纵向垄断协议交易相对人行政责任的类型化配置

A Research on Administrative Liability of Trading Counterparts of Vertical Monopoly Agreement

垄断协议以参与各方的合意为前提,是两个或两个以上的市场主体协商一致的限制竞争行为。交易相对人作为纵向垄断协议法律关系的主体,应当为自己的违法行为承担可能的法律责任。但目前交易相对人法律责任的认定规则以及与之相关的判断标准在理论研究和法律制度层面均未得到回应,以致执法实践中呈现出交易相对人行政责任分析缺位的态势。交易相对人与经营者同为纵向垄断协议的参与者,但二者在个案中发挥的客观作用与参与的主观心理状态有所区别,在应责性和责任承担的严厉程度上应当有所体现。就交易相对人行政责任的认定而言,应当以“客观作用+主观心理”作为其类型化的标准,由此划分为共同主导型交易相对人、辅助型交易相对人和胁从型交易相对人,并以此为基础考察竞争损害程度、获益情况、支付能力等因素,梯次配置相应的法律责任,以期全面、有效地规制纵向垄断协议。

Agreed by all parties on the illegal act,a monopoly agreement is an act of restricting competition agreed upon by two or more market entities.As the subject of the legal relationship of the vertical monopoly agreement,the trading counterparty shall bear legal responsibility for its illegal acts.However,at present,the rules for determining the legal liability of trading counterparties and the related judgment standards have not been responded to in theoretical research and legal system development.Thereby the analysis of the administrative liability of trading counterparties is lacking in law enforcement practice.Trading counterparties and business operators are both participants in the vertical monopoly agreement,but their objective functions and subjective psychology in individual cases are different,which should be reflected in the severity of legal liability.As far as the administrative liability is concerned,taking the objective functions and subjective psychology as the standard of typification,trading counterpart can be divided into the co-dominant trading counterpart,the auxiliary trading counterpart and the coerced trading counterpart.On this basis,considering factors such as the degree of competition damage,benefits obtained and payment capacity,legal responsibilities can be allocated accordingly so as to comprehensively and effectively regulate vertical monopoly agreements.