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

Competition law in Germany is governed by the law entitled “Act against Restraints of Competition” (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen - GWB). The last version was published on 15 July 2005 and entered into force on 1 July 2005 replacing the Law of 26 August 1998. The main objective of this revision was to bring the German law on cartels fully into line with European Union law. The Law of 15 J …

Context

Competition law in Germany is governed by the law entitled “Act against Restraints of Competition” (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen - GWB). The last version was published on 15 July 2005 and entered into force on 1 July 2005 replacing the Law of 26 August 1998. The main objective of this revision was to bring the German law on cartels fully into line with European Union law. The Law of 15 July 2005 has subsequently been amended several times but merely on specific points. On 26 June 2013, the 8th Amendment to the GWB was adopted. In force since 30 June 2013, it aims to facilitate the enforcement of the competition rules and to improve the compatibility of German competition law with EU law. A 9th amendment to the GWB, intended to implement EU Directive No 2014/104 on damages actions for competition law infringements and to adapt German law to the new challenges of the digital economy, was adopted on 9 March 2017. A 10th amendment, which aims to regulate the practices of digital platforms, to limit the exploitation of user data and to implement EU Directive No 2019/1, entered into force on 19 January 2021. Recently, an 11th amendment, which i) enhances the powers of the FCO, ii) facilitates the stripping of profits generated by anticompetitive practices, and iii) allows for public and private enforcement of the DMA, was adopted on 6 July 2023.

The GWB is concerned with horizontal and vertical agreements, abuse of dominance, discriminatory practices, mergers and public tenders. Competition law in Germany is regulated solely by federal law but it is enforced by both State and federal agencies.

Unfair competition is dealt with in a separate act (Gesetz gegen unlauteren Wettbewerb - UWG).

Section 185(2) GWB applies the “effects theory” in German competition law, whereby the provisions of the GWB are considered to apply to all restraints of competition having an effect within Germany, even if they took place outside the German territory.

The GWB provides for special rules for certain sectors of the economy. The 2005 reform substantially reduced the number of sectors having their own specific rules. For example, banking, insurance and sporting competitions no longer have their own special regime. Only sections 28 to 31 GWB provide for specific rules for agriculture, the energy industry, water management contracts, and the resale price of newspapers and magazines. The 9th amendment to the GWB of March 2017 extended the scope of the exemption in favor of the latter by allowing any cooperation agreement between newspaper and/or magazine publishers insofar as they do not concern editorial content. This derogation from the competition rules aims at protecting the advertising revenue of the paper press and media diversity against the encroaching influence of online resources. In addition to the GWB, special laws govern the energy sector (electricity and gas) and airport services. In any event, it should be recalled that the benefit of an exemption under the GWB no longer applies where European Union competition rules apply to these areas. In order to facilitate the deregulation of specific sectors, special competition rules setting up independent regulatory authorities have been enacted including, for example, a regulatory authority for telecommunications and postal services (the Telekommunikationsgesetz - TKG), which exercises special control over abuses in these sectors. The actions of such regulatory authorities take priority over the provisions of the GWB.

Under German law, as is the case with European Union law, the term undertaking, i.e. Unternehmen is given a very broad interpretation and can include any economic activity from self employed or freelance operators to public undertakings performing a function in the general interest.

Global Competition Law

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Les notions juridiques connexes

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