A Research On Criminal Liability System Of Unfair Competition

In market economy, unfair competition does not only lower the economic efficiency by violating the freedom, democracy, and fairness of competition system, but also causes damages of the interests of both consumers and the nation. Thus governments enact laws to prohibit it without hesitation. However, in order to pursue maximums benefit and to avoid elimination from vigorous market competitions, economic men always create various rascalities in unfair competition. Since it is difficult to deter its development by only investigating actor’s civil liability and administrative liability, governments have regulated the criminal liability system of unfair competition as either detailed or general.Although China has made Law of People’s Republic of China against Unfair Competition, those provisions were created with the restriction of historical conditions that China was at the beginning of the transitional period from planned economy to market economy. On the one hand, the Law is weak in implementation based upon its incomplete and rigid contents. On the other hand, it relies on the implementation of Penal Code which lacks necessary connection with the former. In this regard, the Law is easily in vain and brings negative effects to the market economy order, and those who harm other proprietors’ legal rights and interests and consumers’ rights of person and property may escape from penal sanctions. It worsens the market economy order.For all these reasons, this thesis, titled as A Research on Criminal Liability System of Unfair Competition, seeks to analyze the weakness of criminal liability system of unfair competition in China by comparing with it of developed countries. Also, it attempts to make certain reasonable suggestions on perfecting Chinese criminal liability system of unfair competition.Besides the Instruction and the Conclusion, this thesis is constructed of four parts briefly sketched as follows.Part1, to give an overview on the criminal liability system of unfair competition. Firstly, to retrospect the system from the historical perspective. Secondly, to give out the theoretical basis of the system from perspectives of economics, economic jurisprudence, and criminal jurisprudence. Lastly, to discuss the practical significance of the system, such as maintaining the market economy order, severe sanctions on unfair competition, improving economic efficiency and enhancing economic development, protecting proprietors and consumers’ legal rights, and promoting the social harmony.Part2, to demonstrate the weakness of the existing system on the illustration of its current situation. Firstly, to analyze the legislative mode in Law of People’s Republic of China against Unfair Competition which adopts two factors as conduct and responsibility. Secondly, it is concluded from the legal provisions that the core of the Law is consisted of civil liability, administrative liability, and the criminal liability. However, it is inefficient in deterrence and sanctions of its criminal liability. The phenomenon of "substituting criminal punishment with administrative ones" has become fairly outstanding due to vast administrative liability, rare criminal liability and little civil liability. The function of the Law in preventing unfair competition is decreasing, and ideal results are hard to be obtained.Part3, to observe how the system proceeds in developed countries or regions, and to draw relevant inspiration. Firstly, to investigate the legislative style and specific provisions of the system implemented in typical countries or regions abroad. Secondly, to expound the inspiration on the data basis of the investigation, such as the coordination and improvement of the core of the legal liability in anti-unfair competition and the penalty range and level of anti-unfair competition in criminal justice.Part4, it is the key argumentation of this thesis. This part attempts to expound how to perfect the criminal liability system of unfair competition in China. It suggests that the perfection of the system in China should be start out from four perspectives as the renewing of legislative concept, the selection of legislative mode, the reconstruction of legislative principle, and making specific content of criminal liability tracing system. Only with a healthy and perfect mechanism can criminal liability system be functionally deterrent, control unfair competition effectively, and ensure socialist economy order as better than before.