The Berlin Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgericht) ruled in favor of information access under the German Freedom of Information Act (Informationsfreiheitsgesetz, IFG) in a case related to the German passenger car toll system (Pkw-Maut). The case revolved around claims from plaintiffs – the prospective toll operators – for specific documents from the Federal Ministry of Transport (Bundesverkehrsministerium). The Ministry had claimed various grounds to withhold the information, including potential adverse effects on ongoing arbitral proceedings. However, the court rejected these arguments and asserted the primacy of the Information Freedom Act (IFG) over the procedural rules of arbitral proceedings. This decision sets an important precedent concerning the interplay between information access and arbitration procedures. Continue reading
Category Archives: Arbitration
Federal Supreme Court: Unrestricted Review of Arbitral Awards in Antitrust Matters
by Lena Rindfus, Stefan Horn and Peter Bert
In a recent decision, the Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) held that German courts have jurisdiction to fully review arbitral awards applying competition law, if such an award is before them in enforcement or setting aside proceedings. The prohibition of a révision au fond, that is, a substantive review of the arbitral award by the ordinary courts, which is part of both the German domestic arbitration law and the New York Convention, does not apply in that context. Hence, lengthy and complex arbitral proceedings could end up being just “first instance proceedings” on their way to the ordinary courts if they relate to competition law matters. Continue reading
Koblenz Court of Appeals Denies Recognition of Russian Arbitral Award in Germany
These days, a court decision related to Russia is likely to attract special attention. Therefore, it is worth pointing out at the outset that this matter is unrelated to Russia’s war against Ukraine. The Koblenz Court of Appeals (Oberlandesgericht) happened to hand down its decision in March 2022, but the matter dates back to 2019. Continue reading
Goethe University, Frankfurt: German & International Arbitration Course, Summer Term 2022
Goethe University’s Law School has just announced the details for this year’s course in German and International Arbitration. Again, this year’s edition will be completely virtual, so it might be of interest to students outside Frankfurt as well. Here is the official course announcement: