轴辐协议反垄断法规制困境与纾解进路

The Regulatory Dilemma and Relief Approach of Anti-monopoly Law in the Hub and Spoke Agreement

轴辐协议较之传统的横向垄断协议和纵向垄断协议,既有联系,又有区别。基于结构复杂与行为隐蔽的特征,其对消费者福利的损害更为深刻。2022年修订的《反垄断法》第十九条对轴辐协议虽有所关注,但并未引入新类型的垄断协议,也未就其法律属性界定、构成要件认定、违法性分析等问题进行详述。因此,基于实际竞争效果的考量,应尽快明确轴辐协议的横向垄断属性,从表现形式、横向合谋认定、轴心经营者作用认定等方面厘清轴辐协议的构成要件。同时,应结合反垄断法发展趋势及我国立法动态,淡化本身违法原则与合理原则之间的违法性分析界限,由轴辐协议本身的竞争效果作为实质性标准进行违法性分析,以此完善轴辐协议反垄断法规制进路。

Compared to traditional horizontal monopoly agreements and vertical monopoly agreements,the hub and spoke agreement has both connections and differences.Due to its complex structure and covert behavior,its damage to consumer welfare is more profound.Although Article 19 of the revised Anti Monopoly Law in 2022 pays attention to hub and spoke agreement,it does not introduce new types of monopoly agreements in terms of nature,nor does it elaborate in detail on issues such as defining legal attributes,determining constituent elements,and analyzing illegality.Therefore,based on the consideration of actual competitive effects,it is necessary to clarify the horizontal monopoly attribute of the hub and spoke agreement as soon as possible,and clarify the constituent elements of the hub and spoke agreement from the aspects of expression form,horizontal collusion recognition,and axis operator role recognition.At the same time,in combination with the development trend of Anti-monopoly Law and the legislative dynamics in China,the boundary between the principle of illegality and the principle of reasonableness in the analysis of illegality should be weakened,and the substantive standard of illegality analysis should be based on the competitive effect of the hub and spoke agreement itself,in order to build a path for improving the Anti-monopoly Law of the hub and spoke agreement.