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Appealing before the Federal Court of Justice

"Justice remains justice, and whosoever has it on their side shall prevail."

Asserted by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1794, this insight has remained true to this day:

The struggle to attain justice engaged in by parties to proceedings comes to an end only once the chain of appeals has been completed. In civil proceedings, the regional courts and higher regional courts decide, in principle, whether an appeal before the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof – BGH), is to complement second-instance appeal proceedings that review factual circumstances. This is because, in civil matters, third-instance appeals can be initiated only if the appellate court has admitted such an appeal in its judgment, or if the Federal Court of Justice has admitted such an appeal in response to an appeal against refusal of leave to appeal lodged by the unsuccessful party. The appeal must be admitted if the legal case is of fundamental significance or if the development of the law or the safeguarding of uniform administration of justice warrants a judgment of the Federal Court of Justice (Section 543 of the German Code of Civil Procedure [ZPO]).

As a lawyer licensed in the Federal Court of Justice, I am an appeals counsel and operate in all areas of private law. I assist in the Federal Court of Justice's review of the case, acting in the interest of my clients. The Federal Court of Justice does not undertake fact-finding of its own but will confine itself to reviewing the legal assessment of a case by the lower courts. The facts established by these courts are binding on the Federal Court of Justice and therefore it usually does not hear evidence.