Legal Opinion on the Supply Chain Act

On 25 July 2024, the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) entered into force. The member states will now need to transpose the directive into national law. Germany already has sustainability due diligence legislation, the Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (LkSG). This raises the question as to how the CSDDD influences the scope of application of the LkSG. The legal opinion concludes that the existing level of protection in EU member states may not be lowered based on the CSDDD. In Germany, transposing the European directive must therefore not weaken the level of protection of the LkSG. For example, it would be contrary to European law to reduce the number of companies covered by the German law with reference to the Directive.