Administrative Liability for Abuse of a Dominant Position in the Commodity Market

Introduction. This article examines some of the issues that arise when applying Article 14.31 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, taking into account the abuse of a dominant position and defining the boundaries of a commodity market. Based on an analysis of judicial practice, it summarizes common errors made in the consideration of cases of violation of antitrust legislation. Materials and Methods. The materials for this article are research articles published in legal journals, containing research results on the topic, reflecting current theoretical justifications and proposals for improving legal regulation. The methods used include formal legal, comparative legal, and law enforcement practice analysis. The formal legal method is used to analyze regulatory legal acts. The comparative legal method is used to compare provisions of Russian legislation. An analysis of law enforcement practice is necessary to identify problems arising in the implementation of regulations preventing abuse of a dominant position. The Results of the Study. The author concluded that, despite the established system for limiting abuse of a dominant position in the market, violations still occur due to non -compliance with the principles of conduct of market participants established by law. To eliminate the actual circumstances leading to violations, methods of both internal and external administrative action are proposed. This has practical value for lawmaking in terms of improving legislation in the field of antitrust regulation and law enforcement when considering cases related to the violation of antitrust norms. Findings and Conclusions. The conducted study allowed us to propose measures to clarify the criteria for dominance, strengthen the evidence base, and increase the effectiveness of administrative action against unscrupulous market participants.