For large public contracts in Germany, Section 121 of the Act against Restraints of Competition long required the subject of the contract to be described so eindeutig und erschöpfend wie möglich, as clearly and as exhaustively as possible. A law to speed up public procurement took effect on 1 July 2026. It removed the word erschöpfend, exhaustive. The description now only has to be clear. The chamber of commerce in Erfurt gives the reason critics had put forward. For complex and innovative purchases, a description worked out to the last detail is often neither possible nor useful.
The Exam Verbs
German school exams use Operatoren, operators. These are verbs that tell the student what a task demands. The lists differ from state to state and are based on recommendations of the Standing Conference of Education Ministers. Each verb has a written definition. In a physics list from North Rhine-Westphalia, nennen, to name, means to list objects, facts, terms or data without further explanation. Begründen, to give reasons, means to confirm something in a logically stringent and complete way. Beurteilen, to assess, means to form an independent judgment using subject knowledge and subject methods, and to give reasons for it. A 2019 paper by Eike Thürmann finds that the system is less exact than it looks. The same verb is sometimes defined differently in different subjects.
A Specification Every Bidder Reads the Same Way
When a German public authority tenders construction work, the work must be specified before anyone bids. The procurement rules for construction, the VOB/A, require the work to be described unambiguously and so exhaustively that all companies understand the description in the same sense. They must be able to calculate their prices safely and without extensive preliminary work. All circumstances that affect the price must be established and stated in the tender documents, for example soil and water conditions. The contractor may not be burdened with an unusual risk.
Fees by Points and Tables
A German doctor treating a private patient bills under the Gebührenordnung für Ärzte, the GOÄ. Each service has a number of points. The points are multiplied by a point value of 5.82873 cents. As a rule, the doctor may then charge between one and 2.3 times that rate, depending on difficulty and time. A lawyer bills under the Rechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetz, the RVG. The fee follows the value of the matter, the Gegenstandswert, and a table is attached to the law. For a matter worth up to 500 euros, one fee is 51.50 euros. The fee grows with the value of the matter, step by step, according to the table.
The Craftsman’s Estimate
A German customer who calls a plumber without agreeing on a price still owes a definite amount. Section 632 of the Civil Code fills the gap. If a fee schedule exists, the scheduled fee counts as agreed. If none exists, the usual fee counts as agreed. The written estimate, the Kostenanschlag or Kostenvoranschlag, is free unless the parties agreed otherwise. Section 649 covers the case where the estimate turns out too low. If the work cannot be done without a substantial overrun, the craftsman must tell the customer without delay. The customer may then end the contract and pay only for the work done so far. The Frankfurt Chamber of Industry and Commerce explains that an overrun of 10 to 20 percent is probably not yet substantial.
The Elbphilharmonie
Hamburg’s concert hall on the Elbe was first planned to be finished in 2010. The city’s share of the cost was first calculated at 77 million euros. In the end, construction cost about 866 million euros, and the first concerts took place on 11 January 2017. A committee of inquiry of the Hamburg parliament examined what had gone wrong. It found that when the work was put out to tender in 2006 and the contract was signed in 2007, the planning noch nicht weit genug fortgeschritten gewesen, had not yet advanced far enough.
The nine phases
Die Leistungsphasen. German building projects run through nine defined service phases, from basic evaluation through preliminary design, permit planning, execution planning, tendering, construction supervision and final documentation. Each phase has a defined output and a defined share of the fee. The sequence is in the fee ordinance itself.
The what and the how
German engineering practice separates two documents, both defined in DIN 69901-5 and VDI 2519. The Lastenheft is written by the customer and states what is required and why — deliberately solution-neutral. The Pflichtenheft is written by the supplier in response and states how it will be built.
The what and the how are different documents, by different authors, in a fixed order, and together they form the contractual basis of the project.
Faust
Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1808, 1832). In Faust’s pact with Mephistopheles, Faust, a scholar, is disillusioned with life and craves deeper meaning and fulfillment. Mephistopheles, the devil, offers to serve Faust in life in exchange for Faust’s soul in the afterlife.
The scene is structured like a contract negotiation, with both parties meticulously defining the terms and consequences. Mephistopheles is the classic hardball negotiator, pressing Faust to commit to a deal that appears advantageous but has dire consequences. Faust, in turn, tries to outwit him by adding specific conditions. The emphasis on structure, explicit terms, and legalistic language reflects the German preference for clearly defined agreements, logical arguments, and strict adherence to commitments.