Court of Arbitration Germany

It is common to file either a fairly brief request for arbitration limited to the minimum requirements, or a full-fledged statement of claim. The first procedure has the advantage that the constitution of the arbitral tribunal begins and that the applicable limitation periods are suspended without wasting time in the drafting of a complete and reasoned application. 8.3 Under what circumstances, if any, can a national court support arbitration by ordering disclosure or requiring the presence of witnesses? In modern German arbitration practice, cross-examination of witnesses and experts appointed by the party by the parties is generally permitted. In a more traditional setting that follows the practice of German courts, arbitrators first hear the witness, followed by questions from the parties. In addition to the setting aside of an arbitral award, a party may request the arbitral tribunal to correct calculation errors, spelling errors, typographical errors or errors of a similar nature in the award, to interpret parts of the award or to make an amending award in respect of claims invoked in the arbitration that were not addressed in the award. A request to that effect must be made within one month of receipt of the award. § 1042 sec. 1 ZPO then contains the basic and mandatory rules for the conduct of arbitration proceedings in Germany, i.e. the obligation to treat the parties equally and to grant them the right to be heard (see also above, question 2.4).

Courts in international arbitration proceedings based in Germany generally make a broader disclosure of documents than is permitted by German civil procedure law – but probably less broadly defined than in proceedings in the style of pure common law. In practice, proceedings inspired by German civil litigation are therefore generally more cost-effective than common law arbitration. German arbitration law contains very few mandatory rules. Most of the provisions are not mandatory in nature and are therefore replaced by arbitration rules in institutional arbitration. Under German law, no arbitral award may be appealed. The only recourse against an arbitral award is a set-aside procedure. § 1025 sec. 1 ZPO specifies that the provisions of „this” book, i.e. 10. The Book of the Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1025-1061) applies to arbitration proceedings based in Germany, so the other detailed provisions of the ZPO on state judicial procedures in arbitration do not apply.

Commercial arbitration is a dispute resolution mechanism that allows companies to reduce the risk of having to plead before foreign courts. Instead, disputes will be resolved before an independent arbitrator or arbitral tribunal, subject to rules and procedures that best reflect the interests of the parties. Arbitration will result in a legally binding award that is not only generally accepted, but also enforceable in many jurisdictions. 4.5.1 In Germany, arbitrators are liable to the parties in the same way as court judges. The law does not contain any express provision to this effect, but it is an implied provision of the arbitrators` agreement, unless there is an agreed provision to the contrary. In particular, arbitrators are responsible for the incorrect application of the law under the same conditions that apply to court judges (i.e. if the incorrect application constitutes an intentional crime). 47 Paragraph 839(2) of the BGB; P Reinert in Bamberger/Roth, BeckOK BGB (43rd edition, 2017) s 839, recital 101. An arbitrator may also be held liable for negligence under the general rules of the law of obligations (for example, if, in breach of § 1036 ZPO, he does not disclose circumstances that raise doubts as to his impartiality or independence, and if this results in additional costs or delays). In practice, such allegations are rare.

In this context, it is important to emphasize that the set-aside procedure is not considered an appeal against the award, as the court will not reassess the merits of the case. 7.3.2 It should be noted that, irrespective of any arbitration, a settlement agreement is enforceable under German law if it has been concluded by duly authorised lawyers 105 Ibid., § 796 a). and has been declared enforceable by a court or (with the consent of the parties) by a notary. 106 Ibid., § 796(b) and §796(c) The available measures are not limited to the numerus clausus of interim injunctions available before the German courts.