We are expanding our dispute resolution team in Frankfurt. If you are following this blog, then you are likely to meet a very important criterion: You’re interested in dispute resolution! Read More
Month: June 2012
From Russia With Love – Foreign Courts, Arbitration and Protectionism at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum
Russia is apparently planning to protect Russian enterprises and citizens from the interference of foreign court and arbitration tribunals. In Legal Tribune Online today, Christine Heeg and Thomas Weimann report on a rather astonishing speech to that effect, delivered by Anton Ivanov, Russia’s most senior commercial judge, at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum 2012 last month. Read More
Update: Still Mediating the Mediation Act
Update on the progress, or lack thereof, of the Mediation Act: In yesterday’s session, the Mediation Committee (Vermittlungsausschuss) did not deal with the Mediation Act, even though it was on the agenda. It has postponed the matter yet again. The next round of negotiations is now scheduled for June 27, 2012. Realistically, if the Committee does not reach a conclusion on the Act in that meeting, we are well into the summer break. With the Euro crisis and other heavy-weight agenda items likely to take priority, the prospect of the Mediation Act getting sorted this year are substantially diminished.
How Long Does It Take? Some Data on German Civil and Commercial Disputes
How long will it take? Inevitably, one of the first questions of any client getting involved in litigation. So far, I have only reported about extreme cases that took 18 years and more, and posted on legislative efforts to speed up the courts. We all hardly ever tell war stories about the quick and efficient matters. So a more scientific approach appears to be called for, based on official data issued by the Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt). The German Federal Bar (Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer) has usefully summarized the most recent available data for 2010. Read More