The German Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) and the DIS hosted a joint conference in Karlsruhe on 26 June 2025 that numerous representatives of the judiciary and the arbitration community attended.
The common topic was the competition that the courts have been facing since the Justizstandort-Stärkungsgesetz, which implemented German commercial courts and allows for English-language court proceedings, came into force and that arbitration must also increasingly face. There is still a long way to go in both areas, which arbitration and the judiciary should at least partly pursue together.
In his welcoming address, Thomas Koch, Chairman of the Arbitration Senate of the Federal Court of Justice, emphasized the importance of an arbitration-friendly review of arbitral awards by the judiciary. Ruth Schröder from the Federal Ministry of Justice referred to the two laws on strengthening the dispute resolution venue, while Reinmar Wolff from the DIS emphasized the need for concerted efforts in competition.
First part of the event focused on Germany as an arbitration venue. Moderated by Andrea Schulz, Nathalie Voser looked from the outside at Germany and its standing in the competition of arbitration venues, while Gerhard Wagner elaborated on what speaks for Germany as an arbitration venue now and in future and on where a need for action exists. There is still a long way to go to establish Germany as an attractive venue for genuine international arbitral proceedings, especially due to lock-in effects in favour of established arbitration venues. Finally, Niuscha Bassiri and Christopher Lau gave concrete recommendations for action for the DIS, BMJV and other stakeholders on what could be done for Germany as an arbitration venue. It is essential to focus on certain markets and to systematically advertise there.
Second part of conference was dedicated to the topic of Commerical Courts. Under the moderation of Lutz Ohlendorf, Giesela Rühl explained that the German courts are also in competition and praised the Commercial Courts as a first step in the right direction. Dagmar Synatschke and Ulrike Willoughby provided insights into what the federal states and the courts are guided by when setting up commercial courts and what difficulties exist. Thorsten Lieb emphasized that judicial dispute resolution should also be seen as part of foreign trade and should be promoted accordingly.
In the third part moderated by Evgenia Peiffer, Alexander Seitz, President of the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt, it was explained that the judiciary and arbitration were not in cut-throat competition, but complemented each other in a meaningful way. Siegfried Elsing suggested creating a German brand essence in order to market Germany as a dispute resolution venue in a uniform manner.
In her closing remarks, Andrea Schulz reviewed the conference, while Jan Schäfer, on behalf of the DIS, called for a clear distinction to be made between product development, marketing and sales for dispute resolution services.
Reinmar Wolff
