In the recent Mapping Judicial Review project, academics from the EU and UK assessed how national competition law decisions are judicially reviewed. Rupprecht Podszun was the rapporteur for Germany, while Vicky Robertson was the rapporteur for Austria. For a recent contribution published in the January 2025 edition of Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb (Competition Law and Economics), the two compared notes on their main findings. They identified some important differences: for instance, not all cases are published in Germany, while publication is required in Austria. German courts do not show a strong engagement with EU law, and the opposite is true for Austria. In Austria, the competition authorities have no decisional powers, while in Germany decision divisions at the Federal Cartel Office hand down decisions with considerable autonomy. The two rapporteurs conclude that competition law regimes may greatly benefit from mutual learnings, putting them in a better position to review the exercise of power – not only by companies, but also by competition authorities. Their contribution (in German) is available in open access here.
