Der Sachverständige. German disputes over technical matters routinely go to a court-appointed expert, who produces a written report on a timetable measured in months. The court waits. The report arrives when it is finished.
law
The business judgment rule
Under American corporate law, a court will not second-guess a board’s decision if it was made in good faith, on an informed basis, and in the honest belief that it served the company. Directors are protected even when the decision turns out badly. The judgment itself is what the law examines, not the outcome.
Employment at will
The American default: either party may end the relationship at any time for any lawful reason, without notice. Forty-nine states apply it. There is no statutory dismissal protection accruing with service, and no requirement to justify the decision.
The lemon law
Every American state has legislation requiring a manufacturer to replace or repurchase a new vehicle that cannot be repaired after a defined number of attempts. The remedy is triggered by repeated failure to fix, not by the original defect.
The state of the matter
German legal reasoning separates the Sachverhalt — the state of the matter, what actually happened — from the rechtliche Würdigung, the legal assessment of it.
The facts are established first, as a distinct step, with their own section in the judgment. Only then does anyone argue about what they mean.
The structure of a German court decision is the structure of Sachlichkeit.
Work owed and effort owed
German contract law distinguishes the Werkvertrag, which owes a result, from the Dienstvertrag, which owes an effort properly performed. The distinction determines liability, and it turns on whether what was promised was an outcome or a way of working.
The operating instructions
Die Betriebsanleitung. German product law requires operating instructions in the language of the market, covering intended use, foreseeable misuse, safety, maintenance and disposal. The manual is a legal component of the product. An incomplete one is a defect.
Review of standard terms
AGB-Kontrolle. German courts review standard terms and conditions for fairness and strike out clauses that unreasonably disadvantage the other side — and they do it between businesses, not only against consumers. A German company cannot rely on having got a hard clause into its own paperwork. A court will read it and may simply remove it.
Taking evidence
Das Beweisverfahren. German courts take evidence in a structured process — documents, witnesses, court-appointed experts — and a case may be adjourned repeatedly while it runs. Speed is not a value the procedure optimises for.
Parental leave
Elternzeit. German parents may take up to three years of leave per child, with the job protected and dismissal prohibited for the duration. It may be split, shared between parents, and partly deferred until the child is eight.