Significant Competition Law Changes In Germany

On March 9, 2017 the German Federal Parliament passed the ninth amendment to the Act against Restraints of Competition (ARC) (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen). The amendment is expected to come into force in Q2/2017 and will substantially change German competition law.

The reform is driven in part by formal requirements to implement EU legislation into national German law (in particular, provisions of Directive 2014/104/EU, the "Cartel Damages Directive"), and to eliminate some inconsistencies between EU and German law in the area of cartel enforcement. But it also aims to adjust the domestic competition law framework to some of the challenges that come with big data, two-sided markets, and with the digital economy more generally.