White & Case LLP (JD Supra Germany)

The German Federal Constitutional Court Orders the German Legislator to Set Clear CO2 Emission Reduction Goals Beyond 2030 - On 29 April 2021, the German Federal Constitutional Court published a groundbreaking order it already released on 24 March 2021. Following a complaint brought by young climate activists, the Constitutional Court held the 2019 German Federal Climate Change Act as...

The latest amendment of the German FDI rules brings mandatory reviews for 16 additional "critical activities" – but also some welcomed clarifications. The amendment entered into force on May 1, 2021 and is applicable to all transactions signed as of the same day. It can be expected that the number of transactions subject to German FDI review will increase further. Following a number of...

Overview of the German public M&A market in 2020 - While the COVID-19 pandemic also had an impact on the German takeover market in 2020 due to the mood of uncertainty that dominated stock market activity, it did not slow takeover activity down for any significant period. The concerns that dominated world affairs following the outbreak of the pandemic in Europe and North America had the stock...

We have now been back in a "hard lockdown" since mid-December 2020. Even when the so-called "lockdown lite" was decided, the German Chancellor and the heads of government of the German states called on companies to (re)enable their employees to work at home or to work remotely from home in view of the high number of infections.  The Corona Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance (the "Corona-Arb

Germany's Federal Constitutional Court holds that the question should be referred to the European Court of Justice - Is a data subject entitled to compensation from a controller or processor if the data subject's GDPR rights have been infringed, even if they have not suffered any kind of material damage? The answer to this question is unresolved in Germany, and according to the Federal...

On January 22, 2021, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has published the anticipated draft revision of the German Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance to align the scope of review more closely with the EU Screening Regulation. The Ministry launched a consultation process the same day and is giving the associations and companies potentially affected the opportunity to...

Prior to the introduction of the Preventive Restructuring Framework by the StaRUG out-of-court restructurings in Germany other than the restructuring of German law-governed bonds generally required unanimous approval by all affected creditors. Existing in-court procedures were only available in case of insolvency, and entailed substantial court involvement.

Yesterday, the 10th amendment to the German Act against Restraints of Competition (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen – "GWB") entered into force, and with it the most substantial overhaul of German competition law in a long time. The new law contains a number of significant adjustments of the draft that was initially put to vote. This alert provides a quick overview of the new law’s most far-

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy continues to tighten FDI control, but the investment climate remains liberal in principle - In Germany, the investment climate remains liberal in principle. Nevertheless, since 2016, German foreign investment control has continuously toughened, and the German Federal Government has become increasingly sensitive about protecting key...

On November 6, 2020, the German Federal Ministry of Finance issued a decree addressing certain open questions relating to foreign taxpayers’ obligation to submit tax filings for royalty income derived from intellectual property (“IP”) rights registered with a domestic register. The decree addresses situations, in which both the licensor and the licensee are not tax resident in Germany. Until now,

The energy market has been dominated by major energy companies for a long time. New market opportunities and digitalization could lead to a higher market penetration of startups. 1. The 100 percent green energy goal - More and more countries pursue ambitious green energy goals. Germany sets one of the latest examples. In the amendment of the Renewable Energy Act that will come into force...

The law will make German financial markets more competitive, allowing issuers and investors to benefit from efficiencies and lower transaction costs. A new German law introducing electronic securities is expected to take effect this quarter, modernizing German securities law and making the German market more attractive to issuers and investors looking to do deals. The Federal Ministry of...

On July 29, 2020, the German Monopolies Commission published its 2020 biennial Report on Competition (Hauptgutachten XXIII: Wettbewerb 2020) under Section 44(1) Act against Restraints of Competition (“GWB”). 

In a recently published annulment decision, the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt (docket no. 26 Sch 14/18) by way of obiter dictum expressed its views on dissenting opinions in domestic arbitration proceedings. Although the court's view is of limited applicability, it revived the long-standing question of the admissibility of dissenting opinions under German law.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed most governments' views on the strategic relevance of the domestic healthcare sectors across the globe. Although the European Commission, and also the German government, have re-emphasized the generally investment-friendly environment in the EU and Germany specifically, they and other governments are calling for more vigilance on foreign investments in key...

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed most governments' views on the strategic relevance of the domestic healthcare sectors across the globe. Although the European Commission, and also the German government, have re-emphasized the generally investment-friendly environment in the EU and Germany specifically, they and other governments are calling for more vigilance on foreign investments in key...

The Federal Government of Germany announced measures to support Start-Ups, smaller and growing businesses during the COVID-19 crisis.

COVID-19 is currently affecting all areas of (economic) life. Many businesses are being forced to reduce costs due to a decrease or a loss of turnover and may not be able to pay their rents any longer. For both landlords and tenants, the question arises about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their lease relationships. Does the contract need to be adapted to the current situation? Is there a

Last Friday, in response to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), the German government announced various measures described as a big "bazooka" to avert a crisis in the Eurozone's largest economy. The German development bank KfW will play a key role in the context of the announced measures and has been tasked to provide liquidity assistance to German companies hit by the pandemic.

On January 31, 2020, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) presented a draft law amending the Foreign Trade and Payments Act (AWG-E) and forwarded it to selected trade associations for their comments. With this amendment, the BMWi once again intends to expand its jurisdiction in investment control procedures and at the same time to implement the EU Screening Regulation. In a

A recent judgment by the German Federal Court of Justice strengthens the position of companies concluding a forum selection clause in favor of German courts. If German courts are selected as the exclusive forum, bringing an action in a US court could result in a claim for damages against the party breaching the forum selection clause. 

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy further tightened foreign direct investment control, but the investment climate remains liberal - Pursuant to the German Foreign Trade and Payments Act (Außenwirtschaftsgesetz; AWG) and the German Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (Außenwirtschaftsverordnung; AWV), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (Bundesminister

Q1/ Applicable legislation - (a) Have the requirements of the GDPR been addressed by introducing a new law, or by updating existing legislation? Old legislation has been updated.

The German Federal Ministry of Justice has presented a draft bill intended to combat corporate crime. The bill has not yet been published. The most significant provisions can be found in the proposed "Association Sanctions Act" (Verbandssanktionengesetz – VerSanG), comprising 69 sections. The proposed law also provides for the broadening of jurisdiction to include cross-border cases.

Schuldscheine, no longer exclusively German products, are gaining international popularity as issuers and financial institutions realise their efficiency, flexibility and propensity for innovation. In the face of uncertainty in some public debt markets, Schuldscheine may present a valuable alternative mode of finance, but what are these products, and why are they attracting so much attention?

European Leveraged Finance Client Alert Series: Issue 6 July, 2019 - Sub-investment grade rated property companies in the German market are increasingly supplementing conventional real-estate senior secured bank financing with corporate-style loans and capital markets debt – we examine this trend and highlight certain structural considerations.

New law passed on the adaptation of German data protection law to the GDPR - Following the amendment of the Federal Data Protection Act ("BDSG") in 2017, on 27 June 2019 the German Bundestag passed a second act to adapt the highly fragmented German data protection law to the requirements of the European General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"). The goal is to bring the sector-specific data...

On March 27, 2019, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior (GMI) proposed a new bill (the "Draft Bill") for a so-called IT Security Act 2.0 (IT-SiG 2.0). In an effort to take a front-runner role in Europe, Germany has enacted a comprehensive IT security law in 2015. In 2017, that law was slightly amended to bring it in line with Directive (EU) 2016/1148 concerning the security of network and...

Following consultations, the Government Commission on the German Corporate Governance Code (the "DCGK") adopted the new version of the Code on May 9, 2019 and published it on May 22, 2019 (new version of the DCGK (in German)). The new version of the Code will not be submitted for publication to the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (the "BMJV") before the Act on the...

A complex and sophisticated planning and approval process does not prevent opponents from raising environmental challenges—even after project approvals are awarded. The German federal government plans to further expand offshore wind use by 6.5 gigawatts (GWs) by 2020 and by 15 GWs by 2030. However, offshore wind projects in Germany face environmental opposition by, in particular, German nature