David Bartlitz

Prof. Dr. David Bartlitz is a Professor at the Department of German and International Corporate Law within the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics at the University of Paderborn, where he has held his position since April 1, 2024. He also serves as a permanent visiting professor at the Department of Civil Law at Pázmány Péter Catholic University (PPKE-JÁK) in Budapest starting from the autumn semester of 2024/25.

His academic background includes law studies at Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) and economics at FernUniversität in Hagen. He earned his doctorate in law from FAU and passed his legal examination at the Stuttgart State Higher Court. He habilitated at FAU with interdisciplinary research combining economic, mathematical and legal methods, obtaining university teaching qualification in civil law, commercial law, corporate law and economic law, legal economics, and Roman law.

Prof. Bartlitz's research focuses on analyzing the legal relationships of companies, with particular emphasis on corporate law, banking and capital market law, consumer protection law, and antitrust and competition law. His work increasingly addresses digital regulation, including the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA), examining how these regulations respond to the specific power structures of digital platform markets. He has published extensively on topics related to platform regulation, self-preferencing practices by dominant digital companies, and the intersection of competition law with digital market regulation.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward analyzing the legal implications of digital platforms and the evolving regulatory framework in the European Union. His work bridges legal doctrine with economic analysis, reflecting his interdisciplinary background in both law and economics.

Among his notable recent works are analyses of the ECJ's Google Shopping decision, systematic explanations of the Digital Markets Act, and examinations of competition law qualification of preferential treatment of own services by dominant platforms.

Prof. Bartlitz is particularly interested in modern teaching methods that are geared toward students' needs, implementing activating and inclusive forms of teaching based on inverted classroom concepts and social media integration. He co-authors and instructs the English-language course "Private Law of Capital Markets," which examines the legal and economic contexts of European capital market law.

He also participates in academic events such as the monthly "Law & order ... some drinks!" gatherings at WEEKEND in Paderborn, providing students opportunities for informal discussions with faculty members.