European e-Justice Portal

Costs

Germany

In this case study on family law – custody of the children, Member States were asked to advise the suing party on litigation costs on litigation costs in order to consider the following situations: Case A – National situation: Two persons have lived together unmarried for a number of years. They have a three year old child when they separate. A court decision grants custody of the child to the mother and a right of access to the father. The mother sues to limit the father’s right of access. Case B – Transnational situation where you are a lawyer in Member State A: Two persons have lived together unmarried in a Member State (Member State B) for a number of years. They have a child together but separate immediately after the child’s birth. A court decision in Member State B gives the child’s custody to the mother with a right of access to the father. The mother and the child move to live in another Member State (Member State A) as authorised to do so by the Court decision and the father remains in Member State B. A few years later, the mother sues in Member State A to change the father’s right of access.

Costs in Germany

Costs for Court, Appeals and Alternative Dispute Resolution

Case Study	Court	Appeals
	Initial court fees	Initial court fees
Case A	EUR 44.50	Appeal: EUR 89.00 Appeal on point of law: EUR 133.50
Case B	EUR 44.50	Appeal: EUR 89.00 Appeal on point of law: EUR 133.50

Costs for lawyer, bailiff and expert

Case Study	Lawyer		Expert
	Is representation compulsory?	Average costs	Is use compulsory?	Cost
Case A	No	First instance: EUR 590.00	At the court’s discretion	EUR 85.00 per hour plus expenses and turnover tax
Case B	No	First instance: EUR 590.00	At the court’s discretion	EUR 85.00 per hour plus expenses and turnover tax

Costs for witness compensation

Case Study	Witness compensation
	Are witnesses compensated?	Cost
Case A	Yes	Loss of earnings max. EUR 17 per hour, travel costs and other expenses
Case B	Yes	Loss of earnings max. EUR 17 per hour, travel costs and other expenses

Costs for legal aid and other reimbursement

Case study	Legal Aid	Reimbursement
	When and under which conditions is it applicable?	Can the winning party obtain reimbursement of litigation costs?	Are there instances when legal aid should be reimbursed to the legal aid organisation?
Case A	Depends on income and assets	Yes	If the person’s income and financial circumstances improve and in the case of payment by instalments.
Case B	Depends on income and assets	Yes	If the person’s income and financial circumstances improve and in the case of payment by instalments.

Costs for translation and interpretation

Case study	Translation		Interpretation		Other costs specific to cross-border disputes?
	When and under which conditions is it necessary?	Approximative cost?	When and under which conditions is it necessary?	Approximative cost?	Description	Approximative cost?
Case A
Case B	At the court’s discretion	Normally EUR 1.85 per 55 keystrokes plus expenses and turnover tax	At the court’s discretion	EUR 55 per hour plus expenses and turnover tax	Costs of serving documents abroad

Last update: 04/11/2020

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