Commercial judge
Commercial judges are professional, part- time or honorary judges who work at commercial courts , depending on the prevailing law . Such courts exist in Germany , Austria , France , Belgium and four cantons of Switzerland , but the different systems are only comparable to a limited extent. In Germany, commercial judges are the only group of honorary judges to wear the black judge's robe in court hearings .
Commercial judge under Swiss law is a part-time judge who, like all judges in Switzerland, is elected by the relevant electoral body for a term of office of several years.
Chambers for commercial matters under German law are special tribunals of the regional courts. At the request of the plaintiff or the defendant, commercial disputes come there for negotiation, u. a. general commercial transactions, bill of exchange , check and document processes , trademark law , competition law , commercial register matters, etc.
According to Swiss law, the commercial courts are also responsible for patent and trademark law.
position
The position of the commercial courts in the respective legal system is also different: in Germany they have first instance jurisdiction, in Switzerland they act at the second instance level at the cantonal higher courts, although a Swiss commercial court can also be invoked as the first instance, for example in trademark or patent law conflicts.
Commercial judge under German law is an honorary judge at a chamber for commercial matters . German commercial judges take part in the oral hearings and votes with the same rights as the chairman. You will not receive any salary or attendance fees for this. Any loss of earnings will also not be compensated. Only travel expenses are reimbursed ( Section 107 GVG ). If they have "neither their place of residence nor their commercial establishment at the seat of the Chamber for Commercial Matters" ( Section 107 GVG ), they can receive daily and overnight allowances.
Requirements according to German law
Under German law, in accordance with Section 109 of the GVG, anyone who is German, has reached the age of 30 and, as an independent businessman , member of the board of directors or managing director of a legal person or as an authorized signatory, exercises or has a comparable independent activity and entered it in the commercial register or the cooperative register can become a commercial judge is or was. Directors of a cooperative must be appointed full-time.
Commercial judges are appointed for five years by the State's Ministry of Justice (Senator of Justice / Justice Authority) on the basis of an expert proposal from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( Section 108 GVG). Repeat appointments are possible and are in the interests of continuity of the panel.
The commercial judge, like every judge, is obliged to be impartial ( § 112 GVG).
Jurisdiction
The factual responsibility is usually given if there is a sufficient amount in dispute (currently in Germany exceeding 5,000 euros). In Germany, cases with a lower value in dispute are negotiated by the local courts ( Section 23 No. 1 GVG). If a party to the dispute appeals , a KfH may decide as a court of appeal in the second instance. In the case of disputes under competition law, the regional court is 13 para. 1 UWG, regardless of the amount in dispute, the court of first instance.
A chamber under German law is composed of a professional judge as chairman and two honorary commercial judges. There is equal rights among the three judges, so that each judge votes with one vote. With the consent of both parties, however, the chairman can negotiate and decide alone ( Section 105 GVG, Section 349 (3 ) ZPO ).
A commercial court under Swiss law consists of two professional judges and three commercial judges. The verdict is voted on and it is possible that the three commercial judges overrule the two professional judges.
Professional judges and commercial judges complement each other, so that commercial courts generally strive to reach a judgment that is practical and appropriate in commercial disputes and that properly appreciates general commercial business practices.
