In a judgment dated July 14, 2011, the German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) has confirmed its approach to pathological arbitration clauses. The court held that an arbitration agreement that stipulates a non-existing arbitration institution is not per se unenforceable. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: October 2011
Worldwide Asset Freezing Orders: Welcome to Germany
A judgment of the Nürnberg Court of Appeals (Oberlandesgericht) of December 2010 deals with the recognition and enforcement of a Worldwide Asset Freezing Order, or WAFO, issued by the High Court in London. The judgment was recently published in legal journals such as ZIP 2011, 1840, but apparently is not available on a free database. Continue reading
Freezing Order Frustration
My gut feeling: Germany is a jurisdiction where it is notoriously difficult to get a freezing order even in fraud cases. I do not have any empirical data to back this up, and can not think about a methodology to test my hypothesis. But it appears to be supported by a recent case in the Frankfurt Court of Appeals (Oberlandesgericht). Continue reading
Kapitalanlegermusterverfahrensgesetz: Looks as though it’s here to stay
Kapitalanlegermusterverfahrensgesetz, KapMuG for short, is the closest thing German law has to a class action. It is usually translated as the Capital Market Investors’ Model Proceeding Act. As you gather from the name, it deals with investor claims in capital market matters. Continue reading