| Abstract [eng] |
Term joint ventures, as used in international practice, is a term without precise legal definition. It may be described as an arrangement between two or more parties who pool their resources or collaborate in business to achieve common goals and reap mutual profits. The main feature of term joint venture in competition law is a joint control, i.e. joint venture must be jointly controlled by all its parents. For the first time the competition law found it necessary to describe term of joint ventures for the purposes of Merger Regulation adopted in 1989. Since then some joint venture agreements, if they satisfy some criteria are caught by merger control rules. These criteria are annual turnovers of concentration subjects, joint control and full-function. Lithuania law, however, does not make difference between full-function and non full-function (or partly function) joint ventures to catch agreements under merger control rules. The distinction is only important for calculation of turnovers. The difference between two kinds of joint venture was of crucial importance, since only full-function joint ventures were subjects to concentration privilege, i.e. subjects of more favourable substantive test and procedural rules. The situation significantly changed in year 2004 them concentration privilege was abolished for procedural rules. In respect of concentration privilege for applying of substantive test there is no concrete answer. On the one hand competition authorities tend to continue applying more favourable dominance test for those joint ventures which can be described as concentrations. On the other hand, joint ventures which can not be described as a concentrations benefit much from various block exemptions. |
