Tag: Amtsgericht Mitte

Case of the Week: No English Translation Required for Service of German Proceedings on Facebook in Ireland

Le_palais_de_justice_de_Littenstrasse_(Berlin)_(6303550695)This case of the week deals with the question if and when a translation is required if service of proceedings is effected abroad. It arose in an action brought by a German Facebook user against Facebook Ireland, the Facebook entity through which Facebook apparently conducts its business in mainland Europe. As always in matters of service, we are not really concerned with the underlying facts, but it appears that Facebook blocked the user’s account, and the user wanted to have this measure removed. Initial correspondence by email led to nothing. Facebook Ireland refused to de-block the account with an email; an email, it must be noted, written in German. The user then issued proceedings in the Local Court (Amtsgericht) Berlin-Mitte, filing a statement of claim in German. No translation was ordered, and all the papers were served on Facebook in Ireland in German only. Facebook challenged the validity of Service. Read More

Provisional Enforcement of Arbitral Awards in Germany

SchiedsVZUnder German law, you can combine the application for the recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award with an application to allow provisional enforcement measures, such as freezing bank accounts and attaching assets. Pending a decision on the recognition and enforcement of the award, these assets can thus be secured. However, the relevant section of the German Civil Code (Zivilprozessordnung, ZPO) appears to have been imperfectly integrated into the overall system of provisional enforcement, which led to a string of – partly contradictory – court decisions. Read More