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.
The Analysis of Possible Failures
In the car and aerospace industries, and often elsewhere, a new product or process goes through an FMEA, a Fehlermöglichkeits- und Einflussanalyse, an analysis of possible failures and their effects. A team from different departments lists what could fail, where and how. For each possible failure it describes the consequences and identifies the causes. The aim is to avoid failures from the start rather than to find and correct them later. A general German standard for the method appeared in 1980 as DIN 25448. In 1996 the German Association of the Automotive Industry, the VDA, published an improved version. Since 2019 the car industry has used a common handbook of the VDA and its American counterpart, the AIAG.
Sixteen Months Late
Germany’s satellite-based toll for trucks was meant to start on 31 August 2003. The operating consortium, Toll Collect, could not meet the date. Because of various technical problems, the system started only on 1 January 2005, 16 months late and in a reduced form. In July 2005 the federal transport ministry took the consortium before an arbitration tribunal. In May 2018 the parties agreed on a payment of 3.2 billion euros to the Federal Republic. The arbitration ended in July 2018, after 13 years.
Thirty Days Before a Change
Since 1 January 2018, Section 650b of the Civil Code has regulated how the client of a construction contract can change the work. First, the two parties try to agree on the change and on the extra or reduced payment. The contractor must make an offer. For a change to the agreed result, this applies only if carrying out the change is reasonable for the contractor. If the client is responsible for the planning, the contractor must make the offer only after the client has done the planning for the change and handed it over. If the parties do not agree within 30 days, the client may order the change in text form.
The Vote That Was Stopped
The governing coalition planned to pass the Building Energy Act, known as the heating law, on 7 July 2023. In late June, the coalition agreed on changes, and a synopsis of 94 pages followed on 30 June. A member of parliament, Thomas Heilmann of the CDU, applied to the Federal Constitutional Court. On 5 July 2023, the court ruled that the second and third readings could not take place that week. It doubted that the members could exercise their right to deliberate, given the strong compression of the timetable and the complexity of the bill.
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 Pharmacist’s Pharmacy
In Germany, only a licensed pharmacist may own a pharmacy. Every partner in a pharmacy must hold the permit to run it. Besides the main pharmacy, which the owner must run in person, an owner may run at most three branches. On 19 May 2009, the European Court of Justice upheld the rule. A pharmacist also wants to make a profit, the court said. But as a professional pharmacist, he runs the pharmacy nicht nur aus rein wirtschaftlichen Zwecken, not only for purely economic purposes, but also from a professional point of view. His interest in profit is tempered by his training, his professional experience and the responsibility he bears.
In 1958, the Federal Constitutional Court decided an earlier pharmacy case. Bavaria had allowed a new pharmacy only where the public needed one and its economic basis was secure. The court declared the rule void, because it violated the freedom to choose an occupation. But it allowed the state to make entry depend on personal qualifications, especially education and training. The court described an occupation as something that is for the individual Lebensaufgabe und Lebensgrundlage, his life task and the basis of his livelihood.
Time Comes First
On 26 April 2023, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius issued an order of the day on faster procurement for the armed forces. “Oberste Priorität ist für uns alle künftig der Faktor Zeit.” From now on, time is the top priority for all of us. He told staff to buy products that are available on the market whenever possible. “Gehen Sie mutig an die Neuerungen heran.” Approach the changes with courage. In August 2025 a ZDF report on bureaucracy carried the heading “Deutsche sind zu perfektionistisch,” Germans are too perfectionist.
A Penalty for Each Day of Delay
A German construction contract can tie the builder to the completion date with a Vertragsstrafe, a contractual penalty. Under Section 339 of the Civil Code, the penalty is incurred as soon as the debtor is in default. In a case decided by the Federal Court of Justice in February 2024, the clause set 0.2 percent of the contract sum for every working day of delay, up to 5 percent in total. The court had held in 2003 that a penalty of 5 percent of the contract sum is just about permissible. In 2024 it struck down the clause for another reason. The sum on which the penalty was calculated was only provisional.