Introduction
When the new commercial court at Frankfurt/Main Higher Regional Court took up its work in July 2025, it was already the seventh of its kind to be established in Germany – even though the Act to Promote Germany as Forum for Legal Proceedings, granting the federal states (Länder) authority to institute such bodies at higher regional courts (or the highest regional court) to handle certain types of major commercial dispute, only came into force on 1 April 2025. Most recently, another commercial court has been established in Celle. This is a testament to the remarkable speed and decisiveness with which the Länder governments have made use of their new powers to expand the available framework for resolution of civil disputes. There is clearly a considerable interest in making state jurisdiction more attractive by broadening the possibilities for judicial dispute resolution – including in areas where parties have increasingly opted for private arbitration. This is a welcome development, both in terms of Germany’s overall position as a legal venue and the ongoing development of the law.
Taking a closer look at the Länder, we can see that there are many different approaches to achieving the same goal. This reflects a desire to implement the flexibility provided for by federal legislation at Länder level by recourse to a variety of different models. The following article will examine the differences and similarities between the commercial courts established so far. The measures that have already been taken suggest that commercial courts will continue to develop dynamically in the near future. The same is true of the commercial chambers at regional courts. While not the main focus of this article, they complement the commercial courts in many areas as part of an attractive overall solution for commercial disputes.
Commercial courts in Germany: a wide range of options…
The commercial courts already established at the higher regional courts in Stuttgart, Munich, Bremen, Hamburg, Frankfurt am Main, Düsseldorf, and Berlin effectively showcase the high degree of flexibility granted to the Länder under the new provisions of the Courts Constitution Act, in particular § 119b. For example, the Länder governments can decide to grant a commercial court a narrow jurisdiction tailored to its specific location, or they can make full use of all available competences. The federal legislature allows commercial courts to be established to hear cases of the following kinds with a value in dispute of €500,000 or more:
- Civil disputes between traders, with the exception of disputes related to intellectual property rights, copyright law, and claims under the Act Against Unfair Competition
- Disputes from or related to the acquisition of an undertaking or of shares in an undertaking and
- Disputes between a company and the members of its executive body or supervisory board.
Disputes concerning the validity or legality of resolutions taken by shareholders or management bodies, as well as other proceedings with erga omnes effect, are excluded from the jurisdiction of commercial courts under federal law.
From these options, some commercial courts have been assigned very specific areas of jurisdiction, often geared towards the strengths of the respective economic and judicial location. For example, the Hanseatic Commercial Court in Bremen will rule on commercial disputes arising from freight, forwarding and warehousing transactions within the meaning of Book Four of the Commercial Code, on the types of contracts regulated in Book Five of the Commercial Code (maritime trade), and on disputes in the area of civil aviation and space technology. The details are regulated by the relevant Land law, as is also the case for the following examples. The Berlin Commercial Court, on the other hand, has jurisdiction over civil disputes between companies arising from construction and architectural contracts. The court also has jurisdiction over engineering contracts, provided they are connected with construction work. Finally, in addition to disputes between a company and members of its management body or supervisory board, the focus in Munich is on supply chain disputes.
By contrast, whereas the jurisdiction of the commercial courts in Stuttgart, Frankfurt/Main and Düsseldorf is based on the list of competences set out in federal law, jurisdiction for civil disputes between companies is limited to certain subject areas: Stuttgart and Düsseldorf both specialize in corporate law disputes, with the latter also focusing on disputes arising from certain construction and insurance contracts, while Frankfurt am Main focuses on a narrower range of commercial matters. Finally, the Commercial Court in Hamburg makes full use of the options provided by the federal legal framework, while nevertheless ensuring specialization of its two divisions by assigning them specific subject areas in the allocation plan.
… with consistently attractive procedural standards
While the commercial court landscape is diverse, all of these new bodies share two key features: swift and efficient proceedings, and specialization in major commercial disputes, including cross-border cases. All commercial courts sit in a composition of three experienced professional judges. If the parties agree, the proceedings are conducted entirely in English. This not only means that English-language documents can be submitted without translation and presented in English during the oral hearing, but also that all procedural steps, from the statement of claim to the written grounds for the judgment, can be conducted in English. Supplementary provisions in the Code of Civil Procedure regarding the participation of third parties and the translation of enforceable decisions into German ensure that the rights of additional parties are protected and that decisions are unequivocally enforceable.
Irrespective of the language chosen, proceedings before commercial courts adopt instruments previously more typical of the field of arbitration: at a case management conference, agreements regarding the structure and course of the proceedings are reached with the parties at the earliest possible stage, thereby ensuring that the proceedings are conducted in a targeted manner. At the unanimous request of the parties, the commercial court can also provide a verbatim transcript, to be made available in real time where necessary, unless there are factual reasons to the contrary. This ensures that the proceedings are accurately recorded for situations where the parties are concerned about the specific wording of statements made.
Parties may appeal against decisions of the commercial court to the Federal Court of Justice without requiring leave to appeal. This ensures that the decision can be reviewed by the highest civil court, while limiting appeals to a single instance so as to guarantee swift resolution. At the request of the parties, the competent civil division of the Federal Court of Justice can also decide to conduct the appeal proceedings in English. Conversely, the commercial courts can themselves also function as courts of appeal, insofar as provided for by the relevant Land authority. They are then responsible for complaints and appeals against decisions of the regional courts that fall within their jurisdiction. This applies primarily when a commercial chamber has been set up at the regional court, creating an integrated – and, if the parties agree, English-language – judicial instance for certain commercial disputes. This further contributes to the commercial court’s specialization in specific areas of law.
Outlook: a justice system in motion
It remains to be seen how the newly established commercial courts will fare with the new uniform procedural rules and the various models for structuring their jurisdiction. It will only become clear which innovations are well received and where further improvements are possible once the actual court proceedings have taken place. It will then also be necessary to assess whether cooperation between the Länder to establish joint commercial courts, as permitted under federal law, could further enhance Germany’s appeal as a legal venue for major commercial disputes.
All of this will be discussed in the course of the evaluation of the Act to Promote Germany as a Forum for Legal Proceedings. To ensure an appropriate empirical foundation for this evaluation, it is not expected to begin until at least five years after the Act came into force. In the meantime, changes being made elsewhere will affect far more than just the commercial courts: with the improvements envisaged by the new Pact for the Rule of Law – including the reform of procedural rules, the allocation of federal funding for the creation of additional posts, and continued digitalization of the justice system – the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection is set to play a key role in modernizing and strengthening Germany’s entire civil justice system.
