Global Competition Law is primarly a practitioner's guide presenting the most salient aspects of the major competition laws country by country, giving an overview of their structure and most charasteristic elements.
Global Competition Law also provides insight into possible future developments in the field.

Global Competition Law

Austrian competition law is governed by the Austrian Cartel Act 2005 (Kartellgesetz 2005 - KartG 2005), which came into effect on 1 January 2006. Its provisions cover restrictive agreements, abuse of dominance and mergers and enforcement procedure. The Competition Act (Bundeswettbewerbsgesetz WettbG), introduced on 1 July 2002, established the Austrian Competition Authority, and set out its powers …

Context

Austrian competition law is governed by the Austrian Cartel Act 2005 (Kartellgesetz 2005 - KartG 2005), which came into effect on 1 January 2006. Its provisions cover restrictive agreements, abuse of dominance and mergers and enforcement procedure. The Competition Act (Bundeswettbewerbsgesetz WettbG), introduced on 1 July 2002, established the Austrian Competition Authority, and set out its powers and jurisdiction. As is the case in Germany, unfair competition in Austria is treated under a separate Act dealing specifically with that area (Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb - UWG). Finally, imbalance of power in supplier/reseller relations may be caught under the Federal Act on Improvement of Local Supply and Competitive Conditions of 29 June 1977, lastly amended on 31 December 2021, which prohibits business practices jeopardizing merit-based competition and certain types of discrimination. 

The Cartel Act 2005 contributed to a unification of Austrian competition legislation with EU law. Austrian competition law underwent a significant overhaul in late 2012 mainly in order to further improve the approximation of national legislation with EU competition rules. This led to the adoption of the Cartel and Competition Law Amendment Act 2012 (KaWeRÄG 2012), published in the Austrian Federal Gazette of 11 January 2013, which amended both the Cartel Act 2005 and the Competition Act 2002. The duty to transpose EU Directive No 2014/104 on damages actions led to the adoption of the new Cartel and Competition Law Amendment Act on 6 April 2017 (KaWeRÄG 2017) which also brought changes to the rules pertaining to the investigation of competition infringements, the statute of limitations and merger control. Finally, the recently adopted Act of 9 September 2021 (KaWeRÄG 2021) amended both the Cartel Act 2005 and the Competition Act 2002. Among other things, KaWeRÄG 2021 aims to better reflect the particularities of digital markets, to introduce a sustainability exception, and to implement the ECN+ Directive. 

Furthermore, in September 2022, the Austrian Federal Competition Authority published guidelines on sustainable development agreements for businesses.

On 12 June 2024, the Austrian National Council adopted a federal law that came into force on 6 July 2024. The law aims to mitigate the consequences of the crisis and improve market conditions for dominant energy suppliers. It imposes a stricter obligation on companies holding a dominant position in the electricity, district heating, and natural gas markets to justify the legality and proportionality of their prices. In cases of suspected anticompetitive practices, the burden of proof is reversed, requiring these companies to demonstrate compliance. This measure will remain in effect until 31 December 2027.

With regard to its territorial scope, the Act applies to anticompetitive conduct occurring on the Austrian territory. The Cartel Act also extends to conduct that takes place outside Austria insofar as such conduct affects the market in Austria. The Cartel Act applies to companies and individuals. Under Section 2(2), as amended by KaWeRÄG 2017, the provisions regarding anticompetitive agreements and abuse of dominance do not apply to retail price-fixing agreements in the publishing and press sector, to agreements relating to the distribution of newspapers and magazines, to certain restrictions on competition between members of cooperatives, to restrictions in the banking and the agriculture sectors.

Global Competition Law

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