We are glad to present you the summer edition of our newsletter. Finally, the heavy rain dominating the weather in Germany during the last months seems to have ended. This almost coincided with the end of the EURO 2024 football tournament, of which Germany was a proud host. It was a joy to see so many fans from all over Europe in our streets, hear the Scottish fans sing, see the Dutch fans dance and the Spanish players play. The German weather and the German railroad system made it a bit of an adventure for some football enthusiasts to follow the matches in the stadiums, but hey, this is how unforgettable moments are created.

Now, most German schoolchildren enjoy their summer holidays and head to the beach. If you wonder what beaches there could be in Germany, you may be surprised by the “Germany – good to know” article in this edition.  

Apart from this, we have collected for you a variety of interesting articles with news from our firm as well as recent developments in German and EU laws. We hope you will like this edition of our newsletter, whether you read it on the beach, at your office desk or somewhere else.

With sunny greetings,
Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner

We are excited to further expand our real estate law practice - Jessica Hanke joins as partner in Cologne. read more >

In Berlin, our real estate department is growing, too, and we welcome law expert Elmar Bickert who joins FGvW as partner. read more >

Corporate Law: Having a real estate civil-law Partnership (“GbR”) entered in the new company register as an eGbR
The Act on the Modernization of Partnership Law (“MoPeG”) came into force at the beginning of 2024. Since then, the partners of a GbR have had the choice of either leaving their company unregistered as before or registering it in the newly created company register (“GsR”) and having it issued with a "GsR" number and thus becoming an "eGbR". In practice, however, the option is limited in the case of real estate GbRs. read more >

Corporate Law: No authorization effect of the shareholders' list in event of abuse of rights
Only those who are entered in the shareholders' list of a German limited liability company ("GmbH") are formally considered shareholders and can exercise their rights. However, there is an exception if the GmbH has consciously submitted an incorrect list to the commercial register. That is stated in a recent decision of the Munich Higher Regional Court. read more >

Corporate Law: Free choice of registered office for partnerships
The restriction on the free choice of the registered office of a partnership has been removed with effect from January 1, 2024. Since the Act to Modernize the Partnership Law came into force, the partners of a partnership have the possibility to agree and determine a "contractual registered office". In contrast, there is still the “administrative registered office”. This both gives shareholders new structuring options. read more >

Labor Law: ChatGPT and co-determination
According to the Hamburg Labor Court (decision of January 14, 2024 -24 BVGa 1/24), neither specifications for the use nor the use of ChatGPT and comparable tools via private accounts are subject to co-determination under works constitution law. read more >

Labor Law: Works Council election at Porsche invalid
The Baden-Württemberg Regional Labor Court has confirmed the invalidity of the works council election at the Porsche car manufacturer's Zuffenhausen site. The reason for this was that employees at the Leipzig site had also voted. read more >

Labor Law: Protection of employee data, processing of health data in the employment relationship within the framework of a national legal mandate
The processing of personal employee data - including health data - is permissible under data protection law if this is done within the framework of a legal mandate, whereby a mandate under national law is sufficient in this case. This was recently clarified by the Federal Labor Court. read more >

Insolvency Law: Pyramid schemes and the reclaiming of bogus profits
Payments made to investors in a pyramid scheme that are based on profits that do not actually exist can be reclaimed from the investors by way of a challenge under insolvency law. This was decided by the Federal Court of Justice. read more >

Copyright Law: ECJ: Is the (technical) standardization system ("DIN/EN") in Europe collapsing? - Free access to harmonized standards
The European Court of Justice recently ruled in a recent judgment that EU citizens have a right of free access to (certain) harmonized European standards towards the European Commission if these standards define specific safety requirements for products or services. Specifically, the case at issue concerned technical standards for toys. read more >

Germany and the sea
When it comes to planning a summer vacation, opinions usually differ as to what real relaxation looks like for you - is it the green of the forests and the high mountains, combined with physical activity while hiking, climbing or camping and a brave dip in a fresh mountain lake? Or rather the vastness of the sea, long walks along the beach and a good book? While you might first think of countries more in the South, Germany also has a lot to offer for sea-loving people. read more >

"Best Lawyers" for 2025: FGvW recommended with 33 of our lawyers - read more >

brand eins: FGvW is one of the best commercial law firms in Germany 2024. read more >

We introduce: Florian Keller, tax lawyer from our Berlin office. read more >