Concession agreement parties' legal nature under the Russian Federation legislation

A concession agreement is a form of public-private partnership which nowadays has the leading role in attracting investments into the economy of the country. Under the concession agreement, the concessionaire constructs or reconstructs at its expense an infrastructure object which belongs (will belong) to the grantor. Meanwhile the concessionaire gets the right to operate this object within a certain period of time. The concession agreement parties are defined in the article, as well as their legal nature is analyzed. The concession agreement parties are the grantor and the concessionaire. The grantor can be the Russian Federation (with respect to the federal property), the federal subjects of the Russian Federation (with respect to the property of the entity of the Russian Federation) or municipalities (with respect to the municipal property). The Russian Federation, the entities of the Russian Federation and the municipalities are equal with the concessionaire in the concession relationships. Thus, they are subject to the rules determining participation of legal entities in civil legal relations. The concessionaire can be an individual entrepreneur, a Russian or foreign legal entity or two or more entities acting under a contract of partnership (the joint venture agreement). The author of the article considers the representation of the grantor in the concession relationships. The Russian Federation as the grantor is represented by the government of the Russian Federation or the authorized federal executive body. The subject of the Russian Federation is represented by the body of state power of the subject of the Russian Federation. The municipal entity is represented by the local authority. Individual rights and obligations of the grantor may be exercised by the bodies and legal entities authorized by the grantor, for example, by state (municipal) unitary enterprises. The author has made the conclusion that the legal nature of the relationships between the grantor and the person acting on its behalf can be defined as representation. This conclusion is based on the analysis of legislation and law enforcement practice. The grounds and procedure for changing of parties under the concession agreement are analyzed in the article. Special attention is given to the substitution of the concessionaire by way of assignment or transfer of a debt; the substitution of the concessionaire, a legal entity, in case of its reorganization; the substitution of the concessionaire in case of default (improper) execution of its obligations to the creditor; the substitution of the concessionaire on the basis of the decision of the executive body; the transfer of the ownership of the object of the concession agreement to another owner. As a result, some proposals on the legal regulation of the identified gaps in legislation are made in the article.

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