New Era for Economic Disputes in Germany
Germany introduces Commercial Courts and the court language English. The article provides an initial overview of the new opportunities.
April 11, 2025
International
TL;DR
Germany is introducing specialized courts for large commercial disputes to increase the attractiveness of Germany as a location for justice.
Hearings can be conducted in English.
Business secrets are to be better protected during the proceedings.
Introduction
The Act to Strengthen Germany as a Jurisdiction by Introducing Commercial Courts and the Use of English as a Court Language in Civil Proceedings (Justizstandort-Stärkungsgesetz) came into force on 1 April 2025.
The law brings far-reaching changes to the handling of commercial disputes in Germany. The goal is to make Germany more attractive as a jurisdiction, particularly for international companies.
Commercial Courts
The core of the reform is the new Commercial Courts. According to § 119b Abs. 1 GVG, state governments can establish such specialized panels at higher regional courts or supreme state courts through a statutory order. They have original jurisdiction for:
Civil disputes between businesses, except those involving intellectual property rights, copyright laws, and claims under the Unfair Competition Act,
Disputes arising from or in connection with the acquisition of a business or business shares,
Disputes between a company and members of its management board or supervisory board.
The jurisdiction of the Commercial Court can be restricted to specific subject areas. However, it can also be extended to areas where exclusive jurisdiction of the regional court or other exclusive locations are provided.
The dispute value must be at least 500,000 Euros.
The Commercial Court becomes competent through express or implied agreement of the parties, provided the conditions of § 119b Abs. 1 GVG are met. The agreed jurisdiction is exclusive unless the parties have expressly agreed otherwise. Under the conditions of § 119b Abs. 1 GVG, the Commercial Court also obtains jurisdiction if the plaintiff requests this in the statement of claim and the defendant proceeds without objection in the statement of defense.
Overview of Commercial Courts and Commercial Chambers in the Federal States
Baden-Württemberg
Commercial Court at the Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart – specialized in corporate disputes and business acquisitions (M&A)
Commercial Chambers at the Regional Court of Stuttgart
A model clause (known as the "Stuttgart Model Clause") is available here.
Sources: Press release of the State Government of Baden-Württemberg from 1 April 2025, Commercial Court Baden-Württemberg
Bavaria
Commercial Court at the Higher Regional Court of Munich
Berlin
Commercial Court at the Kammergericht – specialized in construction and architectural law
Commercial Chambers at LG Berlin II – specialized in construction and architectural law
Source: Press release of the Kammergericht from 1 April 2025
Bremen
Commercial Court at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Bremen – specialized in aerospace, logistics, and maritime trade
Hamburg
Commercial Court at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court – specialized in construction law, banking and financial law, corporate law, and business acquisitions
Commercial Court at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court – specialized in insurance, transportation, shipping, and traffic
Source: Press release of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Commercial Court Hamburg
Hesse
Commercial Court at the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt – planned for 1 July 2025
Commercial Chambers at the Regional Court of Frankfurt – planned for 1 July 2025
Source: Press release of the Hessian Ministry of Justice and for the Rule of Law from 1 April 2025
Lower Saxony
Commercial Courts at the Higher Regional Court of Celle – expected 2 panels, introduction planned for 2025
A restriction to specific areas of jurisdiction according to § 119b Abs. 1 GVG is not envisaged in Lower Saxony. Commercial Chambers are expected to be set up at one regional court in each of the three OLG districts. Details – such as the question of a jurisdictional value threshold at the level of Commercial Chambers – are currently being examined and coordinated.
Source: Announcement of the press office of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Justice from 11 April 2025
North Rhine-Westphalia
Commercial Court at the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf – specialized in construction and architectural matters
Commercial Court at the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf – specialized in insurance law (especially professional indemnity insurances (D&O insurances)
Commercial Court at the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf – specialized in corporate law and post-M&A disputes
Commercial Chambers at the Regional Courts of Bielefeld, Düsseldorf, Essen, and Cologne. At the same time, the existing dispute value-dependent specialization in the law of renewable energies (regional courts Bielefeld and Essen), disputes in the field of information technology (regional court Cologne), and business transactions (regional court Düsseldorf) should be expanded, insofar as these proceedings are also to be conducted in English.
Sources: Press release of the State Government of NRW from 12 March 2025; Press release of the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf
English Language
A significant innovation is the possibility of conducting proceedings entirely in English. § 184a Abs. 1 GVG allows state governments to do so at
selected regional courts for the designated civil chambers and chambers for commercial matters (Commercial Chambers),
the chambers responsible for appeals and complaints at the higher regional courts over decisions of the Commercial Chambers
as well as at the Commercial Courts.
The parties must expressly or impliedly agree to use English as the procedural language, or the defendant accepts this language without objection in their response to the claim (§ 184a Abs. 3 GVG).
Even the Federal Court of Justice can conduct proceedings in English if the parties request it and the competent panel agrees (§ 184b GVG).
Protection of Business Secrets
The protection of business secrets in proceedings is improved by § 273a ZPO. Courts can now classify disputed information as confidential if it can be considered a business secret.
New Procedural Rules
The Justizstandort-Stärkungsgesetz also introduces new procedural rules.
§ 612 ZPO obliges Commercial Courts and Commercial Chambers to hold an early organizational meeting with the parties to agree on the organization and conduct of the proceedings, unless there are substantive or organizational reasons not to. This measure aims to increase procedural efficiency and has proven effective in arbitration as a procedural management conference (see e.g., Annex 3 to the DIS Arbitration Rules). From my experience as a commercial lawyer with over 18 years of litigation experience, this measure is highly commendable.
At the request of the parties, a readable word-for-word transcript can be created according to § 613 ZPO.
Against first-instance judgments of the Commercial Court, a revision to the Federal Court of Justice is possible. The revision does not need to be specially admitted (§ 614 ZPO).
Benefits for Companies and Attorneys
These innovations offer advantages for companies and their attorneys. The Commercial Courts aim to build expertise in commercial matters. The first-instance jurisdiction of higher regional courts can accelerate proceedings. The possibility of English-language hearings makes the location more attractive for international companies. Additionally, sensitive business information is better protected in proceedings.
Challenges
Despite these positive aspects, challenges remain. The threshold value of 500,000 Euros is relatively high. It is expected that not all federal states will establish Commercial Courts. Moreover, the Federal Court of Justice may reject English-language proceedings. Practice will show how effectively the new courts operate and whether they can compete internationally. This also applies to the declared aim of the German legislator to establish state courts as an alternative to arbitration in large commercial disputes.
Conclusion
The Justizstandort-Stärkungsgesetz represents an important step towards making Germany a more attractive place for commercial litigation. Companies and their advisors should carefully consider and use the new possibilities. Further developments remain to be observed – further adjustments may follow in the future to further strengthen Germany's position in this area. This is also urgently needed.
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