Procedures
The ZPO, value-based jurisdiction and statutory costs that follow the event
The Zivilprozessordnung allocates first-instance civil claims by value: the Amtsgericht up to EUR 5,000 and the Landgericht above it, where representation by a lawyer is compulsory. Costs are fixed by statutory scale rather than billed hourly, so exposure is calculable before filing.
Key rules
- Amtsgericht hears claims up to EUR 5,000; the Landgericht above that, with compulsory representation under § 78 ZPO.
- Appeal (Berufung) must be lodged within one month of service, and generally requires an amount in dispute above EUR 600.
- The regular limitation period is three years under § 195 BGB, running from the end of the year in which the claim arose.
- The unsuccessful party bears the costs of the dispute under § 91 ZPO, calculated on the value in dispute.
- The court must normally attempt a conciliation hearing (Güteverhandlung) before the main hearing under § 278 ZPO.
Governing law
- Zivilprozessordnung (ZPO) (§§ 78, 91, 278)
- Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (§§ 195, 199)Three-year regular limitation period
- RechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetzStatutory lawyers' fees by value in dispute
- GerichtskostengesetzCourt fees by value in dispute
In practice
The defining feature for common-law parties is the absence of discovery. Under the Beibringungsgrundsatz each side must produce the evidence for its own case, and there is no general obligation to disclose harmful documents — which makes a claim that depends on the opponent's internal records substantially harder to run than in England or the United States. Because both court fees and recoverable lawyers' fees are set by scale against the value in dispute, the costs risk can be quantified at the outset, and the loser pays the winner's statutory fees rather than their actual bill. The Mahnverfahren under § 688 ZPO offers a fast, largely automated route to an enforceable title for undisputed money claims, and is often used before any ordinary action.