In the legal dispute over stricter competition controls at Amazon by the Federal Cartel Office, the chances for the online giant are somewhat worse.
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) announced on Wednesday that the Cartel Senate does not currently intend to consult the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the matter. That was initially left open after the initial hearing on Tuesday.
Amazon is the first group to resist being classified as a company with “outstanding cross-market importance for competition”, which has been possible for two years. Such a decision gives the Cartel Office more opportunities to prohibit certain types of behavior by large Internet companies.
Unlike Amazon, the Cartel Senate did not see any fundamental concerns about the new law after an initial assessment. The regulation is not expected to violate EU law, nor does it appear unconstitutional, the presiding judge said on Tuesday. It was still unclear whether the BGH would ask the ECJ whether the German regulation should have been submitted to the EU Commission before it came into force. Now a further hearing date in Karlsruhe is to be determined. (dpa)