Law Made in Germany - AHK...

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Law Made in Germany g l o b a l • e f f e c t i v e • c o s t -e f f i c i e n t by Prof. Dr. Stephan Wernicke, Chief Legal Officerl Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK)

Transcript of Law Made in Germany - AHK...

Page 1: Law Made in Germany - AHK Südafrikasuedafrika.ahk.de/.../Dokumente/Law_Made_in_Germany_englisch_S… · interpreting contracts ... Law – Made in Germany ... ICC, German Institute

Law – Made in Germany

g l o b a l • e f f e c t i v e • c o s t-e f f i c i e n t

by Prof. Dr. Stephan Wernicke, Chief Legal Officerl

Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK)

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Law – Made in Germany…

…is source of Germany‟s success story

…has helped German companies

to become global market leaders

…guarantees entrepreneurial freedom

…ensures legal certainty

…balances conflicting interests

“Made in Germany” also applies to German law!

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Law – Made in Germany g l o b a l • e f f e c t i v e • c o s t - e f f i c i e n t |

Qualities of German law recognized

around the world

• as a blue print for legislation – the German Civil Code and

German Corporate Law (e. g. Eastern European countries)

• “Rule of Law Dialogue” – e. g. China and Vietnam

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Alliance for German Law

• German Federal Bar Association (BRAK)

• Federal Chamber of German civil law notaries

• German Bar Association (DAV)

• German Notaries„ Association

• German Judges Association

• Association of German Chambers of Industry and

Commerce

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Objectives of the Alliance

• promote German law and draw public attention to the

benefits of German law

• no attempt of legal dominance, but willingness to support

our partner countries (e. g. Germany‟s National

Vocational Training Act)

• German law: excellent choice as the substantive

applicable law (in particular for arbitrational proceedings)

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Law – Made in Germany g l o b a l • e f f e c t i v e • c o s t - e f f i c i e n t |

Legal certainty

through codification

• continental legal system in the tradition of Roman law

• codified system: Legislation in the form of statues, codes and

regulations

• most important legislation in the area of business law inter

alia: Civil Code, Commercial Code, Private Limited Liability

Companies Act

• codification enables swift and straightforward access to law

• more predictability and legal certainty than common law

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Contract Law – customised solutions on

a case-by-case basis

• principle of contractual freedom

• reliable guidelines for drafting and

interpreting contracts

• no need of detailed provisions such

as right of retention, set-off or

assignment (catch all-provisions)

• liability - predictable and

quantifiable, no punitive damages

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German courts

independent, fast and effective

• independence of German courts

• high quality of court rulings

• low costs and short duration of

lawsuits

• judges encourage in-court-settlements

• special proceedings help to facilitate

and accelerate

• quick and effective enforceability

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German courts

independent, fast and effective

• well suitable for international issues

• reforms to introduce proceedings in English are on their way

• significant number of highly qualified and internationally experienced lawyers

• contract drafting stage forms a good base for legal checks and balances

Germany has the lowest number of law suits within

Europe.

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Law of evidence

• carefully balanced and

predictable rules on the

allocation of burden of proof

• no pre-trial discovery

• fast and efficient

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Court fees and lawyer’s fees

transparent and affordable

• “loser pays all“-rule

• no “black mail-settlement“

• no class actions

• legal fees are rather low

and calculated according

to statutory fee schedules

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Source: WrtschaftsWoche 29.4.2013 Nr. 18

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Alternative dispute resolutions

• broad spectrum of alternative

dispute settlement procedures

(genuine choice for the parties!)

• Chambers of Commerce and

network of bilateral Chambers

of Commerce abroad advise

business on the various forms

of proceedings

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Alternative dispute resolutions

• internationally prominent arbitral institutions

– German Chambers of Commerce

– German Institution of Arbitration (DIS)

– ICC Germany in Berlin

• German Arbitration law is modelled after UNCITRAL

• German arbitration awards are enforceable worldwide

• For further information on arbitration proceedings, please

visit the website: www.dihk.de/arbitration

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Fostering Arbitration between the

German and South African (SA)

business community

• Positive economic environment:

- Bilateral trade volume in 2012: 14 billion Euro

- 700 German companies in SA with about 100.000

employees and a turnover amounting to 100 billion Euro

- Vice versa, SA ranks for Germany at position 27 among

all trading partners (only slightly behind India but ahead

of South Korea and Canada)

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• Arbitration has a long tradition in both SA and Germany

• High profile arbitral infrastructure:

- Numerous legal experts are specialized in both countries

in the conduct of arbitration proceedings

- Moreover, there are various internationally arbitral

institutions in SA (e.g. Association of Arbitrators, CCMA,

AFSA, Africa ADR) and Germany (Chambers of Industry,

ICC, German Institute of Arbitration, German Maritime

Arbritration et al)

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• Ease of enforcement (New York Convention)

• Clear and Arbitration-Friendly Legislative Framework,

though SA has not yet adopted the UNCITRAL Model LAW

• Support of arbitration by the German judiciary

• Neutrality, Finality, Privacy, Party Control and Choice et al

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Further unique selling points

of German law

• Company Law

• Finance

• Public registers

• Intellectual property

• Patent matters

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Thank you for your attention!

For further information please do not hesitate to contact me:

E-Mail: [email protected]