In Germany, a contract to sell a piece of land must be recorded by a notary. The Civil Code says so in § 311b. A sale agreed on a handshake, or in a letter signed by both sides, is void, however clearly both of them wanted it. The general rule is § 125: Ein Rechtsgeschäft, welches der durch Gesetz vorgeschriebenen Form ermangelt, ist nichtig. A legal transaction that lacks the form prescribed by law is void. The law offers one way back. The contract becomes valid after all once the transfer has been declared and entered in the land register.
By the Recognized Standard
Since 2013, the German Civil Code has had its own chapter on the treatment contract between doctor and patient. It sets the standard in one sentence: Die Behandlung hat nach den zum Zeitpunkt der Behandlung bestehenden, allgemein anerkannten fachlichen Standards zu erfolgen, soweit nicht etwas anderes vereinbart ist. Treatment must follow the generally recognized professional standards at the time of treatment, unless something else has been agreed. A doctor may use another method. But he must agree it with the patient.
Airing the Room
The German way to air a room is Stoßlüften, burst airing. All windows are opened wide for a few minutes, and if possible windows on opposite sides at once. The Federal Environment Agency publishes the method. Its poster for schools says three to five minutes in winter and ten to twenty minutes in summer. In October 2020, for schools during the pandemic, it gave a rule: Alle 20 Minuten fünf Minuten lüften. Air for five minutes every 20 minutes. To air, all windows should be opened wide. A tilted window is not enough.
The Football Professor
On 19 December 1998, Ralf Rangnick, then coach of SSV Ulm in the second division, was a guest on ZDF’s das aktuelle sportstudio. At a tactics board, he explained to the presenter Michael Steinbrecher how the Viererkette, the back four in a flat line, and pressing work. He explained in great detail. The appearance gave him a nickname he has kept to this day: der Fußballprofessor, the football professor.
No Booking Without a Receipt
Keine Buchung ohne Beleg. No booking without a receipt. It is a basic rule of German bookkeeping. Behind it stands § 238 of the Commercial Code. Every merchant must keep books that follow the principles of proper bookkeeping. The books must allow an expert third party to get an overview of the business within a reasonable time. Die Geschäftsvorfälle müssen sich in ihrer Entstehung und Abwicklung verfolgen lassen. Every transaction must be traceable from its origin to its completion.
What May Be Called Whole-Grain Bread
A German bakery may call a loaf Vollkornbrot, whole-grain bread, only if at least 90 percent of its grain is whole grain. The rule is in the guidelines for bread and small baked goods of the Deutsches Lebensmittelbuch, the German Food Book. The guidelines are not law. The Bundestag’s research service describes them as having the character of objective expert opinions. They are written by a commission drawn in equal numbers from science, food inspection, consumers and the food industry.
A Procedure for Better Ideas
In many German companies, an employee with a better way of working can submit it to the betriebliches Vorschlagswesen, the company suggestion scheme. Experts assess the idea, and a committee decides on it and on the bonus. The works council has a legal right of co-determination over the principles of the scheme, under § 87 of the Works Constitution Act. A study for the Hans Böckler Foundation dates the first such scheme to 1871, at the Krupp company.
The Hourglass and the Zipper
In German schools, pupils learn the Erörterung, a written argument with a set structure. In the dialectical form, the arguments for and against are arranged in one of two ways. In the hourglass, the essay is split into two halves. In the zipper, pro and contra arguments alternate. The arguments for one’s own thesis go from the weakest to the strongest. Each argument follows the order claim, reason, example. The essay ends with a summary and the writer’s own reasoned judgment.
Correct Procedure, Even for a Wrong Building
A building put up without the required permit is a Schwarzbau, a black building. The building authority can forbid its use and can demand that the owner apply for a permit. For that, the missing permit is enough. Tearing the building down is another matter. Under the Bavarian building code, for example, the authority may order removal only if lawful conditions cannot be restored in any other way. In German administrative law, that requires that the building also could not have been approved. A sound building that only skipped the procedure must go through it afterwards.
Procedural Errors That Do Not Count
German administrative law sets a limit on procedure. Under § 46 of the Administrative Procedure Act, a citizen cannot demand that a decision be set aside only because the authority broke rules of procedure, form or local jurisdiction, wenn offensichtlich ist, dass die Verletzung die Entscheidung in der Sache nicht beeinflusst hat, if it is obvious that the breach did not affect the decision on the matter.