As early as 2021, the Federal Ministry of Justice (BMJ) wanted to develop a prototype of an online litigation tool for citizens in collaboration with Tech4Germany (the federal government’s DigitalService GmbH). The implementation of the prototype posed challenges for the justice system.
With the BMJ’s draft bill on the ‘Development and Testing of an Online Procedure in the Civil Justice System’ dated 12 June 2024, the legislature now sought to pave the way and take a further important step towards a modern, efficient and citizen-centred justice system.
The draft bill aimed to introduce online proceedings for monetary claims before local courts, thereby also improving access to justice and increasing the efficiency of court proceedings. The timely implementation of this legislation is crucial to ensuring the justice system is fit for the future.
From prototype to draft bill with a real-world pilot scheme
The draft bill provided that the online procedure would apply to legal disputes concerning monetary claims with a value in dispute not exceeding 5,000 euros. This limit can be dynamically adjusted in line with changes to the value-in-dispute threshold under the German Code of Civil Procedure (GVG). Family matters and non-contentious proceedings are excluded from the scope of application. The focus is on air passenger rights cases and other mass proceedings involving low-value claims, for which the use of digital submission forms and communication platforms is to be mandatory.
Citizens can file claims either digitally or via traditional means. The procedure is to be accessible, barrier-free and user-friendly via a standardised national justice portal. Key priorities are the interoperability of the systems and user-centred access. The joint processing of digital documents by the parties and the court, as well as the use of video hearings and other remote communication technologies, were also envisaged.
Implementation was planned to take place in so-called ‘real-world laboratories’. The federal states were to be directly involved in the implementation process, working alongside pilot courts from the state justice systems.
Technical and organisational challenges
The introduction of such an online procedure presents the judiciary with technical and organisational challenges. Due to the federal structure of the judiciary, there are differing requirements, and adapting new technologies to existing work processes requires standardisation. In legal practice, it remains to be seen to what extent the courts will actually make use of these new possibilities. Furthermore, the complexity of the procedure could pose a challenge for laypeople.
Views from the judiciary and legal practice
The draft has been welcomed by many stakeholders as an important step towards modernising the judiciary. The Bavarian Minister of State for Justice, Georg Eisenreich, emphasised: “We want to make access to our courts as easy as possible and ensure efficient, high-quality proceedings for all parties involved in litigation.”
The law firm NOERR describes the draft as a milestone: “It exemplifies how the legislature intends to use innovative legislation to adapt even traditional, complex and constitutionally sensitive areas of law, such as civil procedure, to digitalisation in a targeted manner.” The law firm Rose&Partner also emphasises the significance of the draft: “Digital civil proceedings are intended not only to facilitate access to justice, but also to increase the efficiency and transparency of proceedings.”
Why prompt implementation is necessary
The number of new first-instance cases filed with local and regional courts has been declining for years. Between 2005 and 2019, new cases filed with local courts fell by around 36 per cent and those filed with regional courts by around 21 per cent. This trend has continued ever since. The final report on the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection’s (BMJ) research project ‘Investigating the causes of the decline in the number of new cases at civil courts’ provides insights into the reasons behind this (link).
The BMJ’s draft bill is a significant step towards the further digitalisation of the judiciary. It is intended to facilitate access to justice and increase the efficiency of proceedings. Rapid implementation is necessary to make the judiciary fit for the future and to meet the demands of the digital society. Digitalisation offers the opportunity to speed up proceedings, increase transparency and improve access to justice. Had the reforms been implemented before the federal election at the end of February 2025, this would have modernised the judiciary in the long term. It remains to be seen whether, and how quickly, the new government will press ahead with the draft.
Justice Cloud is being launched
A cross-state ‘justice platform’ (communication platform) and a ‘justice portal’ are indispensable for the implementation of such an online procedure. Operating such a platform poses further challenges for the judiciary. This, too, requires a ‘Justice Cloud’, which the Federal Ministry of Justice (BMJ) had already set in motion with its feasibility study for such a system. At the end of November 2024, the Ministers of Justice decided that the federal and state governments would gradually implement an initial operational version of a nationally standardised justice cloud by the end of 2026. The final report on the judicial cloud feasibility study has also been available since 22 January 2025. It is now up to the future Federal Government to continue making progress.
Materna in the justice sector
As a leading IT service provider, Materna supports the public sector – and in particular the justice system at federal and state level – with a wide range of digitalisation projects. Our solutions seamlessly integrate innovative technologies into existing systems and optimise work processes. In our view, the swift implementation of the Act on the ‘Development and Testing of an Online Procedure in Civil Justice’ is crucial for the long-term modernisation of the judiciary and thus for meeting the demands of the digital society.
