1.1 Underlying issues of competition regulations

The fundamentals of competition regulation in Ukraine are stipulated by Article 42 of the Ukrainian Constitution, dated 28 June 1996, and Chapter 3 "Property Basis of a Business" of the Commercial Code of Ukraine, dated 1 January 2004.

Below are the relevant intergovernmental agreements within the CIS:

• Antimonopoly Policies Harmonization Agreement, dated 12 March 1993 (took effect in Ukraine on 12 March 1993)
• Harmonized Antimonopoly Policy Implementation Agreement, dated 25 January 2000 (ratified in Ukraine on 16 January 2003)

Annex 1. Regulations on the Prevention of Monopolistic Activity and Unfair Competition, dated 25 January 2000

Annex 2. Regulations of the work of the Interstate Council for Antimonopoly Policy, dated 25 January 2000

• Cooperation Agreement between the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Investment of the Republic of Belarus and the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, dated 18 February 1997
• Agreement for the Principal Lines of Cooperation of the CIS Member States in the Sphere of Consumer Protection, dated 25 January 2000 (ratified in Ukraine on 7 March 2002 and concluded in the course of the implementation of the Agreement for Creation of the Free Trade Zone, dated 15 April 1994, and the Protocol of Amendments thereto, dated 2 April 1999)
• Agreement for Cooperation of the CIS Member States in the Sphere of Regulation of Advertising Activity, dated 19 December 2003 (ratified in Ukraine on 13 December 2004)

The following laws that specifically relate to competition are now in operation in Ukraine:

• the Law of Ukraine No.3659 "On the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine", dated 26 November 1993;
• the Law of Ukraine No.22-10 "On Protection of Economic Competition", dated 11 January 2001;
• the Law of Ukraine No.236/96-VR "On Protection against Unfair Competition", dated 7 June 1996.

There are a number of more specific regulations such as:

• Regulations "On Concentration" approved by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine Order No.33-r, dated 19 February 2002;
• Regulations "On Filing an Application to Obtain the Prior Approval for Concerted Actions" approved by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine Order No.26-p, dated 12 February 2002;
• Procedure "For Determining the Monopolistic (Dominant) Position of Subjects of Economic Activity on the Market" approved by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine Order No.49-r, dated 5 March 2002;
• Procedure "For the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Approving Coordinated Actions and Economic Concentrations of Subjects of Economic Activity" approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution No.219, dated 28 February 2002.

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1.2. Antitrust authorities: structure and competencies

The authorities responsible for applying merger legislation are:

• the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine ("the AMCU"), a central body of executive power with a special status, whose purpose is to ensure the state protection of competition;
• the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (to the extent provided under Ukrainian laws).

If a transaction requires clearance, the parties must file an application with the AMCU requesting the transaction approval. If the AMCU refuses to grant a prior approval, the parties have the right to request such an approval from the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

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1.3. Extraterritoriality

The AMCU conducts international cooperation in three ways:

• bilateral agreements with several European states;
• multilateral international treaties between CIS member states; and
• cooperation with specialized international organizations (CIS International Council for Antimonopoly Policy, International Competition Network).

The following intergovernmental bodies operate within the CIS:

• Interstate Council for Antimonopoly Policy (ICAP) (acts on basis of Annex 2 to the Agreement for Implementation of the Harmonized Antimonopoly Policy, dated 25 January 2000)
• The Headquarters for Joint Investigations of Violations of the Antimonopoly Laws of the CIS Member States (was set up in accordance with the resolution of the ICAP's 23-rd Meeting (30-31 May 2006, Kiev)). The purpose of setting-up the Headquarters was to conduct joint investigations of violations of the antimonopoly legislation in socially significant and infrastructural markets, successful operation of which directly influences the CIS citizens' well-being and promotes the CIS states' integration.

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