Fee dispute
According to German law , fees for court and lawyers in court disputes are in many cases calculated according to the value of the fee (in other cases there are fixed rates or fee frames). Put simply, this is based on the value of the subject of dispute expressed in money. The attorney's fee and court costs are then calculated using a table that assigns a fixed fee to each area in dispute. Several fees may apply depending on the scope of the litigation and the activity of the court and lawyers.
Germany
The meaning and basis of this calculation is the German peculiarity that the losing party in the process must reimburse the winner's costs. Exceptions to this compulsory reimbursement are possible, for example in labor law . By calculating the fees on the basis of a fixed table, the litigation risk can be calculated, since higher fees than those shown in the table do not have to be reimbursed.
The fee dispute value is regulated in the Court Fees Act (GKG), in the cost regulations ( KostO ) and, since July 1, 2004, in the Lawyers' Remuneration Act (RVG).
The Federal Administrative Court has published a catalog of the amounts in dispute for disputes under general administrative jurisdiction .
The value in dispute about fees must be distinguished from the value in dispute over jurisdiction, which decides which court is materially responsible for a legal dispute. In practice, this usually affects the delimitation of the jurisdiction of the regional court and the local court . The dispute over jurisdiction is determined by the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO).
The amount in dispute is set by the court by resolution .
Austria
In Austria, the value in dispute may differ from the value in dispute. The amount in dispute for court fees is regulated in the Court Fees Act (GGG). As a rule, this is the asserted claim. In certain cases, such as when vacating an apartment, the fee in dispute is explicitly specified.
