On May 23, 2007 the inaugural meeting of the Non-Profit Partnership for Promotion of Competition took place - a group that joins together leading antitrust lawyers and economists specializing in competition matters. Grigory Chernyshov, a Senior Lawyer at EPAM Law, was elected member of the General Council of the Partnership.
According to the adopted Charter of the Partnership, its primary areas of concern will be:
- The efficient application of antitrust regulations in close cooperation with Russian antitrust authorities;
- Promoting an intelligent dialogue between the business community and Russian antitrust authorities on competition matters;
- Involvement in the legislative process regarding competition matters, etc.
The Non-Profit Partnership for Promotion of Competition welcomes both individual members (professional lawyers and economists specializing in competition law) and corporate members, such as professional organizations including law firms, research centers etc.
At the meeting, members were elected to the General Council of the Partnership: Evgueny Voyevodin, a senior lawyer at CMS Cameron McKenna LLP international law firm, Artur Rokhlin, a partner at Yust law firm, Igor Akimov, a partner at EDAS law office, Grigory Chernyshov, a senior lawyer and an attorney-at-law at Law Offices EPAM, and Vasily Rudomino, a senior partner at ALRUD law firm. Evgueny Voyevodin was elected Chairman of the General Council.
According to E.Voyevodin, next on the agenda is to file the approved constitutional documents of the Non-Profit Partnership for Promotion of Competition with government registration authorities, after which the newly created organization will commence its work. In addition, the General Council has already begun drafting a plan of action that is to be discussed at the first General Members’ Meeting, the highest administrative body of the Partnership.
Director of the Federal Antitrust Service, Igor Artemiev, commenting on the foundation of the Non-Profit Partnership for Promotion of Competition, said that the Service welcomed the new organization. “These kinds of associations of professionals specializing in the law of competition and competition policies are active in many countries,” he said, “And we know from experience that their cooperation with antitrust authorities has a positive effect on promotion of competition.” Therefore, the antitrust service will readily support the Non-Profit Partnership for Promotion of Competition and looks forward to long-term cooperation, the head of the Service emphasized.