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Enforcing the Law

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  1. Place of Jurisdiction
  2. German Courts
  3. Civil Procedure Law
  4. Quick and Simple
  5. Alternative Forms of Dispute Resolution
  6. Self Supervision of Administrative Authorities
  7. Enforcement of Claims
  8. Insolvency Proceedings

German Courts

Germany has a highly reliable court system. The 2008-2009 Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum ranked the German judiciary amongst the top five in the categories independence and anticorruption.

The effectiveness of the German judiciary is partly due to its specialized expertise. The courts can be basically divided into courts of general jurisdiction (ordentliche Gerichte), which hear civil and criminal matters, and administrative courts (Verwaltungsgerichte), which deal with legal disputes between citizens and public authorities. The courts are organized in specialized chambers to ensure competence in specific areas of the law, such as company law, building law, law of succession, and commercial law. Some of these chambers are assisted by lay judges with practical experience in the specific field.

There are also a number of independent, specialized courts. The courts of general jurisdiction do not have to deal with employment disputes for example; these matters are dealt with by the Labor Courts (Arbeitsgerichte). The regular Labor Court judges are also assisted by voluntary lay judges representing the employer and voluntary lay judges representing the employee. The Federal Patent Court (Bundespatentgericht), which is competent for disputes involving intellectual property issues, is comprised of special, technically qualified judges and attorneys. In addition, there are also specialized fiscal courts (Finanzgerichte) to deal with taxation issues, and courts for social welfare matters (Sozialgerichte) to deal with social security issues.

Because attorney's fees and court fees are largely fixed by law and are dependent on the amount in dispute, the financial risk of a litigation can be estimated in advance with a fairly high degree of accuracy. The same holds true for the amount in dispute itself, because claims for damages are limited to compensation only to the exclusion of punitive damages.

German law suits are concluded quickly: civil proceedings in the local ordinary courts (Amtsgerichte) are usually settled within three months. Proceedings before the regional courts (Landgerichte), which are responsible for claims over ¤ 5000, require an average of six months to pass judgment. Awards are also realized very quickly due to the fact that judgments can be provisionally enforced after the conclusion of the proceedings at first instance, even if the defendant appeals. All that is required in such cases is the provision, by the winning party, of a security deposit in a specified amount.

There are basically two levels of appeal in German law. Put simply: from judgments of the courts of first instance, an appeal (Berufung) can be made to an appeal court on questions of fact and law. From the decisions of the appeal courts, a second appeal (Revision), which is restricted to questions of law, can be made to the relevant federal courts. In addition, constitutional complaints can be brought to the Federal Constitutional Court once all methods of legal redress from the general courts of law have been exhausted. Complaints involving infringements of European market freedoms can be brought to the European Court of Justice.