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Author: Gast

Monopolies Commission: Competition 2020

Monopolies Commission: Competition 2020

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The Monopolies Commission advises the German Government on competition policy issues. Today it presented its 23rd main report – each time a source of impulses and ideas for antitrust law. For the D’Kart-Blog, Dr. Klaus Holthoff-Frank, the Secretary General of this independent body, gives an overview of what the Monopolies Commission has made the subject of its deliberations this time. What are the topics? The Monopolies Commission sees competition in Germany and Europe currently threatened by three developments in particular:…

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Competition Law in a Time of Political and Economic Transformation

Competition Law in a Time of Political and Economic Transformation

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The developments in Poland and other EU Member States worry some observers who see the rule of law may be compromised. Does competition law have anything to do with this – and should antitrust scholars be concerned? We asked Maciej Bernatt, a professor of competition law at University of Warsaw, to shed some light on this issue. Many competition law scholars and practitioners would like to see competition law detached from politics, and for good reasons. In practice, however, this…

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The Facebook decision: is everything clear now?

The Facebook decision: is everything clear now?

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The Facebook decision of the German Federal Court of Justice this week is moving the competition law community – and not only them. After an initial statement by Rupprecht Podszun right after the decision was handed down, now Daniela Seeliger takes her turn. She clarifies what the Court has clarified – and what not. The Bundeskartellamt’s decision prohibiting Facebook from collecting and using data from its subsidiaries and third companies for its own business activities had caused a worldwide sensation….

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Ultra vires?

Ultra vires?

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Peter Meier-Beck on the judgment of the German Constitutional Court In a sensational judgement last week, the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) denied the primacy of European law in a case involving decisions of the European Central Bank. The decision caused “horror” with Prof. Dr. Peter Meier-Beck, a presiding judge at the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof). In this article he speaks as a high-ranking judge and makes it clear that he does not share the opinion of the…

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Antitrust law in times of crisis = crisis of antitrust law?

Antitrust law in times of crisis = crisis of antitrust law?

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The virus challenges everything – competition law is no exception to that rule. Marcel Nuys and Florian Huerkamp give a first account of the situation in antitrust law in our blog. And while nothing is safe these days, one thing is: This is not the last time we have to deal with competition law in times of the Covid-crisis. The famous and influential German Supreme Court Justice Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde spent a good amount of his academic work on the question…

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Conference Debriefing (19): AG Competition (Verein für Socialpolitik)

Conference Debriefing (19): AG Competition (Verein für Socialpolitik)

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A few days ago there was a conference on competition issues that was not cancelled. Hooray! In Berlin, the competition working group of the renowned German economists’ club “Verein für Socialpolitik” met. Prof. Dr. Andreas Polk was on site and reports for D’Kart about the last meeting of its kind for some time… This year’s meeting of the Competition Working Group, which traditionally meets before the Economic Policy Committee of the Verein für Socialpolitik, was not yet entirely dominated by…

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Conference Debriefing (16): Die 10. GWB-Novelle beim 6. Berliner Kolloquium des FIW

Conference Debriefing (16): Die 10. GWB-Novelle beim 6. Berliner Kolloquium des FIW

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Während das Team von D’Kart noch Päckchen für die dritte Ausgabe des Antitrust Advent Calendar packt, der am 1.12. beginnen wird, geht andernorts die Diskussion um die 10. GWB-Novelle weiter, z.B. in Berlin, wohin das FIW geladen hat, um die Pläne hochrangig zu diskutieren. Florian Bien war dabei. Veranstaltung: 6. Berliner Kolloquium des FIW, des Forschungsinstituts für Wirtschaftsverfassung und Wettbewerb. Anlass und Thema: Die bevorstehende 10. GWB-Novelle. Diskussionsgrundlage: Die vorläufige Fassung des immer noch nicht offiziell veröffentlichten Referentenentwurfs, den D’Kart…

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Conference Debriefing (15): Forum on the 10th amendment of the German competition act

Conference Debriefing (15): Forum on the 10th amendment of the German competition act

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The tour has kicked off: In Düsseldorf, the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (“MEAE”) appeared in persona of three senior representatives to introduce and discuss the draft bill on the 10th reform of the Act against Restraints of Competition (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen or “GWB”). Anna-Jacqueline Limprecht and Hans-Markus Wagener report on how the first major test around Düsseldorf’s competition law scene went. Here is their Conference Debriefing! Event Name:                          Forum on the 10th Amendment of the GWB Venue…

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GWB10: Geplante Änderungen im Kartellbußgeldrecht

GWB10: Geplante Änderungen im Kartellbußgeldrecht

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Der Referentenentwurf zur 10. GWB-Novelle sieht neben einer Modernisierung der Missbrauchsaufsicht, einer partiellen Überarbeitung der Vorschriften zur Fusionskontrolle und einigen Nachschärfungen im Kartellschadensersatzrecht auch erhebliche Änderungen im Kartellbußgeldrecht vor. Rechtsanwalt Dr. Maximilian Janssen stellt einige der wichtigsten geplanten Neuerungen in diesem Bereich vor. Die Ausführungen beziehen sich auf die Entwurfsfassung des Referentenentwurfs vom 07.10.2019, 18:14 Uhr (verfügbar zum Download hier). Neustrukturierung der §§ 81 ff. GWB Im Zuge der Umsetzung der Richtlinie (EU) 2019/1 sieht der Referentenentwurf (RefE) eine grundlegende Neustrukturierung…

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