Legal Regulation of Economic Activity and Business Law
Core rules
Business activity is regulated by the Entrepreneurial Code (2015), the Civil Code and sectoral laws. The Entrepreneurial Code covers registration, licensing and permits, state control and supervision, inspections, protection of entrepreneurs' rights and support measures. Businesses may operate as an individual entrepreneur, limited liability partnership, joint-stock company, production cooperative or state enterprise. Registration is generally notification-based, but licensed activities require a permit.
Key principles include freedom of enterprise, equality, transparency, predictability and protection of private property. State bodies may inspect only within their competence and on statutory grounds. Inspections must be documented, and entrepreneurs must be notified in prescribed cases. Unlawful interference and excessive administrative barriers can be challenged. Contracts are governed by the Civil Code, with special rules for supply, lease, construction, bank credit and other commercial transactions. Insolvency and rehabilitation are regulated separately.
Worked example
A regulator conducts an unscheduled inspection of a café after an anonymous complaint and suspends operations orally. Issue: was the suspension lawful? An oral suspension is not a proper administrative act. The advocate checks whether the inspection was authorised, whether the entrepreneur received notice, and whether the alleged violation falls within the regulator's competence. If the procedural conditions are absent, the advocate challenges the inspection results and the suspension, and claims damages if operations were unlawfully halted. The merits of the sanitary violation are separate from the legality of the procedure.
Traps
Do not apply the Entrepreneurial Code to all civil disputes; it is a public-law framework. Do not confuse a licence with a permit or notification. Do not ignore mandatory pre-trial dispute resolution in certain commercial contracts. Do not assume an oral instruction has legal force.