In Germany the document which initiates the civil litigation process is a complaint or a motion for summary proceedings for an order to pay debts. The question is whether, and if so under which conditions and provisions, the filing of the complaint or motion can be done using electronic media be it telecommunication or the handing over of a disk to be copied into the file to be handled by the court. German legal practice allows the filing via telecopier. There is no provision for electronic filing via email, ftp, or disk. Such filing has not yet taken place due to the lack of suitable equipment in our courts.
Some decisions require immense calculations.
In appeal proceedings we are confronted with the same issues as in proceedings of first instance. In addition we will have to ask whether and to what extent the court of appeals may use the electronic files of the court of first instance. Execution Execution is a proceeding on its own as far as executing force against a debtor is concerned. To keep our reports manageable, we should not deal with execution of judgements. The practical importance of electronic registration entries, whose existence or non existence is furnished with public and good faith notions, increases in an environment that can be accessed anywhere and at any time.