[Due to its large size, the HTML version – this version – is published in two parts. This is part I of II. The PDF version is published in one part.]

A. Introduction

One of the most important dates in German legal history is 1 October 1879. On this day the four Imperial Judiciary Laws (Reichsjustizgesetze) became effective: the Code of Civil Procedure (Zivilprozessordnung), the Code of Criminal Procedure (Strafprozessordnung), the Law on the Organization of Courts (Gerichtsverfassungsgesetz) and the Bankruptcy Code (Konkursordnung). They replaced a large number of different organizational and procedural provisions in the existing German states and effectively established legal uniformity in civil and criminal procedure in the German Empire. More specifically, the Court Organization Law created a national system of courts for civil and criminal matters consisting of Local Courts (Amtsgericht), District Courts (Landgericht), Appeals Courts (Oberlandesgericht) and the Imperial Court of Justice (Reichsgericht). The Code of Civil Procedure, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Bankruptcy Code provided the procedural framework for all these courts thereby bringing procedural unity to the German Empire for the first time.

Today, the four original codes enacted 126 years ago still form the procedural basis of the German legal system. In particular, civil proceedings are still governed by the Code of Civil Procedure. Its provisions remain the cornerstones of the modern German system of civil justice although various amendments have been made since 1879: the adoption of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch) and the German Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch) in 1898, for example, entailed a number of changes to harmonize procedure with the new substantive law. The establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) in 1949 required changes to account for the newly created federal structure. In addition, the needs of a modern society and the challenge to provide for an efficient judiciary with limited financial and personnel resources resulted in reform laws in 1976 and 1990 designed to expedite...