European e-Justice Portal

Costs

Germany

In these case studies on commercial law (contracts), Member States were asked to advise the seller on the costs of proceedings in the following situations: Case A – National situation: a company delivers goods worth EUR 20 000. The seller is not paid because the buyer considers that the goods do not correspond to what was agreed. The seller decides to sue for full payment. Case B – Cross-border situation: a company based in Member State B delivers goods worth EUR 20 000 to a buyer in Member State A. The contract is written in the language of Member State B and falls under its jurisdiction. The buyer in Member State A refuses to pay because, in their opinion, the goods do not correspond to what was agreed. The seller decides to sue for full payment in Member State A on the basis of the contract entered into with the buyer.

Costs in Germany

Costs of proceedings at first instance or appeal

Case study	Proceedings at first instance	Appeal
	Initial court fees	Initial court fees
Case A	EUR 1 035.00	Appeal: EUR 1 380.00 Appeal on point of law: EUR 1 725.00
Case B	EUR 1 035.00	Appeal: EUR 1 380.00 EUR 1 725.00

Lawyer, bailiff and expert fees

Case study	Lawyer		Bailiff		Expert
	Is there a requirement for legal representation?	Average costs	Is there a requirement for a bailiff to be involved?	Costs following judgment	Is there a requirement to call an expert?	Costs
Case A	Yes	First instance: EUR 2 231	No	Depends on type of enforcement measure	No	Based on hourly rates. Levels vary according to area of activity, but the maximum rate is EUR 125, plus expenses and VAT
Case B	Yes	First instance: EUR 2 231	No		No	Based on hourly rates. Levels vary according to area of activity, but the maximum rate is EUR 125, plus expenses and VAT

Cost of covering witnesses’ expenses

Case study	Witnesses’ expenses
	Are witnesses entitled to reimbursement of their expenses?	Costs
Case A	Yes	Up to EUR 21 per hour for earnings lost, plus travel and other expenses
Case B	Yes	Up to EUR 21 per hour for earnings lost, plus travel and other expenses

Costs of legal aid and reimbursement of other expenses

Case study	Legal aid			Reimbursement
	When and on what conditions can legal aid be awarded?	When is legal aid awarded in full?	What are the conditions?	Can the prevailing party request the award of litigation costs?	What costs are not eligible for reimbursement?	Are there instances where legal aid must be paid back?
Case A	As a rule no legal aid is awarded to legal persons established outside the EU. General requirements: The party must be in a precarious financial situation (without income or assets), and the legal action must have reasonable prospects of success and must not appear to be vexatious.	If the disposable income of the party without income or assets does not exceed EUR 15 after deduction of certain basic allowances received by them or their family members and of housing and heating costs. Legal aid may also be granted in full in other cases, but must be reimbursed by instalments. The amount of the instalment depends on the disposable income.	1. On application (no lawyer required in order to apply) 2. Procedure still ongoing 3. See also column 1.	Yes, to the extent that they won	Costs not essential to their own legal action or defence	See column 2
Case B	See case A above	See case A above	See case A above	See case A above	See case A above	See case A above

Translation and interpretation costs

Case study	Translation		Interpretation		Are there other costs relating to cross-border disputes?
	When and on what conditions is translation required?	Approximate cost	When and on what conditions is interpretation required?	Approximate cost	Description
Case A
Case B	In principle all written submissions to the court and all documentary evidence must be translated. The court may decide that the documents need not be translated if all the judges dealing with the case understand the language in question.	In most cases EUR 1.55 per 55 characters, plus expenses and VAT	The language of the courts is German. It may be decided to dispense with interpretation if all those present have a good command of the foreign language in question.	EUR 70 per hour, plus expenses and VAT	Costs of serving documents abroad

Last update: 05/09/2023

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