Security for Costs after Brexit: New Federal Patent Court Decision and a Question Mark

On 1 March 2021, the Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) held in a patent case that as of 1 January 2021, British claimants have had to provide security for costs under Section 110 para. 1 German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) (see here for the related post). In its decision, the Federal Supreme Court found, without providing any detailed reasoning, that no exception pursuant to Section 110 para. 2 ZPO applied: There was no international treaty in force that would exempt British claimants from the obligation to provide security for costs (for the European law background to Section 110 ZPO, see my post at zpoblog.de). Implicitly, the Federal Supreme Court hence also addressed the question whether “old” multilateral treaties such as the 1968 Brussels Convention or bilateral treaties such as the 1960 British-German Convention were revived after Brexit. Continue reading

Federal Supreme Court: First Post-Brexit Decision on Procedural Issue

To the best of my knowledge, the Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) decision of 1 March 2021 is the first one dealing with one of the procedural issues arising after Brexit, namely the question of security for costs to be posted by British plaintiffs in German proceedings pursuant to Section 110 German Code of Civil Procedure (Zivilprozessordnung, ZPO). In this case, proceedings were already pending before the United Kingdom’s effective withdrawal from the European Union. Implicitly, the Federal Supreme Court also addresses the question whether “old” multilateral treaties such as the 1968 Brussels Convention or bilateral treaties such as the 1960 British-German Convention were revived after Brexit. Continue reading

Reimbursement of Translation Costs Incurred by Foreign Party in German Proceedings

If a foreign party to court proceedings in Germany requires translations of German language documents produced for and/or exchanged in these proceedings, the costs incurred for translations can quickly become significant. The fundamental rule is that the costs have to be reimbursed by the opponent as costs necessary to conduct the proceedings, if the foreign party succeeds in the litigation. A recent decision of the Court of Appeals (Oberlandesgericht) Frankfurt provides a very useful summary of the case law and dismisses many of the standard objections that losing parties tend to raise. Continue reading