1. The Legislative Framework of the Cartel Prohibition
1.1 What is the legal basis and general nature of the
cartel prohibition, e.g. is it civil and/or criminal?
The legal basis for Cartel Prohibition in Austria is the Cartel
Act (Kartellgesetz 2005), as amended.
Sec. 1 paras. 1 to 3 of the Cartel Act correspond to Art. 101
paras. 1 and 2 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union (TFEU). Sec. 2 para. 1 of the Cartel Act corresponds to Art.
101 para. 3 TFEU. Furthermore, the Austria-specific de
minimis exception in Sec. 2 para. 2 widely corresponds to the
"De minimis Notice" of the European Commission.
Accordingly, cartel agreements of competing undertakings with an
aggregate market share not exceeding 10 per cent of the market
share or of non-competing undertakings not exceeding 15 per cent of
the market share on any of the relevant markets affected by the
agreement, are exempted from the cartel ban, unless the agreement
in question aims to fix
