OREANDA-NEWS. September 16, 2010. The 9th Arbitration Appeal Court upheld the judgment of Moscow Arbitration Court on the case of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation versus the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia), reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

On 17th November 2009, FAS Russia found that the Ministry violated the antimonopoly law by fixing requirements to economic entities that were not provided for by the law of the Russian Federation (Clause 2 Part 1 Article 15of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”).

The case was initiated after the Ministry of Energy passed the Order “On approving the List of facilities of fuel-and-energy-complex under the jurisdiction of and within the determined scope of activities of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation that are subject to departmental security service”. Apart from state-owned facilities, the List included facilities of other forms of ownership, particularly, facilities owned by physical persons, which is contrary to the Federal Law “On Departmental Security Service”. Moreover, the List included canteens, automotive maintenance workshops, indoor parking space and other facilities. By including private facilities in the List, the Ministry of Energy entrenched that those facilities could only be protected by “Vedomstvennaya Okhrana” Federal State Unitary Enterprise of the Ministry of Energy jointly with “Okhrana” Federal State Unitary Enterprise of the Ministry of Interior of the Russian Federation. Therefore, private security firms were not allowed to provide security services in this field, which violated the antimonopoly law.

FAS Russia issued a determination to the Ministry of Energy to stop the violation.

The Ministry of Energy disagreed with the decision of the antimonopoly authority and filed a lawsuit to Moscow Arbitration Court on invalidating the decision and determination issued by the Antimonopoly Service. The Court of First Instance ruled in favour of FAS Russia.

On 19th July 2010, the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation informed that following the FAS Russia’s decision and determination it was drafting a new version of the List of facilities of fuel-and-energy-complex under the jurisdiction of and within the determined scope of activities of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation that are subject to departmental security service, as approved by the ministerial Order. At the same time the Ministry lodged an appeal to the 9th Arbitration Appeal Court.

The Court of First Instance and the Appeal Court confirmed the rightness of the FAS Russia’s position.