On June 1, 2025, a Commercial Court was established at the Munich Higher Regional Court, which will also have jurisdiction over the two other Higher Regional Court districts in Bavaria, Bamberg and Nuremberg.
The newly created Commercial Court at the Munich Higher Regional Court will have jurisdiction over
- Supply chain disputes between entrepreneurs, with the exception of disputes in the field of industrial property rights, copyright, and claims under the Unfair Competition Act
and
- Disputes between companies and members of their respective management or supervisory bodies, with the exception of disputes concerning the validity or legality of resolutions of shareholders or company bodies.
However, the newly created Commercial Court can only be called upon for disputes with a value in dispute of EUR 500,000 or more, provided that the parties have agreed to this in advance or the defendant has agreed to this without objection. The parties may also expressly or tacitly agree that the proceedings are to be conducted in English.
The option of agreeing on the jurisdiction of the Commercial Court if the above conditions are met also extends to areas in which the regional court or another exclusive court has exclusive jurisdiction.
The option of creating commercial courts as specialized tribunals for international commercial disputes was introduced on April 1, 2025, as part of the Justice Location Strengthening Act. However, Bavaria has not yet made use of the option also provided by law to introduce so-called commercial chambers at the regional courts for disputes with a value of EUR 5,001 or more.
The possibility of bringing any disputes that fall under the above conditions before a commercial court should be taken into account when drafting contracts, for example by including a corresponding jurisdiction clause.
