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 |
Case B |
EUR 1 035.00 |
Appeal: EUR 1 380.00 |
Lawyer, bailiff and expert fees
Case study |
Lawyer |
Bailiff |
Expert |
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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: |
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: |
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 |
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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? |
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When and on what conditions is translation required? |
Approximate cost |
When and on what conditions is interpretation required? |
Approximate cost |
Description |
|
Case A |
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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 |
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