Client Briefing

After several delays in the legislative process, the 10th Amendment to the Act Against Restraints of Competition, the so-called ARC Digitization Act, came into force on 19 January 2021. In the process, there were some last-minute changes of considerable practical relevance that were not included in the previously published drafts. This newsletter provides an overview of the most important changes... >>>

Over the course of less than a year, the German rules on foreign investment control underwent a series of far-reaching changes, which fundamentally altered the role of FDI review for M&A transactions in Germany and led to a record number of deals notified to the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy ("BMWi") in 2020.

The second half of 2020 saw important developments in German competition law. Particularly noteworthy are groundbreaking court decisions on administrative and directors’ liability in the context of cartel proceedings, as well as a number of judgments handed down by the Federal Court of Justice on central questions of follow-on cartel damage litigation. In addition, the 10th amendment to the Act... >>>

The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, hastily put into force on 01 January 2021 to avoid a “no-deal Brexit”, omits a key area of commercial law – applicable law and international civil procedure. The harmonised rules of the European Union have now been replaced with a volatile mix of national, European, and international law. This generates a host of complex legal questions for cross-border... >>>

On 24 November 2020, the European Parliament endorsed Directive (EU) 2020/1828 on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers. The Directive, which establishes common rules on class actions for all EU Member States, is designed to strengthen the protection of consumers enforcing their rights against companies. To this end, certain qualified entities (such as... >>>

Rules on foreign investment have long been the subject of considerable discussion and public interest in Germany. The Siemens/Alstom merger, which was ultimately blocked by the European Commission, and the perceived role of the German government in the aborted Deutsche Bank/Commerzbank merger are vivid recent examples of this development. The German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy... >>>

On 1 November 2020, English-speaking Commercial Courts opened for business in Mannheim and Stuttgart as part of a general drive to increase the Germany’s attractiveness as a hub for international dispute resolution. The new Commercial Courts are intended to provide an alternative to both arbitration and to the national courts of other jurisdictions, particularly as regards high-value commercial... >>>

Also in competition law the first half of 2020 was dominated by the coronavirus, which lead to legislative as well as procedural measures. In addition, the newsletter deals with further exciting developments in German competition law, above all the spectacular decisions in the Facebook and Rail Cartel cases, which will bring about interesting legal developments.

Update “Schrems II”/EU-US Privacy Shield: German media reported that the European Court of Justice clearly expects its “Schrems II”-ruling to be followed by data protection authorities with immediate effect. Thus, companies cannot expect an extended transitional (grace) period and need to immediately review the data flow into Non-EU countries. In an updated client briefing (available in English... >>>

The German foreign direct investment regime has historically been regarded as market-liberal. Following a series of earlier changes in 2017 and 2018, with a legislative bill for the amendment of the German Foreign Trade Act (Außenwirtschaftsgesetz) put forward by German government in early April 2020, this conclusion may now be (more) difficult to support. Formally on the background of the... >>>