Germany

Limitation periods.

The default is the regelmäßige Verjährungsfrist of 3 years (§ 195 BGB) — but it does not begin when the claim arises: it starts at the end of the year in which the claim arose and the creditor knew (or grossly negligently failed to know) of the claim and the debtor (§ 199 Abs. 1 BGB). Longer special periods apply to land-related and titled claims.

Preventive measures.

German contract law follows Formfreiheit — a contract is valid without writing unless a statute prescribes a form. Counterparties can be checked before contracting against the public Handelsregister (handelsregister.de), Grundbuch, Insolvenzbekanntmachungen (§ 9 InsO) and the Schuldnerverzeichnis (§ 882b ZPO).

Vollstreckbare notarielle Urkunde

A claim recorded in a notarial deed in which the debtor submits to immediate enforcement can be enforced directly, without a prior judgment — the highest-value pre-litigation protection. § 794 Abs. 1 Nr. 5 ZPO

Eigentumsvorbehalt (retention of title)

The seller retains ownership until full payment; effective against the buyer's insolvency administrator. Standard, low-cost supply security. § 449 BGB

Bürgschaft (surety)

Written form of the guarantor's declaration is required for validity (§ 766 BGB) — waived where the guarantor is a Kaufmann acting in trade (§ 350 HGB). §§ 765 ff BGB

Sicherungsübereignung (security transfer of movables)

Title to movables passes to the creditor as security while the debtor keeps possession, via a Besitzkonstitut — no handover needed. The dominant non-possessory security over movables. §§ 929, 930 BGB

Grundschuld / Hypothek

Charge over real property, perfected only by registration in the Grundbuch and ranked by registration order. The non-accessory Grundschuld is in practice the standard real-property security. §§ 1191 ff BGB

Amicable phase.

The typical ladder is an informal reminder (Zahlungserinnerung / Mahnung — which puts the debtor in Verzug and starts interest under § 286 BGB), a formal Mahnschreiben, then an anwaltliches Mahnschreiben (the lawyer's fee is recoverable as Verzugsschaden once the debtor is already in default), and finally the gerichtliches Mahnverfahren. Before suit, an Arrest or einstweilige Verfügung can secure the claim.

Court proceedings & costs.

Court fees are value-based (Wertgebühren): a base fee is read from § 34 GKG + Anlage 2 by Streitwert, then multiplied by the proceeding's fee factor from the Kostenverzeichnis (KV-GKG). Fees are paid upfront by the claimant (§ 12 GKG) and recovered from the loser (§ 91 ZPO). Amounts are the post-KostBRÄG-2025 figures (in force 01.06.2025); a Streitwert of EUR 10,000 gives a first-instance court fee of about EUR 849. Before the Landgericht and above there is Anwaltszwang (§ 78 ZPO); a claimant resident outside the EU/EEA may be required to give security for costs (§ 110 ZPO).

Court hierarchy.

The ordinary jurisdiction is two-tier at first instance, split by claim value. The Amtsgericht / Landgericht boundary rose from EUR 5,000 to EUR 10,000 on 01.01.2026. Specialist branches (labour, administrative, tax, social) have their own hierarchies and do not hear ordinary civil debt claims.

Amtsgericht

Local court. First instance for civil claims up to EUR 10,000 and certain matter-based cases (tenancy, family) regardless of value; no Anwaltszwang (§ 23 Nr. 1 GVG). ~637 courts

Landgericht

Regional court. First instance for civil claims above EUR 10,000; hears Berufung from the Amtsgerichte; mandatory legal representation (§ 71 GVG). ~115 courts

Oberlandesgericht

Higher regional court. Second instance — Berufung from the Landgerichte; certain first-instance specialist matters (§ 119 GVG). 24 courts

Bundesgerichtshof (BGH)

Federal Court of Justice — the highest ordinary-jurisdiction court; Revision on points of law (§ 133 GVG; § 543 ZPO). 1 court · Karlsruhe

Procedural deadlines.

Key statutory windows, each running from service of the relevant act. Several are Notfristen (non-extendable) — the Einspruch and appeal windows in particular. A two-week window becomes one month where service is effected abroad.

Insolvency & restructuring.

Governed by the Insolvenzordnung (InsO) and, for pre-insolvency preventive restructuring, the StaRUG (in force 01.01.2021, transposing Directive (EU) 2019/1023).

Zahlungsunfähigkeit (illiquidity)

The debtor cannot meet due payment obligations; presumed once payments have been stopped. A standard opening ground. § 17 Abs. 2 InsO

Überschuldung (over-indebtedness)

Assets no longer cover liabilities, unless continuation of the business is predominantly likely (positive Fortführungsprognose). § 19 Abs. 2 InsO

Antragspflicht (filing duty)

Directors must file without culpable delay — at the latest 3 weeks after Zahlungsunfähigkeit and 6 weeks after Überschuldung. Late filing (Insolvenzverschleppung) is a criminal offence and triggers personal liability. § 15a InsO

Absonderung (secured creditors)

Holders of rights in specific assets get separate satisfaction from the proceeds; for movable security the administrator controls realisation and deducts roughly 4 % + 5 % in statutory costs. §§ 49–52, 170–171 InsO

Restrukturierungsplan (StaRUG)

Court-light preventive restructuring on the debtor's initiative, available on drohende Zahlungsunfähigkeit; the plan is voted in classes, each requiring 75 % of the voting rights, with cross-class cram-down possible. §§ 25, 29 StaRUG

Arbitration.

Commercial arbitration is governed by the Zehntes Buch der ZPO (§§ 1025–1066), modelled on the UNCITRAL Model Law.

Schiedsfähigkeit (arbitrability)

Any claim involving an economic interest (vermögensrechtlicher Anspruch) may be the subject of an arbitration agreement. § 1030 Abs. 1 ZPO

Consumer arbitration

An arbitration agreement with a consumer must be contained in a separate signed document. § 1031 Abs. 5 ZPO

Setting aside an award

Narrow, enumerated grounds plus ordre-public review; an Aufhebungsantrag must be filed within 3 months of receipt of the award. § 1059 ZPO

Foreign awards

Recognised and enforced under the New York Convention 1958; the Oberlandesgericht is competent for the declaration of enforceability. § 1061 ZPO

Key institution

DIS — Deutsche Institution für Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit e.V., the leading German arbitral institution (rules: DIS-SchO 2018). DIS