1. The goal and the preparatory steps
In February 2023, we had reported that the German Federal Ministry of Justice had published “Guidelines for the strengthening of the courts in commercial disputes and for the introduction of (English speaking) commercial courts”.[1] The guidelines were complemented by a parallel initiative to modernize German arbitration law.[2] The goal of both legislative projects was to strengthen Germany’s position as a judicial and business center and to enable German courts and arbitration institutions to compete with recognized foreign commercial courts and arbitration centers such as London, Singapore, Paris, and Amsterdam.[3]
While the project to modernize German arbitration law failed at the last minute due to the principle of discontinuity, as the bill was not put to a vote on the last day of the session before the federal elections on 23 February 2025[4], the legal foundations for the introduction of English-speaking commercial courts and commercial chambers were laid. On 7 October 2024, the Bundestag passed the “Act to strengthen Germany as a center of justice through the introduction of Commercial Courts and English as the court language in civil matters (Act to Strengthen Germany as a Centre of Justice)”.
The new statute will enter into force on 1 April 2025. It allows the German federal states (who are responsible for the local courts, the district courts and the higher regional courts) to introduce commercial chambers for English language proceedings at the district court level and Commercial Courts as first instance courts for commercial disputes at the higher regional court level.
2. Commercial Court Duesseldorf and Commercial Chambers at four District Courts in North Rhine-Westfalia
North Rhine-Westfalia (NRW) is the first federal state to use the opportunities offered by the new federal law. NRW is the fourth largest German federal state in terms of area and the largest in terms of population. It is the industrial heartland of Germany and has the largest share of the German gross domestic product. In terms of economic output, NRW is ahead of countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other European countries such as Switzerland, Poland, Sweden and Belgium.
On 11 March 2025, the NRW state cabinet approved the “Ordinance on the establishment of a Commercial Court and Commercial Chambers”, thereby laying the foundation for the introduction of new specialized commercial chambers at the district courts in Duesseldorf, Cologne, Essen and Bielefeld and of a commercial court at the Higher Regional Court in Duesseldorf.[5] The State Minister of Justice will sign the ordinance on 1 April 2025, i.e. on the day the federal Act to Strengthen Germany as a Centre of Justice enters into force. It will become effective with its publication (probably 3 April 2025). It could not have been done quicker, and this underlines the importance the state government, the state courts and the local bar attach to the project.
Benjamin Limbach, NRW’s Minister of Justice, called the introduction of the Commercial Court and the Commercial Chambers “a milestone on the way to a specialized judiciary that creates optimal procedural conditions for companies. This specialization will enable judges to promote commercial law proceedings quickly and efficiently and thus ensure even better legal clarity and legal certainty in commercial transactions.”
2.1 The Commercial Court Duesseldorf
The Commercial Court Duesseldorf will decide M&A disputes and disputes arising from company, construction and insurance law if (a) the amount in dispute is € 500,000 or more, and (b) the parties have agreed on the Commercial Court as the court of first instance.
The court will consist of three panels of highly specialized judges with many years of experience in their respective fields. Following best practice in international dispute resolution, the proceedings before the Commercial Court will start with an introductory organizational meeting in which the parties and the court structure the proceedings. Business secrets will be treated in private. The parties may request that a court reporter prepares a verbatim transcript of the hearing. In addition to the usual option of receiving the minutes after the hearing, it is possible to receive the minutes in hearing breaks. A verbatim record that can be read in full during the hearing or the taking of evidence can also be produced.
Preparations are well under way so that the Commercial Court Duesseldorf can start work immediately after the ordinance has entered into force. The panels will hear cases in courtrooms equipped with state-of-the-art technology. The parties and their legal representatives can withdraw to meeting rooms reserved for them for consultation.
All of this emphasizes that the Commercial Court Duesseldorf is conceived as an alternative to commercial arbitration, combining the characteristics of modern arbitration proceedings with the strength of a respected court and the possibility of bringing an appeal against the judgments before the Federal Court of Justice.
2.2 The Commercial Chambers
While the Commercial Court Duesseldorf will hear cases in English only at the request of the parties, the proceedings before the new commercial chambers at the district courts in Duesseldorf, Cologne, Essen and Bielefeld will always be conducted in English, not in German.
The jurisdiction of the English language commercial chambers follows an already existing state-wide concentration of jurisdiction of the four district courts which had been introduced in 2022[6] :
- the commercial chamber at the District Court Duesseldorf will have jurisdiction for M&A disputes with a value in dispute of more than € 500,000;
- the commercial chamber at the District Court Cologne will have jurisdiction for IT disputes with a value in dispute of more than € 100,000;
- the commercial chambers at the district courts in Essen and Bielefeld will have jurisdiction for disputes relating to renewable energy with a value in dispute of more than € 100,000.
In addition, the commercial chambers at the four district courts can hear cases in English relating to company, construction and insurance law with a value in dispute between € 5,000 and € 499,999.99 (for higher values, the Commercial Court Duesseldorf has jurisdiction if the parties opt for English-language proceedings).
3. Outlook and perspective
The Commercial Court Duesseldorf and the commercial chambers at the four district courts in NRW will not remain the only English speaking specialized courts for commercial disputes in Germany. Other federal states have already announced that they will follow suit. On the basis of the Act to Strengthen Germany as a Centre of Justice, the federal state of Hesse will create a Commercial Court at the Higher Regional Court Frankfurt and commercial chambers at the District Court Frankfurt.[7] The same applies to the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg[8] and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg[9] It is now up to the companies and their advisors to incorporate the new courts into their jurisdiction agreements and for the judiciary to fulfil the expectations associated with the new legislation. It is to be hoped that the modernization of commercial litigation will strengthen Germany as a center of justice.
[1] Juergen Mark, Germany wants to introduce English speaking commercial courts, Global Litigation News (https://globallitigationnews.bakermckenzie.com/2023/02/15/germany-wants-to-introduce-english-speaking-commercial-courts/).
[2] The Baker McKenzie International Arbitration Yearbooks 2023-2024, Germany, A.1 (https://www.globalarbitrationnews.com/2024/01/01/baker-mckenzie-international-arbitration-yearbook-2023-2024-germany/).
[3] Already under the old law, some federal states (NRW, Hesse, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Hamburg, Berlin) had introduced commercial courts but the possibilities to conduct civil/commercial proceedings in English before these courts were limited. Hearings could be held in English without an interpreter if the parties and the court agreed, but all written submissions to the court, the minutes of the hearings and all court decisions had to be in German.
[4] The Baker McKenzie International Arbitration Yearbooks 2024-2025, Germany, A.1 (https://www.globalarbitrationnews.com/2025/01/01/baker-mckenzie-international-arbitration-yearbook-2024-2025-germany/).
[5] Press release, Justiz in Nordrhein-Westfalen führt Commercial Court und Commercial Chambers ein (https://www.land.nrw/pressemitteilung/justiz-nordrhein-westfalen-fuehrt-commercial-court-und-commercial-chambers-ein).
[6] Verordnung über die gerichtliche Zuständigkeit für Streitigkeiten aus den Bereichen der Unternehmenstransaktionen (Mergers & Acquisitions), der Informationstechnologie und Medientechnik sowie der Erneuerbaren Energien (https://recht.nrw.de/lmi/owa/br_vbl_detail_text?anw_nr=6&vd_id=19980&menu=0&sg=0).
[7] Press release, Commercial Court und Commercial Chambers in Hessen (https://justizministerium.hessen.de/commercial-court).
[8] Press release, Umsetzung des Justizstandort-Stärkungsgesetzes in Baden-Württemberg (https://www.commercial-court.de/).
[9] Press release, Commercial Courts kommen (https://www.hamburg.de/politik-und-verwaltung/behoerden/bjv/themen/rechtspolitik/commercial-courts-933452).
