Emergency period
An emergency period is generally a period which the court cannot extend and which cannot be shortened by party agreement.
Legal situation in Germany
In German civil procedural law , the term describes a legally determined period that the court can neither shorten nor extend. Anyone who fails to do so through no fault of their own is to be granted reinstatement in their previous status upon application ( Section 233 ZPO ).
Emergency periods are expressly designated as such in the law ( Section 224 (1) sentence 2 ZPO). Most of these are deadlines for lodging appeals ( appeal , objection , etc.).
A distinction must be made between the emergency period, on the one hand, from the usual or statutory periods, which can be extended upon request, and, on the other hand, from the preclusive periods . The latter, like the emergency periods, cannot be extended and, in addition, if they are missed, they cannot be restored to their previous status; Failure to do so will ultimately result in the loss of the relevant material or procedural rights.
Legal situation in Austria
The term also has the same meaning in the Austrian Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) and, in accordance with Section 128 (1) ZPO, denotes “a statutory period which the law expressly forbids to extend”.
