Since 1 June 2025, companies have the option of bringing significant legal disputes before the Commercial Court of the Munich Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht München). Since 1 June 2025, two new civil divisions (40th and 41st Civil Division) have been established at the Munich Higher Regional Court as a Commercial Court, which also has jurisdiction for the Higher Regional Court districts of Bamberg and Nuremberg. Upon request, the parties involved can also conduct the proceedings entirely in English. The legislator also considers the confidentiality requirements of companies.
The Commercial Court is the court of first instance with jurisdiction over disputes with a value of EUR 500,000.00 or more for
- legal disputes between companies within the supply chain, i.e. disputes between a manufacturer and a supplier or between suppliers (except for disputes in the field of industrial property rights, copyright and claims under the Unfair Competition Act), as well as
- legal disputes between a company and members of its management or supervisory body (with exceptions including disputes concerning the validity of resolutions of shareholders or company bodies).
The parties must also expressly agree to the jurisdiction of the Commercial Court in the first instance (§ 119b para. 2 sentence 3 Courts Constitution Act (GVG)). Alternatively, the other party may, after the action has been brought before the Commercial Court, acquiesce in the Commercial Court's jurisdiction in its statement of defence (§ 119b para. 2 sentence 3 Courts Constitution Act (GVG)) or one party may, after the action has been brought before the regional court – without agreement on the jurisdiction of the Commercial Court – request that the case be referred to the Commercial Court (§ 611 para. 1 Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO)). To avoid uncertainty, the parties should expressly stipulate jurisdiction in the agreement on the place of jurisdiction.
The background to the establishment of the Commercial Court at the Munich Higher Regional Court is the "Act to Strengthen Germany as a Place of Justice by Introducing Commercial Courts and English as the Language of the Courts in Civil Proceedings" (BT-Drucksache 20/8649). This empowers the federal states to establish specialised chambers for commercial matters. The Free State of Bavaria has now made use of this option in § 1a Court Jurisdiction Ordinance (GZVJu).
Strengthening Germany as a judicial location: confidentiality and moving away from arbitration
The explicit aim of introducing commercial courts at the Munich Higher Regional Court is to encourage companies to refrain from (international) arbitration and to turn more towards state jurisdiction. From an economic point of view, this step is welcome. International arbitration often entails high costs for the parties.
Another significant advantage of commercial courts is that disputes are decided by experienced judges at the Higher Regional Court, thus ensuring high quality from the first instance onwards. In addition, pursuant to § 614 Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO), the parties have the option of immediately appealing the judgments of the commercial court to the Federal Court of Justice – without any restrictions on admission to appeal.
The federal legislature has taken into account the need of companies to keep sensitive business information confidential by introducing § 273a Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) (“confidentiality”). The parties can now request (even in proceedings outside the Commercial Court) that the court classify certain information at issue as confidential in whole or in part. If this is the case, the use and disclosure of such information is prohibited – and both the parties and all other parties involved in the legal dispute are bound by this. The right of third parties to inspect files is also restricted to redacted documents in accordance with § 16 para. 3 Act on the Protection of Trade Secrets (GeschGehG). The court may also restrict access to the main hearing and to the documents submitted in the proceedings (§ 19 Act on the Protection of Trade Secrets (GeschGehG)).
Practical tips:
With the Commercial Court of the Munich Higher Regional Court, companies now have the option of retaining their familiar German law and the jurisdiction of familiar German courts while at the same time conducting proceedings in English – without having to resort to costly arbitration proceedings. The parties should expressly stipulate the jurisdiction of the Commercial Court in the choice of court agreement in order to avoid uncertainty about the competent court (for example, with a supplier: "For all disputes concerning [...] with the exception of [...] and a value in dispute of EUR 500,000.00 or more, the Commercial Court at the Higher Regional Court of Munich shall have jurisdiction").
