Bundeskartellamt defines best practices for expert economic opinions

Today the Bundeskartellamt has published a notice on binding quality standards for expert economic opinions. The aim of these standards is to ensure that expert economic opinions which are submitted to the authority for assessing the facts of a case under competition law satisfy minimum quality requirements.

The significance of economic arguments and analyses in antitrust practice has steadily increased in recent years. This trend is reflected in the rising number of expert economic opinions which are submitted to the Bundeskartellamt in specific individual cases on behalf of the companies involved.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt stated: "Expert economic opinions can play an instrumental role in the proper assessment of a specific case. However, to do this they must meet minimum quality requirements and have a high degree of transparency and traceability to allow for a consistent evaluation of the probative value of the analyses."

The standards in the notice have been elaborated in cooperation with numerous economic scientists and experts well versed in practice. They are based on quality requirements which are the common standard in scientific practice. These include, for example, a clear relevance of the analyses to the antitrust issue, traceability and completeness of the arguments and data, transparency of critical assumptions, seamless documentation of empirical analyses, and a full indication of the relevant sources.

The notice is also intended to standardize the process of submission and evaluation of expert economic opinions and make it more transparent for all concerned.

The Bundeskartellamt points out that the results and conclusions of opinions which do not comply with these standards can only be considered to a lesser degree, if at all, in the consideration of evidence.

The notice is available on the Bundeskartellamt's website in German and English.