for interpreting legal norms that lend themselves to dual interpretation, and assess the risks that business entities may face.