In German law, silence is in principle not consent. Business has an exception, the kaufmännisches Bestätigungsschreiben, the commercial letter of confirmation. After negotiations, one side writes down what was agreed and sends it. If the other side does not object without delay, the contract stands as the letter describes it. The letter does not need to carry that name. Auch ein „Besprechungsprotokoll” wirkt wie ein kaufmännisches Bestätigungsschreiben. The minutes of a meeting have the same effect. The objection must come quickly. In 2023 the Higher Regional Court of Bamberg held that such a letter must be answered within a day or two. In 2024 the Federal Court of Justice refused leave to appeal, so the ruling became final.
What Is Not Recorded Is Presumed Not Done
Every doctor and therapist in Germany must keep a patient record. Section 630f of the Civil Code requires it. Entries must be made in direct connection in time with the treatment. A later change is allowed only if the original entry stays readable and the date of the change is visible. The record must contain all medically essential measures and their results, from the history and diagnoses to consents and explanations. It must be kept for ten years after the treatment ends. Section 630h adds the consequence. If a medically necessary measure was not recorded, the law presumes that it was not carried out.
The Complete File
German public administration follows the Grundsatz der Aktenmäßigkeit, the principle that every case is kept in a file. The Bundestag’s research service wrote in 2023 that proper file-keeping includes this duty. A paper by a federal and state working group on IT in administration, published by the Federal Archives, explains why. Only a complete file allows a full and legally secure reconstruction of a case. The documents serve as later proof of completeness, and they make a decision traceable and transparent. Lawyers and civil servants know the old maxim behind it. Quod non est in actis, non est in mundo. What is not in the file is not in the world.
Black on White
In Goethe’s Faust I, a new student comes to ask for advice. Mephisto, dressed as Faust, tells him to take careful notes in lectures, as if the Holy Spirit were dictating. The student answers: Das sollt Ihr mir nicht zweimal sagen! / Ich denke mir, wie viel es nützt / Denn, was man schwarz auf weiß besitzt, / Kann man getrost nach Hause tragen. (You need not tell me twice! I can see how useful it is. For what you have in black and white, you can carry home with confidence.) Schwarz auf weiß, in black and white, is still a common phrase for in writing, in a form that counts as proof and leaves no room for doubt.
The Coalition Agreement
A German coalition agreement cannot be enforced in court. The first one in the Federal Republic, in 1961, had fewer than ten pages. The agreement of 2018 had 175 pages, and the one of 2021 had 177. On 5 May 2025, CDU, CSU and SPD signed their agreement of 144 pages in Berlin. Before that, the SPD had put it to a vote of its members, and 84.6 percent of those who voted approved. In October 2025, the coalition argued about a pension package. The SPD leader Lars Klingbeil said that Labor Minister Bärbel Bas had implemented was im Koalitionsvertrag steht, what is in the coalition agreement. He said it was the job of the CDU/CSU group leader to make sure dass seine Fraktion das verabredete Paket mitträgt, that his group supports the agreed package. The Bundestag passed it on 5 December 2025.
Object Now or Lose the Right
In German private law, silence is in principle not a declaration of intent. Several rules make an exception, and they all reward the person who objects in time. A works council must be heard before every dismissal. If it has Bedenken, concerns, about an ordinary dismissal, it must state them in writing with reasons within one week. Äußert er sich innerhalb dieser Frist nicht, gilt seine Zustimmung zur Kündigung als erteilt. (If it does not respond within this period, its consent to the dismissal counts as given.) A shareholder who attended the annual meeting can, as a rule, challenge one of its resolutions in court only if he or she declared an objection for the minutes at the meeting. Between merchants, a letter confirming a deal counts as accepted unless the recipient objects without delay, and goods that are not inspected and complained about in time count as approved. A tenant who does not report a defect in the apartment promptly can lose the right to reduce the rent.
Who writes, remains
Wer schreibt, der bleibt — who writes, remains. A German saying about the authority of the written record, used in meetings about who is taking the minutes.
Papier ist geduldig — paper is patient, the counter-saying, warning that writing something down does not make it true.
Das steht so im Prozess — that is how it stands in the process. Offered in German discussion as a reason, and usually accepted as one.