Research On Antitrust Relief Of Consumers’ Rights And Interests

The infringement of consumer rights by monopolistic behavior have the featuresof large-scale, wide range, small individual amount but a huge group amount and soon. Moreover, from the case of infringing on the rights and interests of consumers bymonopolistic behavior, we know, the types of corporate monopoly behavior is also inconstant change. Consumer Protection Law (hereinafter referred to as the "ConsumerLaw") is the leading law in consumers’ protection, but in the field of the anti-monopolylaw, it can do nothing about the protection of the rights and interests of consumers, itjust can look for relief in the anti-monopoly law. There are some reasons about it:First, consumers have a special status in the anti-monopoly law. The rights ofconsumers in the anti-monopoly law is not limited to the rights of civil subject, in therelationship of anti-monopoly law, some rights enjoyed by the consumer has gonebeyond the rights of civil subject. On the one hand, in antitrust legal relationship,consumers have social property, rather than only civil legal relationship. Infringementof operators in the civil law is aimed at the particular subject, when the antitrustbehavior is not for a particular subject, but for a certain type of groups. Consumer is apronoun of a group in the anti-monopoly law, but did not give up its right to pursuit theindividual interests. In the process of following after individual rights, it alsoemphasize its social attributes. On the other hand, the antitrust legal relationship onconsumers’ rights beyond the rights of civil subject in the content of the rights andobligations. Consumers as a civil subject, it’s emphasized its autonomy of will, theequivalence relation with operators and equal status in the relationship betweenconsumer protection laws. But in antitrust legal relationship, the rights and obligationsof the relationship between consumers, operators, and the national public authority isnot reciprocal. In addition, in the process of realizing rights, the way consumersrealized their rights and interests beyond the civil law on the consumer. When theinterested person’s civil rights have been violated, the person can prosecute in court torequire the infringer to compensate for their losses, the non-interested person did nothave the right to sue. In many countries, in the antitrust field, consumers’ rights can be achieve by public interest litigation which initiated by the social organization. Whenthe monopolistic behavior happened, the Government may pursue the administrativeresponsibility of the offender under normal circumstances. In addition, in somecountries, antitrust law stipulate that when the antitrust acts against the interests ofconsumers, non-interested person or social groups can also sue for it.Second, the monopolistic behavior violate consumers’ rights and interests,it notonly refer to damages, but also refer to the qualitative location of illegal monopolisticbehavior, therefore, the problems caused by their behavior, not only involved injudicial areas, but also involved in public law areas.Third, the "Consumer Law" the protect consumer rights by the interested person’slitigation, but in antitrust legal relationship, some non-interested person can also sued.Therefore, the "Consumer Law" can’t protect consumers’ rights in antitrust legalrelationship, we need seek for relief from the antitrust laws. China’s “Anti-monopolyLaw” was formally implemented on August1,2008, from the implementation point ofview, the law which only contain57clauses does not effectively control monopolisticbehavior and safeguard the interests of the relevant person. With the rapid developmentof China’s market economy, the cases about infringement of antitrust violationsincreasing. In addition, the relief for antitrust behavior is not only related to individualconsumers’ interests, but also related to the maintenance of social welfare. Based onthis, the article start from the goal of consumer protection, summarized the shortages ofconsumers’ protection in antitrust law, in the base of learning from foreign advancedexperiences, make the relief of consumers’ rights and interests in antitrust law perfect.This article is divided into four parts:The first part described the infringement status quo of consumers’ rights andinterests by monopolistic behavior, summarizes the characteristics of monopolisticbehavior against the interests of consumers, and the reasons of consumers’ necessity toseek antitrust relief.The second part describes the current situation of the Chinese anti-monopoly lawon consumers’ rights and interests relief, analyze "Anti-monopoly Law" and itssupporting laws and legislations, summarizes the shortages of China’s antitrust law onconsumer protection. The third part examines antitrust relief system on consumer protection in somecountries, with the United States, Japan and Germany which have typical systems forthe inspective object, analyzed their private antitrust litigation, mass litigation, liability,burden of proof and other aspects of system respectively and summarised theircharacters.Part IV, seek China’s antitrust relief on consumer protection from the expansion ofthe scope of the rights of consumers on the antitrust law, improve the relief system ofanti-monopoly law on consumer protection, establish compensation system and tobuild burden of proof in favor of the consumer legal action this four aspects.