Corporate Criminal Law

In recent years, the number of mass proceedings involving a large number of plaintiffs has been increasing. On the plaintiff side, numerous law firms have identified the potential to exploit new or additional revenue potential by standardizing similar cases. On the defendant side, more and more companies as well as public authorities are facing growing challenges to defend themselves efficiently and successfully. The best-known examples are, above all, the diesel proceedings against the major German car manufacturers. In 2020 alone, 30,000 proceedings were pending at the 24 higher regional courts nationwide; in the previous year, the number was as high as 40,000 (FAZ, July 13, 2021). Also not to be underestimated are the lawsuits against various private health insurers for the recovery of premium increases, lawsuits for violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), lawsuits in connection with mask procurement or for the recovery of Corona aid or the rejection of applications for Corona aid by the administration.

Germany as place of jurisdiction is to become more popular as a forum for international commercial disputes. To this end, the German Federal Ministry of Justice is planning to introduce and expand commercial courts and commercial chambers at German courts.

Arbitration proceedings are becoming increasingly attractive as an alternative to ordinary jurisdiction. Due to the particular flexibility of arbitration proceedings and the outstanding expertise of all parties involved in the proceedings, parties are increasingly agreeing to settle (commercial) disputes before arbitration tribunals. As a result, Germany is also gaining in importance as a place of arbitration.

Regulatory requirements and regulatory change often coupled with more demanding business needs are seen as major challenges to growth.