It is summer time in Germany, and in some federal states of Germany the summer holidays have already begun. In others, high school graduates are currently writing their final exams and are desperately waiting for the great freedom to begin.

Although in Germany we have many lakes, which are also very popular among nature lovers for swimming and sunbathing, there is another eagerly awaited way to refresh yourself during the summer: the opening of outdoor swimming pools. 

For the "older ones" among us, the smell of sun lotion, green grass and French fries in the air brings back those days of youth spent with an ice cream in hand sitting in the sun or going to the beach, a lake or one of those public swimming pools to cool down from summer heat. We therefore dedicate this month's article on Germany to the characteristic phenomenon of the well-loved outdoor swimming pools over here.

As for all of us the summer break should be a moment to relax and gather strength for the time ahead, we wish you a joyful summer and hope you enjoy reading this newsletter, which aims to provide you with useful – and hopefully entertaining -  information on recent legal developments, our people at FGvW and some typical German summer habits.

Best wishes,

Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner

In each issue of our newsletter, people from our firm introduce themselves personally. This time, it is the turn of product and liability lawyer Felix Horster from our Cologne office. read more >

Corporate Law: Cross-Border Change of Legal Form - New Legal Framework in Germany because of Implementation of the EU Conversion Directive
If a German company wishes to transfer its registered office to a country abroad, this requires a change of legal form to a legal form under the foreign law applicable at the new registered office. Cross-border changes of legal form therefore are time and again of importance in practice. However, the procedure is not that simple. read more >

Corporate Law: Further tightening of reporting requirements for the German transparency register
German companies must report their beneficial owners to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The obligation was introduced in October 2017, initially with many exceptions. It has since been continuously tightened. Another tightening is scheduled for the middle of this year, significantly expanding the reporting obligations for foreign (= non-German) companies. read more >

Corporate Law: The pitfalls of registering a GmbH in the commercial register
When registering a newly founded limited liability company, the managing director must affirm that there are no circumstances that would disqualify him from acting as managing director. This assurance must be specific and may not contain any legal assessments of the managing director's own. read more >

Corporate Law: Pitfalls in connection with the appointment of a board member of a German stock corporation as managing director of a subsidiary
The appointment of a board member of a German stock corporation as managing director of one of its subsidiaries can be a self-dealing to which the restrictions of Section 181 alt. 1 of the German Civil Code apply. This is illustrated by a decision of the Federal Court of Justice. read more >

Labor Law: Compensation for Seva services in a yoga ashram
In a recent decision, the Highest Labor Court in Germany ruled that a member of a yoga association living in their ashram is entitled to statutory minimum wages if Seva services have been contractually agreed between the parties and are classified as employment duties. In this aspect, the yoga ashram does not have the privileged status of a religious or spiritual community. read more >

Labor Law: Artificial Intelligence and German Labor Rights
More and more companies are implementing AI systematically to boost efficiency, e.g. process automation, people analytics and recruiting. It is now becoming clear that AI is fundamentally changing the workplace. read more >

Labor Law: Works council election at foreign airline
In proceedings for interim legal protection, the Berlin-Brandenburg Regional Labor Court dismissed the application for temporary prohibition of measures preparing for a planned works council election. read more >

Labor Law: Admissibility of termination for operational reasons if work is outsourced
The Federal Labor Court has confirmed that the entrepreneurial freedom protected by Articles 12, 14 and 2 (1) of the German Constitution also includes the right to determine whether certain work should continue to be carried out within the company itself or be outsourced to third-party companies - this also applies to the transfer of tasks between group companies. read more >

„A bang“ at the ECJ: The new judgment considerably expands the liability of manufacturers
The highest court of the European Union, the European Court of Justice ("ECJ"), has ruled in its current judgment that buyers may have a claim for damages even if manufacturers have only acted negligently in using an unauthorized defeat device installed in the vehicle, meaning that they are only slightly at fault. read more >

Product Safety: Legal remedies against incorrect/incomplete RAPEX notifications
An economic operator whose rights are adversely affected by an incomplete RAPEX notification may request the competent authorities of the notifying member state to complete the notification. To this end, he must have a legal remedy in the notifying member state to ensure that the obligations incumbent on that member state in this respect are complied with. This was recently decided by the ECJ. read more >

A favorite summer pastime – Germany and its open-air swimming pools
Summer has finally come and as temperatures rise, crowds of people seek refreshment and recreation in public swimming pools. Outdoor swimming pools have been a favorite pastime and place to go in Germany for more than a century and remain to be indispensable until today. read more >

"Germany's Best Lawyers 2024" - FGvW recommended by "Best Lawyers" - read more >

brand eins: FGvW is one of the best commercial law firms in Germany - read more >

Stephan Wilczek, our new Head of Marketing & Media, has joined us in January 2023. Please read his interesting portrait here.