Digitalisation of Civil Procedure in Germany

As in nearly every aspect of life, digitalisation has also been called for in most civil justice systems, recently. Although digitalisation is not a novelty to the reform agenda in Germany, the COVID-19 pandemic has massively catalysed approaches to modernise civil procedure and to make the civil justice system more resilient. This course will elaborate these approaches and current developments in detail. To this end, the course will begin outlining the very anatomy of German Civil Procedure Law. Students will gain a profound understanding of the fundamental principles and structure of German Civil Procedure Law, the hierarchical organisation of civil courts, procedural steps and the role of key stakeholders in the litigation process. From this basis, the course will deeply dive into the digitalisation approaches in the reform process and analyze how digital tools and technologies are integrated into the reformation of procedural rules and court processes in Germany: i.e. especially the use of videoconferencing technology in court hearings and the gathering of electronic evidence, the introduction of electronic files, the electronic communication with the court, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the decision making process, the installation of mere online proceedings etc.

Upon completing the course, the students should:

a)     have gained a profound understanding of the fundamental principles and structure of German Civil Procedure Law

b)    have deep knowledge of the hierarchical organisation of civil courts, the procedural steps and the role of key stakeholders in the litigation process

c) have gained an in depth insight into the digitalisation approaches in the current reform process and have learned how digital tools and technologies are integrated into the reformation of procedural rules and court processes in Germany