Legal Aspects of Parallel Imports in the Context of Economic Sanctions

The article presents the author’s position on the legalization of parallel imports in the Russian Federation. In this regard, the issues of legalization of parallel imports have become relevant again after the introduction of economic sanctions against the Russian Federation, as a result of which many foreign companies have decided to leave the domestic commodity market. The article examines legislative amendments regarding the exhaustion of the exclusive right, namely the Federal Law «On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation.» The author cites the facts of objective reality, which served as an impetus for the adoption of certain regulatory legal acts. The author demonstrates the approaches of supporters and opponents of parallel import. The main opponent of this mechanism is the lack of a system for controlling the origin and quality of imported goods, which in turn will lead to an increase in counterfeit goods. At the same time, the elimination of the commodity deficit is called as an argument for the introduction of parallel imports. Separately, the question of the expediency of extending the norms regulating parallel importation on medicines, since the end user does not have the opportunity to check the entire supply chain and make sure that the technology of transportation and storage of certain medicines is observed, respectively, there is a real threat to human life and health, as well as a threat to the national security of the Russian Federation. The analysis of the law enforcement practice of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation regarding the exhaustion of the exclusive right is made, and it is concluded that in each particular case, the public interest should have priority in cases.

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