Online Civil Court Procedure
User-friendly, easy filing of claims
Before people in Germany even think about taking a matter to court, the value involved generally has to be around 2,000 euros at least. People hesitate due to high costs and potential financial risk with relatively little benefit. As a result, many monetary claims are never enforced in court.
We are working with the Federal Ministry of Justice to develop a solution for testing an online civil court procedure. The idea is to allow for simple, user-friendly, easy assertion of claims, especially small claims.
We are testing two approaches:
- Development of ongoing forms to support people in general with filing monetary claims up to 5,000 euros.
- Development of specific query dialogs for matters involving airline passenger rights.
Our hope is that simple formalities for filing online claims will shorten processing times and ultimately also enhance trust in democracy and the rule of law. The goal is not only to give constituents the tools they need, but also to relieve the strain on the judicial system. The project is a part of the German Digital Strategy (German only) and the Pact for Digital Government and Democracy (German only).
Special features
- Close cooperation with courts for joint testing and development activities
- Insights gleaned in this project contribute to legislation geared toward real-world practice
- Overall legal framework still needs to be created – the Federal Cabinet has approved the draft legislation presented by the Federal Minister of Justice on the development and testing of an online procedure in civil jurisdiction in September 2024
Facts and figures
Cooperation within the federal judicial ecosystem (with stakeholders including constituents, lawyers, state judicial administration bodies, academia)
Nearly 60 interviews with constituents, lawyers, court employees, experts, and stakeholder groups conducted (as of November 2023)
July 2024: Launch of an online pre-check that allows citizens to find out about the requirements for compensation in the event of flight problems
Dr. Marco Buschmann, Federal Minister of Justice
Online procedures in the civil courts and digital clearinghouses for legal petitions create tools for obtaining modern access to the judicial system. (…) This not only makes it easier for people to reach the judicial system, but also strengthens constituents’ trust in democracy and the rule of law.
Read more about this project
