The Research On Antitrust Law Criminal Responsibility

Antitrust Law is known to be the "economic constitution" under the marketeconomy system or “Magna Charta of free enterprise”, which plays a significant andspecial role in maintaining the competition order of the market economy. AntitrustLaw’s deterrence on the illegal monopoly behaviors mainly depends on its sanctionsprovisions, especially the Criminal sanctions provisions. Criminal sanctions could bethe most severely sanctions, which would turn to give strongly protection to thecompetition order and the damaged operators or consumers. Regulations on theMonopoly agreements, abuse of dominant market position and business concentrationare the three pillars of Chinese Antitrust Law. These three monopoly behaviors wouldbe seriously harmed to the society, which hence should be convicted and punished.However, the current Chinese antitrust law refrain these monopoly behaviors frombeing criminally punished at the legislative level, denying the severity of its socialharmfulness. Otherwise, having looked at other various countries, we could foundantitrust criminal liability was generally strengthened. And the U.S. model of thecriminalized Antitrust Law significantly influenced the other jurisdictions. Thetypically models of criminal sanctions in Antitrust Law are the American singlesystem of informant and suit, the Japan informant mode exclusive owned by FairTrade Commission and the “firstly in administrative way and then in judicial way” inChinese Taiwan. Extraterritorial criminal antitrust regimes could be of referentialsignificance to China, especially to fill the vacancy of monopoly penalties. In view ofthe reality in our country, we should provide the criminal responsibilities onmonopoly behaviors, and include the crime of monopoly agreements into and "crimeof undermining the socialist economic order” in Chinese Criminal Law. The penaltiesshould include fines and imprisonment. The amount of fines could be decidedaccording to severity of crimes, and the maximum amount should be In line with ourcurrent economic situation. The Imprisonment could be appropriately provided in nomore than three years.