Doctrinal and regulatory approaches to the concept of affiliation

The article is devoted to the ontology of the concept of “affiliation” in Russian law. The author examines the doctrinal views on the content of this concept, as well as the normative approach to determining the legal status of affiliated persons in corporate, antimonopoly, bankruptcy and tax legislation. Despite the consolidation of the concept of “affiliated persons” in civil legislation, the grounds for the emergence of affiliation, as well as the legal consequences of affiliation, are specified in the industry legislation. This provision indicates the absence of a unified concept of “affiliation” in Russian law. It is worth recognizing that the expansion of the signs of affiliation as a relationship of legal connectedness “blurs” this concept in Russian law. The uncertainty and obvious insufficiency of the legal regulation of the concept of affiliation demonstrates the lack of an exhaustive legal regulation of the activities of persons within the framework of relations developing within the group of companies. The universalization of the concept of “affiliation” in the Russian legislation is not possible. It is proposed to establish the affiliation of persons directly in law enforcement activities by applying a functional approach to the analysis of the possibility of a person to influence the subjects of civil legal relations.