What are the legal consequences of violations of antitrust law?
July 14, 2023 | 80,00 EUR | answered by David Rüppel
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am reaching out to you today with a question regarding antitrust law. My name is Renate Weinert, and I am the managing director of a medium-sized company in the automotive supply industry. Lately, I have heard more and more about competitors who are allegedly violating antitrust laws. Since I am not well-versed in this topic myself, I am very concerned about the potential legal consequences that could also affect my company.
The situation is as follows: We operate in the market for certain automotive parts and have a few competitors with whom we regularly compete. Recently, we have noticed that some of these competitors are setting prices and conditions in a suspiciously similar manner, and it seems that there are recurring agreements between them. This raises the question for me whether there might be a violation of antitrust laws and what legal consequences this could have for us.
My biggest concern is that our company could become involved in a legal dispute or even face high fines or other sanctions. Therefore, it is crucial for me to know what legal consequences violations of antitrust laws can have and how I can protect my company from these risks.
So, my specific question to you is: What are the legal consequences of violations of antitrust laws and what measures can I, as the managing director, take to protect my company from such risks?
I thank you in advance for your support and look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Renate Weinert
Dear Mrs. Weinert,
Thank you for your inquiry regarding competition law. As the managing director of a medium-sized company in the automotive supply industry, it is understandable that you are concerned about potential violations of competition law and the associated legal consequences for your company. I will explain the legal consequences of cartel infringements and provide you with some measures that you, as the managing director, can take to protect your company from such risks.
Violations of competition law can have serious legal consequences. These include, among others, high fines that can be imposed by competition authorities. Depending on the severity of the infringement, these fines can be very high and endanger the financial survival of a company. In addition, cartel infringements can also have civil law consequences, such as damage claims from affected companies or consumers. In some cases, criminal investigations may even be initiated against the responsible individuals.
To protect your company from the risks of cartel infringements, it is important that you familiarize yourself with competition law and ensure that your company and employees comply with the relevant laws. This includes, for example, offering regular training on competition law for your employees to raise awareness of competition law risks. Furthermore, you should implement internal control mechanisms and compliance programs to ensure that cartel infringements are avoided.
It is also advisable to maintain a close collaboration with external legal advisors specialized in competition law. They can assist you in reviewing and optimizing your business practices and help you identify and avoid potential competition law risks at an early stage.
Overall, it is important that you, as the managing director, take proactive measures and ensure that your company takes competition law seriously and takes the necessary steps to protect itself from the legal consequences of cartel infringements.
I hope that this information is helpful to you and I am available to answer any further questions.
Sincerely,
David Rüppel
Attorney at Law specializing in Business Law
