The German justice system is to become more digital. One of the planned innovations to achieve this is a proposal by the Federal Ministry of Justice to introduce a new online procedure for civil proceedings. With the new procedure, payment claims with lower amounts in dispute can be litigated fully digitally – more or less at the click of a mouse.
This will initially only be possible at selected courts for a limited period of time. The new law provides for a so-called “real-world laboratory” for the first time, which will be used to test new procedures in pilot courts under real conditions on a temporary basis. The aim is to assess how innovations in procedural law are received in practice so that any insights can be used for permanent regulation.
The draft law on the new online procedure is currently being discussed in the German parliament (Bundestag). If the legislation is passed, the new procedure could be available from the beginning of 2025.
What is the new online procedure?
The online procedure is intended to provide a further type of procedure for payment claims within the jurisdiction of the local courts, which are currently responsible for claims up to EUR 5,000. The Ministry of Justice mainly focused on mass proceedings as they generate a considerable amount of work for the courts. Since from January 2026 onwards, the Government also plans to extend the jurisdiction of the local courts to claims with an amount in dispute up to EUR 8,000, the scope of application for the new online procedure could soon be even greater.
In contrast to the already existing summary proceeding for a payment order (Mahnverfahren), which can also be used to assert payment claims by submitting official forms online, the new online procedure is a “proper” contentious proceeding in which the court examines the merits of the claim (by taking evidence, etc.).
Actions under the new procedure must be filed electronically, using a new digital communication platform or via the entry systems already provided for in the Code of Civil Procedure (in particular the special electronic mailbox for lawyers beA). Other applications or declarations may also be submitted via data entry systems, the use of which may be made compulsory by the court under certain conditions.
Furthermore, the court may order the parties to structure their submissions digitally (e.g. by setting up data entry fields in digital forms to the respective matter in dispute). In suitable cases and if none of the parties expressly requests an oral hearing, the court may pass a judgment without conducting a hearing or the court may take evidence using audio transmission or digital communication tools. Finally, the oral delivery of the judgment may be replaced by the delivery of an electronic document.
What does the Ministry of Justice want to achieve?
The new online procedure serves a number of purposes in the eyes of the Ministry of Justice:
- meet the public's expectation to be able to contact the courts digitally in an increasingly digitalised world and improve equal access to justice;
- make civil proceedings cheaper as an online procedure will only incur 2/3 of the court fees for conventional proceedings;
- save the judiciary time and resources by using digital tools to help structure submissions and process case materials so that standardised tasks can be completed more quickly (the Ministry of Justice hopes that this will save around 20 per cent of the time);
- offer digital technologies to lawyers, in particular for the transmission of structured data sets; and
- test the new procedure under real-life conditions and on a nationwide basis in order to prepare a later rollout across all Federal States (Länder).
Our assessment – risks and opportunities
The proposed new online procedure is a welcome step towards the greater digitalisation of court proceedings in Germany. It is particularly noteworthy that the new procedural steps and the technical tools are to be tested on a nationwide basis despite the fact that in Germany the Federal States are responsible for the administration of the judiciary. This shows the political will to avoid a patchwork of different legal tech applications in the 16 Federal States. The actual success of the online procedure, however, will depend on several factors:
First, it is essential that all digital tools are secure and allow for an uninterrupted transmission of data, especially when introducing sensitive, non-public information. This must apply both for the digital platforms provided by the courts and to the digital set-up of the parties.
Second, the online procedure will only be used in practice and establish itself as a resource-saving alternative to conventional proceedings if it is user-friendly. This holds particularly true as it is not mandatory for parties to be represented by a lawyer at local court level. User-friendliness also requires that the online procedure enables structured processing of procedural material from the beginning in order to effectively use legal tech tools in the course of the proceeding.
Third, and most importantly, the proposed online procedure must guarantee both parties the same procedural rights as in conventional proceedings, in particular the right to be heard. The objective of making the procedure efficient should not lead to an approach where strict requirements to structure the information provided to the courts prevent the parties from presenting the facts they consider necessary to substantiate their case and to bring forward their legal arguments. Even in a mass claim situation, the assessment of the circumstances of the individual case is key. From our experience, it is not possible to handle all claims with a “one size fits all” approach.
The Ministry of Justice has proposed evaluations after four and eight years of the trial phase – by which time we will know at the whether the proposed online procedure has stood the test of time in the real-life laboratory.
