The Applicable Principles Of Resale Price Maintenance

Competition is the source of the vitality of the market, and a prerequisite to ensure the sound development of the market economy. But there are many limitations preclude competition in current market, in which Resale Price Maintenance is widely used and extremely ambiguous. Because the vertical monopoly economic effect has two sides, different countries have different considerations on the nature of competition restriction and the result of its harmful behaviors. The inconsistency of economic theories from different schools affects different countries on economic policy, competition policy making and legislative principle of selection. Recently NDRC (the national development and Reform Commission heavy fined Moutai and Wuliangye because of the "limit order" and Shanghai came to court of "Johnson vertical price fixing case", and the two cases attracted wide discussion among the theoretical circle. How the Resale Price Maintenance is applied to the law?The foreign laws on the Resale Price Maintenance are mainly divided into three kinds: one is reasonable analysis principle, the view of USA and Korea, in which economic efficiency standards are used to judge whether the practice is illegal. The other kind is the banning+exemption principle of the EU and its members.The third one is the illegal per se rule which adopted by Japan, Australia and other countries. The provisions of the Resale Price Maintenance agreement of "anti-monopoly law" in our country, are close to the EU. Two aspects, "generally forbidden" and "exemption exception" are included in the core, but in the legal practice, China has gradually introduced the principle of reasonable analysis which formed Chinese characteristics.This thesis regards that Rule of Reason or Illegal Per Se Rule should not be applied directly to the Resale Price Maintenance behavior. It should be analyzed on the conditions of our own country. In the guidance of the second judgment of "Johnson case", "simple and reasonable rule" with justice and mercy should be adopted, assisted by the analysis of the market construction.This thesis discusses the following four aspects:Firstly, the basic problems of the Resale Price Maintenance behavior are discussed, the conception, characteristics and classification of the vertical restrictive competition agreement are individually described, and finally the economic effect of the Resale Price Maintenance behavior is analyzed.Secondly, the foreign experiences are summarized to regulate Resale Price Maintenance behavior. The regulations of USA, EU and Japan are analyzed and Reasonable Rule, Illegal Per Se Rule and General Ban+Exception Exemption Rule are compared in this part, and the experience are summed up for our reference.Thirdly, our principles of legislation are put forward at first, and then through the analysis of "liquor case" and "Johnson case", this thesis summarizes our country’s judicial and administrative regulations to Resale Price Maintenance, and the author’s own points of view are put forward.Fourthly, suitable suggestions are put forward in the presence of Resale Price Maintenance regulation on China’s current problems. This thesis affirmed the judicial organ for "concise reasonable analysis principle" in line with the Chinese conditions, and specific regulation proposals are put forward from the aspects of the legislation, the specific criteria, the conditions of exemption norms and law enforcement practice.