GERMANY Law and Practice Contributed by: Thomas Lennarz, Peter Wende and Christian Piroutek, CMS
3.6 Case Management Powers of Courts Under German law, courts enjoy significant case man- agement powers in relation to collective redress pro- cedures. However, the scope and intensity of these powers vary depending on the mechanism. Court Powers in the Model Declaratory Action Procedure In the model declaratory action procedure, the higher regional courts ensure that only admissible actions proceed. The court determines whether the action has been filed by a qualified entity and whether the quorum requirement under the Consumer Rights Enforcement Act is met ‒ namely, that the declaratory objectives of a model declaratory action may affect the claims or legal relationships of at least 50 consumers. Once these admissibility criteria are met, the court has the power to determine the scope of the proceedings by identifying the factual and legal issues of common rel- evance that are to be clarified. At the same time, the court ensures exclusivity ‒ given that no other action based on the same facts may be pursued once the model declaratory action has been admitted, and consumers who have registered are precluded from pursuing parallel individual suits. Within the course of proceedings, the court sets the procedural framework, manages deadlines and evi- dence-taking, and has the authority to facilitate and approve settlements – provided they are adequate for the registered participants. The powers of the court, however, remain limited to the declaratory stage: it cannot grant damages or other substantive reme- dies, leaving claimants to pursue individual follow-up actions if they wish to obtain enforceable relief. Court Powers in the Redress Action Procedure In contrast, the redress action provides the courts with more extensive case management responsibili- ties, reflecting its design as a one-stop procedure for determining both liability and compensation. As in the model declaratory action, the court reviews the admis- sibility criteria set by the Consumer Rights Enforce- ment Act, but its role thereafter extends further. If the claim is found to be justified, the court issues a basic redress judgment that not only confirms liability in principle but also sets out the eligibility conditions
A registration is only valid if it is submitted on time and includes the following information: • the consumer’s name and address; • indication if the registration is made as a micro- enterprise; • the court and case number; • the defendant’s name; • the subject matter and legal basis of the claim or the legal relationship; and • a declaration confirming the accuracy and com- pleteness of the information. Where a monetary claim is registered, the amount must also be specified. Valid registrations are entered into the claim register without substantive review. The admissibility both of model declaratory actions and redress actions depends on a minimum threshold of potential claimants. The initiating qualified entity must demonstrate that the action concerns at least 50 consumers or micro-enterprises. This requirement is intended to ensure that collective redress is reserved for genuinely widespread disputes rather than small- scale cases. There is no statutory upper limit on the number of par- ticipants. In practice, some proceedings have attract- ed very large groups – for example, almost 450,000 consumers registered in the Volkswagen diesel emis- sions case under the model declaratory action, and more than 100,000 consumers joined the redress action brought against Amazon Prime Video in 2024. These examples demonstrate that the mechanism can handle very large classes, provided the claims are suf- ficiently similar in nature. 3.5 Joinder There is no supplementary mechanism for joining parties once the claim register is closed. German law does not provide for later opt-in options, nor for the consolidation of separate collective cases on the same subject matter, as only one Model Declaratory Action or Redress Action can be pending for the same dispute.
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