Research On Consumer Protection In The View Of Anti-monopoly Law

With the development of market economy, illegal monopoly on consumer rights and interests is causedviolations is not confined to the individual’s accidental problem, but has developed into a common problemwith particularity gradually.The anti-monopoly law to protect consumer’s rights and interests mainly by indirect means intraditional views, but it has appeared the trend that anti-monopoly law to protect consumer’s rights andinterests directly in theory and practice with the gradually development of consumer’s rights and interestsprotection movement. Because only dredge the path of anti-monopoly laws protecting consumers’ rightsand interests directly, can make consumer get real compensation after the monopoly behavior in violation.Then academia began to stress the private implementation of anti-monopoly law.However, very few articles of “The anti-monopoly law of the People’s Republic of China” referred toconsumers and those were lack of operability. Until the judicial interpretation named “The supremepeople’s court about the trial because of monopoly behavior caused by the regulation of civil dispute casesof application of law in” has came in2012, it provided a series of procedures expressly for individualconsumer suit as the plaintiff filed anti-monopoly civil litigation. We can’t deny that the judicialinterpretation on the basis of anti-monopoly law provided procedural safeguard for consumers safeguardingthe legitimate rights and interests initiatively by themselves to find direct relief. But it has some limitationsabout the consumer’s suit qualification, the burden of proof of configuration, procedure and administrativeprocedure, the setting of damages and mass lawsuit in the field of anti-monopoly and so on. So it isnecessary to dredge the path for consumers to save their own rights and interests directly in anti-monopolythrough properly draw lessons from foreign related anti-monopoly law system to perfect the system ofanti-monopoly civil litigation of our country.This article attempts to response the issue that consumers seeking direct relief and having access toacquire the actual compensation in reality through discussing how to improve the system of theanti-monopoly civil litigation. From a perspective of the antitrust laws to discuss the protection of consumers’ rights and interests, and then, take the protection of the consumer rights and interests ofanti-monopoly as a breakthrough point to look at the problems existing in the system of anti-monopoly lawand put forward solutions. This paper consists of the following several parts:Part one: Mainly analyzes the necessity for anti-monopoly law to protect consumer rights and interests.Increasingly developed market economy makes the monopoly behavior for the violation of consumers’rights and interests are increasing. And such violation compared to the general consumers’ rights andinterests has its own characteristics. These characteristics determine the suffer from monopoly behavior ofconsumer rights and interests can’t get the sufficient relief from "Consumers’ rights and interestsprotection law". Moreover, the anti-monopoly law as a special law for regulating monopoly behavior, it hassignificant differences in the terms of protecting consumers’ rights and interests between "Consumer rightsand interests protects a law". And the anti-monopoly laws to protect consumers’ rights and interests havesufficient reason from either the legislation purpose or logical starting point.Part two: Mainly discusses the anti-monopoly law to protect consumers’ rights and interests of the way.Although the thinking of "anti-monopoly law of the protection of consumer rights and interests is a kind ofindirect protection" has been rooted in the traditional views. But with the modernization development ofanti-monopoly law and echo the demand of the judicial practice, the anti-monopoly law of consumers’rights and interests has been showing a direct protection trend. It is the direct protection trend called for weset up a perfect anti-monopoly civil litigation system, which makes the consumers suffer because ofmonopoly behavior get effective relief.Part three: Mainly analyzes the legal system in our country that related to the protection of consumers’rights and interests, including the anti-monopoly law and the supreme people’s court judicial interpretationof anti-monopoly law. Before the anti-monopoly judicial interpretation issued, the anti-monopoly law inprotecting consumers’ rights and interests of the effect is not very ideal. And then the judicial interpretationopened the door for consumers which their rights and interests have been damaged from monopolybehavior to seek directly relief. But the judicial interpretation in the institutional innovation ofanti-monopoly civil litigation is still inadequate, failed to respond to the problems existing in the practice,needs to be further improved.Part four: Point out the reference about perfecting the system of anti-monopoly civil litigation in our country based on anti-monopoly relief system of consumers’ rights and interests of the United States,Germany and Japan and other countries for examples and analysis. Among them, with emphasis on thepre-trial disclosure of evidence system and three times the punitive damages system of American. Becauseof the pretty similar litigation culture of Germany and China, its group lawsuit system of anti-monopoly hasprofound significance to our anti-monopoly public interest litigation. Provisions of the fair tradecommission terms and personal supervision are brought into Japan’s anti-monopoly law. Those given theconsumers the individual’s right to supervise the anti-monopoly enforcement authority. Although thosearticles is not belong to the anti-monopoly civil litigation system, but to achieve that aim to antitrust laws toprotect consumers’ rights and interests is also helpful.Part five: Given the Suggestions to consummate the realistic path of anti-monopoly civil litigationsystem in China. On the one hand, we should give consumers substantive rights related anti-monopoly. Onthe other hand, in the two modes of having or not having presence of administrative procedure, through thesystemic design to reduce the burden of proof of consumers, Build about monopoly system of punitivedamages, Make consumers on their rights to the monopoly behavior after access to the actual damages. Inaddition, since from the view of anti-monopoly law of protection of consumers’ rights and interests, So inaddition to the anti-monopoly civil litigation case, brought by individual consumers as the plaintiff, givedisappear assist the anti-monopoly civil litigation subject qualification, and the representative lawsuitsystem in the civil procedure law to perfect, broadening the channels for antitrust group litigation, isundoubtedly an effective path.