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Vollmer, Christof --- "Experience with Criminal Law Sanctions for Competition Law Infringements in Germany" [2006] ELECD 460; in Cseres, J. Katalin; Schinkel, Pieter Maarten; Vogelaar, O.W. Floris (eds), "Criminalization of Competition Law Enforcement" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006)

Book Title: Criminalization of Competition Law Enforcement

Editor(s): Cseres, J. Katalin; Schinkel, Pieter Maarten; Vogelaar, O.W. Floris

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781845426088

Section: Chapter 14

Section Title: Experience with Criminal Law Sanctions for Competition Law Infringements in Germany

Author(s): Vollmer, Christof

Number of pages: 13

Extract:

14. Experience with criminal law
sanctions for competition law
infringements in Germany
Christof Vollmer1

1 INTRODUCTION

For decades competition and criminal lawyers in Germany have argued about
the pros and cons of criminal sanctions in the enforcement of competition
law. Even in 1986 the criminalization of some competition law infringements
was regarded by the legislator as going too far and not in line with the overall
regulation of competition law infringements in Germany.2 But a decade
later the situation had changed: in 1997, following a comparatively brief
legislative process of less than two years, a new provision was introduced into
the Criminal Code (CC). In order to intensify the fight against corruption,
bid rigging became a criminal offence (Sec. 298 CC). Although all other
competition law infringements ­ including all other hardcore restrictions
such as price fixing or market sharing ­ remained administrative offences,
Sec. 298 CC was the first ­ almost unnoticed ­ piece of legislation in the
recent European drive against cartels.3


2 CRIMINAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENCES
2.1 Differences between Criminal and Administrative Offences

2.1.1 Legal consequences
The most important differences between criminal and administrative offences
in German law are different legal consequences. The Administrative Offences
Act (AOA) provides as the main legal consequence of administrative offences
only for fines, whereas the Criminal Code allows also the imposition of
imprisonment (Sec. 38 f.) and measures of reform and prevention including
professional disqualification orders (Sec. 61 ff.). Pursuant to the Criminal
Code it is also possible to impose ...