Research On Regulation About Exemption Of Horizontal Agreements

Horizontal agreement is a typical anti-competitive practice. Anti-monopoly law of every country forbids horizontal agreements nowadays. But the forbiddance here is not absolute and the horizontal agreement is not an absolutely illegal behavior. For various reasons, although anti—monopoly laws of all countries forbid the horizontal agreement, such laws also will give the wrongdoer a way out, allowing its legal existence under certain circumstances, which constitutes the exemption system of horizontal agreements. This paper regards the exemption of horizontal agreements as the research object. Through basic theoretical analysis of the concept, economic and legal foundations of exemption system, this paper introduces the current situation of exemption of China's horizontal agreements in such aspect as application sphere, executive institution and executive procedure and analyses its shortages and the problems in practice. This paper also puts forward corresponding suggestions from the author's angle, hoping to provide some significant reference to the perfection of existing exemption system of horizontal agreement of Anti-Trust Law and legal construction of anti-trust law in our country.