GERMANY Law and Practice Contributed by: Daniel Engel, Antonia Hösch, Mathäus Mogendorf and Viola Sailer-Coceani, Hengeler Mueller
Hengeler Mueller Bockenheimer Landstraße 24 60323 Frankfurt am Main Germany Tel: +49 69 17095 0 Fax: +49 69 17095 099 Email: media@hengeler.com Web: www.hengeler.com/en
1. Dispute Resolution Methods 1.1 Main Dispute Resolution Methods Commercial disputes in Germany are mainly resolved through litigation before state courts and arbitration. Institutional arbitration is conducted primarily under the rules of the German Arbitration Institute ( Deutsche Institution für Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit e . V ., DIS) or the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Besides litigation and arbitration, disputes in Germany are also resolved by way of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as mediation, expert determination and conciliation. 1.2 Choice of Dispute Resolution Method State courts continue to play a central role in com- mercial domestic legal matters, predominantly in areas such as antitrust, consumer disputes and tort claims. Complex, international, and sensitive disputes between corporations, including post-M&A disputes, are, in contrast, often referred to arbitration. The DIS reported a rising number of arbitration pro- ceedings in 2025 from 154 to 218 cases. Germany is also one of the ten nations most frequently engaged in arbitration proceedings under the ICC arbitration rules. 1.3 Key Dispute Resolution Trends Introduction of Commercial Courts As a reaction to steadily decreasing case numbers over the past years and to enhance efficiency and flexibility with respect to the conduct of state court proceedings, Germany introduced so-called commer- cial courts. The underlying amendments to the Ger-
man Code of Civil Procedure ( Zivilprozessordnung , ZPO) came into effect in April 2025, aiming at mak- ing German state courts a more attractive forum for domestic and cross-border commercial disputes. The commercial courts were implemented at the higher regional court level (such as in Berlin, Düssel- dorf and Frankfurt). They are competent if the matter exceeds EUR500,000 in value, falls within the scope of competence of the specific commercial court and the parties explicitly agreed to the jurisdiction of com- mercial courts. The commercial courts deploy judges specialised in particular types of disputes (such as banking, con- struction or post M&A). Proceedings in the commer- cial courts can be conducted in English. A pretrial conference is intended to help establish a procedural framework suitable for the timely resolution of the dis - pute. At the same time, judgments of the commercial court may only be appealed to the Federal Court of Justice instead of the usual two instances of appeal. Mass Litigation Mass claims continue to shape the German litigation landscape, including claims resulting from the diesel emissions issue as well as large-scale data privacy incidents. The German legislature responded to this trend with the issuance of the Capital Markets Model Case Act, the model declaratory action and the representative action. Digitalisation and procedural streamlining are further enabling courts to handle large volumes of factually or legally similar disputes more efficiently,
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