Law & Justice

The Bundeskartellamt's primary task is to apply and enforce the ARC and thus protect competition in Germany. The ARC stipulates that the Federal Cartel Office is responsible if the effect of restrictive behaviour extends beyond the territory of a federal state. In individual cases, jurisdiction can be changed by mutual agreement between a state cartel authority and the Federal Cartel Office.
The Bundeskartellamt is an independent higher federal authority within the remit of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and is based in Bonn.

The Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway is primarily responsible for ensuring compliance with the Telecommunications Act (TKG), the Postal Act (PostG) and the Energy Industry Act (EnWG) and the relevant ordinances. Its task is to ensure the liberalisation and deregulation of the telecommunications, postal and energy markets through non-discriminatory network access and efficient network usage fees.
The Federal Network Agency is an independent higher federal authority within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and is based in Bonn.

The Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport, Transport, Transport and Housing is responsible for energy industry issues, in particular for the state regulatory authority, the state antitrust authority and energy supervision.

Contact addresses:

Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Housing

Kaiser-Friedrich-Ring 75
65185 Wiesbaden

State Energy Regulatory Authority

Tel: +49 611 815 0
Fax: +49 611 815 2240
E-mail: landesregulierungsbehoerde@wirtschaft.hessen.de
Internet: www.landesregulierungsbehoerde.hessen.de

State Cartel Authority

Tel: +49 611 815 0
Fax: +49 611 815 2230
E-mail: landeskartellbehoerde@wirtschaft.hessen.de

Energy Supervisory Authority

Phone: +49 611 815 0
Fax: +49 611 815 2225
E-mail: poststelle@wirtschaft.hessen.de

While antitrust law is intended to ensure the maintenance of free competition, unfair competition law is concerned with compliance with the rules of competition between competing companies.

Fair competition law is regulated in the Unfair Competition Act(UWG) and is not enforced by Government agencies ex officio.

Rather, it can be enforced through warnings or in court, for example through an injunction. Competitor companies, associations with legal capacity to promote commercial or independent professional interests, chambers of industry and commerce and chambers of crafts and consumer protection organisations are entitled to do so. A list of qualified trade associations and qualified consumer organisations is published by the Federal Office of Justice.

The conciliation centres for the settlement of competition disputes, which are run by the chambers of industry and commerce, offer a cost-effective alternative to proceedings before the ordinary courts.

The Act against Restraints of Competition (GWB) is also known as the "Basic Law of the Market Economy" due to its central importance for competition. It is now heavily influenced and overlaid by European competition law. In particular, the European - and not the German - ban on cartels under Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) applies if restrictions on competition may affect trade between member states.