Журнал ЗАКОН

Executive Director of the Research and Educational Centre “Energetics and Law”, Associate Professor at the Entrepreneurial Law Department of Lomonosov Moscow State University Petr Gordeyevich Lakhno replies to questions of “ZAKON” journal chief editor Yan Piskunov.

Which events have had the major influence on development of the Russian and international law? We’ve asked our experts to offer their opinions on this.

Authors analyse current legal regulation of joint activity in the sphere of subsoil use and touch upon prospects for improving the legislation in order to increase the investment attractiveness of oil and gas sector. Imperfect institutional environment in the Russian oil & gas sector, making oil and gas companies use foreign (mainly English) law, as well as mismatch between contractual regulations of resources development joint activity used by business entities and public, including fiscal regulation, are regarded as some of the major obstacles for investment in the industry. Authors note that countries — leading exporters of hydrocarbons have developed their own contractual regulation of joint activity in the sphere of subsoil use, based usually on generally accepted international standard conditions of “oil contracts” and adapted to their own rule of law, which is an essential element in ensuring energy security and sovereignty of the state.

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Keywords: subsoil, E&D, competitiveness, joint ventures, joint operation agreement, partnership, consortium, risk service contract, product share contract

The article contains a brief analysis of the system of contracts executed in the sphere of certain energy sectors. Author brings those contracts to light, classifies them by functional usage in the respective energy sectors and, finally, outlines the importance of standard contractual terms in the conditions of uncertain effective legislation.

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Keywords: сontract, electric power industry, heat supply, water supply, gas supply, energy efficiency, standard terms

In 2011 transition period set by the power industry reform and aimed at establishing competition in the sector was over. Taking into account restrictions imposed by power specifics, models of electric power and capacity turnover based both on legal regulation and rules for commercial infrastructure do not provide effective competition. Author touches upon the problems and objectives of regulation, which he evaluates as the most complex, and proves why they are to be solved in the scope of the further wholesale and retail electricity markets’ enhancement.

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Keywords: state regulation of the Russian electricity market, mechanisms of energy purchase and sale of electricity and power, Russian electricity wholesale and retail markets, trade organisation activity, day-ahead market of energy sale and purchase (spot market)

The article is devoted to the development and improvement of price regulation in electric power and thermal energy sectors of the Russian economics. Author follows basic stages of the formation of the current regulation system and cites key amendments to the respective legislation.

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Keywords: electric power, thermal energy, price regulation, cross-subsidies, social norm of energy consumption, cancellation of price regulation

The implementation of energy saving legislation is followed by various litigations. Huge part of them are related to the requirements for installation of energy meters. In the scope of further improvement of energy saving and energy efficiency legal regulation proper identification of problems coming up within trials is needed.

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Keywords: energy saving and energy efficiency legislation, energy meters, energy resources

The article covers the actual status as well as development of the legislative and normative framework of the national renewables support system in relation to the objectives of the Russian electrical energy industry transfer to a new technological platform. The author shows how the system has been transformed from an initial concept to legislative and normative regulation of different sectors of the Russian electrical energy market.

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Keywords: energy, renewables, energy market

The article analyses legal issues of interconnection between environmental protection, natural resources utilisation and the development of energy sector of the economy. Many manifestations of eco-legal aspects of ensuring energy safety are proved to have interrelated ecological, economic, social and political significance for Russia. It is shown that the problem of environmental safety in energy sector could be solved both by observing principles set in the international acts on sustainable development and meeting requirements of ecological and natural resource legislation.

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Keywords: environmental safety, energy safety, environmental law, natural resources legislation, natural resources, environmental requirements, globalisation, modernisation of the economy, the concept of sustainable development

Author examines international legal regulation of energy sector as well as forms of regional regulation of the EU energy market, extraterritorial effect of the EU energy legislation and topical current political and legal issues of collaboration between Russia and the EU, including OPAL, South Stream, and antimonopoly investigation of the Russian supplier’s activity in the EU.

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Keywords: energy legislation, Energy Charter Treaty, Convention on Ensuring International Energy Security, Third Energy Package, OPAL, South Stream, antimonopoly investigation

The article touches upon long-term contracts executed in the European gas market, particularly their history, benefits and drawbacks which are now evaluated ambiguously. Authors analyse changes in performance of long-term contracts between gas consumers and gas suppliers brought about by the European gas market liberalisation. Special attention is paid to court and arbitrage proceedings related to gas customers’ claims for amending few clauses of the contracts, including determination of gas prices.

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Keywords: long-term contracts, Third Energy Package, arbitrage, amending contract’s gas price

The article deals with truth in a criminal case as a goal of court proceedings. The necessity of an active role of the court in research and verification of evidence submitted by parties as well as the inadmissibility of laying charge function on the court are proved.

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Keywords: purpose of criminal proceedings, truth in a criminal case, court’s role in competitive criminal proceedings

The article touches upon the necessity of discovering objective truth as a goal of criminal process. Author analyses prevailing opinion on this matter according to which objective perception of truth is impossible.

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Keywords: objective truth, criminal process, establishing event circumstances, investigation of crimes

Awarding ceremony of the Russian Corporate Counsel Association “Success. The best corporate counsel of the year” came off. Gala reception of the Russian Corporate Counsel Association in tribute of the Constitution Day of the Russian Federation was held near the Kremlin in “Four Seasons” Hotel on 11 December 2014. More than 200 chief executives of legal departments, vice-presidents of the companies – members of the RCCA as well as representatives of government authorities were invited. The VII annual awarding ceremony of award winners of the Russian Corporate Counsel Association “Success. The best corporate counsel of the year” took place as part of the reception.

The article focuses on the problem of goodwill legal nature. The analysis of Anglo-American and Continental concepts of goodwill enables authors to determine its functional purpose and elements as well as its correlation with traditional objects of civil law rights.

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Keywords: goodwill, business reputation, company, business, consumers

Author provides analysis of prohibiting norms introduced to the Russian legislation in 2014 and aimed at storing personal data of Russian Internet users within the Russian Federation. Proposed restrictions on cross-border data transmission seem controversial since the control over their abiding as well as their correspondence with international law and Russia’s Constitution are highly debatable.

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Keywords: personal data, database, information, Internet, operators of IT systems

The corporate opportunities doctrine, known to certain legal systems, is examined in terms of the recent courts practice and amendments to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. In particular, author submits that the effective Russian legislation permits imposing liability on the sole executive body of a company for misappropriation of its corporate opportunities.

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Keywords: directors’ liability, liability of management, liability of CEO, general director’s liability, duty of loyalty, duty of good faith, conflict of interest, duty of care, business opportunities, corporate opportunities, damages, loss of profit

The article covers complicated situations that might be caused by expromission, a new for the Russian legislation form of debt transfer made by an agreement between a creditor and a new debtor. In particular, following topics are examined: correlation of an agreement between a creditor and a new debtor with an agreement between new and primal debtor; notification of a debtor concerning to debt transfer; consequences of obligation performance by new debtor.

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Keywords: singular succession, passive intercession, expromission, substitution of persons in the obligation