(1) The competition authority shall give the parties an opportunity to state their case. The competition authority shall decide at its due discretion on the form in which the parties will be given the opportunity to comment. The competition authority may also require the parties to comment orally, if required by the special circumstances of the case.
(2) In appropriate cases, the competition authority may give representatives of the business sectors affected by the proceedings an opportunity to state their case.
(3) The parties have a right to access the files concerning the proceedings at the competition authority to the extent that knowledge of the information contained in the files is required for asserting or defending their legal interests. Access is provided by sending copies from the case file, printing out relevant parts of the case file or sending relevant electronic documents to the party at that party's expense.
(4) The authority shall refuse access to its files to the extent that this is expedient for important reasons, in particular in order to ensure proper fulfilment of the authority's duties, to protect classified information or trade or business secrets or other interests of the party concerned that are worthy of protection. Access shall not be granted to draft decisions, preparatory works for such decisions and any documents relating to voting.
(5) The competition authority may provide third parties with information from the files concerning the proceedings or grant access to such files to the extent that such parties can demonstrate that they have a legitimate interest. Subsection (4) shall apply mutatis mutandis. To the extent that accessing the files or obtaining information is intended to serve the purpose of asserting a claim for damages on account of an infringement pursuant to Section 33(1) or preparing such assertion, access shall be limited to decisions pursuant to Sections 32 to 32d and Section 60.
(6) The competition authority may request that the parties and third parties identify confidential information specified in subsection (4) when submitting, or following submission of, notifications, statements, documents or other information and to mark such confidential information accordingly in the documents. If a party fails to do so despite a request to that effect, the competition authority may assume that that party consents to the disclosure of such information in the context of granting access to the files.
(7) The competition authority may, upon application of a party or acting ex officio, hold a public hearing. The public shall be excluded from the hearing or from a part of the hearing if it is to be feared that this would endanger public order, in particular the welfare of the Federation or a Land or important trade or business secrets. In the cases specified in Section 32f(3) sentence 6 and subsection (4), the Bundeskartellamt shall hold a public hearing after initiating the proceeding. In the cases specified in Section 42, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action shall hold a public hearing. With the consent of the parties, a decision may be issued without a hearing in the cases specified in Section 32f(3) sentence 6 and subsection (4) as well as under Section 42. In the public hearing of cases under Section 32f(3) sentence 6 and subsection (4) as well as Section 42, the Monopolies Commission shall have the right to be heard; in the cases specified in Section 42, the Monopolies Commission has the right to explain the opinion it prepared pursuant to Section 42(5).
(8) Sections 45 and 46 of the German Administrative Procedure Act shall be applied.