News-Archive

(Update: 18 March 2020)

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It is not that long ago that the German Federal Cartel Office [Bundeskartellamt, “BKA”] defeated Amazon Marketplace. Commercial traders can sell their goods directly to customers via the internet platform.

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On 20 September 2019, Federal Employment Minister Hubertus Heil presented a report on the results of his Dialogue for the Future "New Work. New Security." in Berlin. The report contains a multitude of proposals and declarations of intent for shaping tomorrow's work environment. These include the expansion of personal time accounts and state aid for time-outs for specific purposes, as well as the examination of an individual's legal entitlement to a personal long-term account. The introduction of an individual entitlement to mobile work is also going to be considered in cases not opposed by operational reasons. Whether, when and how such ideas will find their way into business reality cannot yet be foreseen. What is certain, however, is that they will substantially change work in future and that they will present employers with considerable organisational challenges. In this Newsletter, we report as always on current innovations in jurisprudence and legislation.

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This week the II. Civil Senate of the Federal Court of Justice [Bundesgerichtshof, BGH] responsible for legal disputes arising in the field of corporate law published a decision specifying the requirements for temporary workers to be counted in determining the threshold for the constitution of a co-determined supervisory board under the German Codetermination Act [Mitbestimmungsgesetz, MitbestG].

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In light of the ECJ’s ruling of today, we would like to draw your attention to current developments on the use of tracking cookies for analytics or marketing purposes on websites. We expect a considerable need for changes in practice, with significant consequences for online marketing.

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On 14 October 2019, the German Conference of independent federal and state data protection authorities (“DSK”) published their criteria for the calculation of data protection fines (English working translation). This paper, for the first time, allows a more accurate estimate of the range that fines can reach in individual cases. Especially with respect to large enterprises, the DSK concept provides for very high fines. The Berlin data protection authority has now put this concept into practice by imposing a fine of 14.5 million Euros against Deutsche Wohnen SE (English working translation of the press release).

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A year ago, it was only possible to speculate at this point about the considerable effects that the rulings of the European Court of Justice of November 2018 on the treatment of holiday claims could have on German holiday law. In fact, the year 2019 was marked by a large number of decisions by the German Federal Employment Court [Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG] on recreational leave, in particular on the expiration, transferability, compensation and hereditability of holiday claims.

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In January 2019, the Coal Commission appointed by the Federal Government presented its proposals for shaping the structural change in Germany arising from its energy and climate policy. As an essential measure, it recommends ending coal-fired power generation by 2038 at the latest. This proposal follows a first - as yet not officially published - working draft of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology [Bundeswirtschaftsministerium, BMWi] for a Hard Coal Exit Act [Steinkohle-ausstiegsgesetz]. A gradual reduction of coal-fired power generation by 2038 is planned, which is to take place in particular in the form of tenders and decommissioning premiums. An official draft bill is already expected this autumn.

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We are pleased to send you the first issue of Deal Points, Oppenhoff & Partner's newsletter on M&A and private equity matters. In this first issue, we report on news on the Transparency Register, developments in W&I insurance and the legal concept of group entry control. We take a detailed look into developments in Foreign Direct Investment control. You will also find information on recent court decisions and get to know our new Frankfurt partner and notary, Anne Vins-Niethammer.

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A first draft by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy [Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie, BMWi] for the 10th amendment of the German Act against Restraints of Competition [Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen, GWB] is now available. One focus of the amendment is going to be on digital markets.

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