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‘Flexible Capital Companies’: Austrian Company Law Newbies
Corporate LawThe Austrian Federal Ministry of Justice has recently submitted for review its draft of the long-awaited Company Law Amendment Act 2023. Alongside changes to the law on limited liability companies (GmbH), the bill also contains a new legal structure ...
OGH: No Insurance Event When Moving a Sailplane
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has commented on the waiver of liability in insurance policies with regard to damage arising from the use of an aircraft. A household and homeowner’s insurance contract exists between...
ECJ: The Right to ‘a Copy’ under GDPR
European LawThe European Court of Justice (ECJ) has clarified that under the right to information pursuant to Article 15 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), copies of entire documents may have to be provided. In the original case, the complainant h...
OGH Voids Ambiguous Clause in Tenancy Agreements
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has repealed a clause according to which a landlord’s duty of proper maintenance does not apply if the tenant or persons attributable to the tenant are at fault for causing damage. Th...
GER: Undated Documents Are ‘Not Served’
Civil LawA delivery date on the envelope of a court document to be served is a mandatory requirement for performance of service. According to the German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof, hereinafter BGH), if a mail carrier does not write the delivery ...
GER: Director’s Liability in a Managing Limited Partner GmbH
Corporate LawIn principle, the managing director of a managing limited liability company of a German GmbH & Co. KG is answerable in the event of negligent management for the damages incurred by the limited partnership. This is also true if running the limited par...
ECJ: Compensation for Cancelled Flight Due to Co-Pilot’s Death
European LawThe cancellation of a flight due to the unexpected death of the co-pilot does not exempt the operating air carrier from its compensation obligation towards the passengers. This was decided by the European Court of Justice (hereinafter ECJ), citing th...
GER: No Negative Interest on Promissory Note Loans
Civil LawAccording to the German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof, hereinafter BGH), the legal model of loan regulations does not recognise negative interest. A claim for payment does not exist even for promissory note loans if an upper interest limit...
OGH: Valuation of Gifts in Austrian Inheritance Law
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) has clarified: In the valuation of a gift pursuant to Section 788 of the Austrian Civil Code (Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, ABGB), any investments in the gifted asset previously made by th...
OGH on Deposit Insurance for Trust Accounts
Banking LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has clarified that in the case of multiple-party trust accounts, all trustors are to be considered as depositors for the purpose of deposit insurance. The first and second plaintiffs ...
Virtual Shareholders’ Meetings Here to Stay
Corporate LawThe Ministry of Justice’s (Bundesministerium der Justiz) draft on virtual meetings of joint-stock companies was submitted for review until 26 May 2013. Virtual shareholders’ meetings, which were introduced as a temporary solution during the Corona pa...
GER: BGH on Reservation Fees for Estate Agents
Civil LawAccording to the German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof, hereinafter BGH), an obligation of an estate agent’s client to pay a non-performance-related reservation fee agreed upon in the General Terms and Conditions (Allgemeine Geschäftsbeding...
OGH on the Right of Access under Art 15 GDPR
Data Privacy LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has clarified: The framework of Art 15 of the General Data Protection Regulation (hereinafter GDPR) includes the right to information as to whether personal data has been disclosed to...
OGH: Adjustment Certificates Do Not Securitise Shareholder Rights
Corporate LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has clarified that anyone purchasing a securitised adjustment certificate does not thereby acquire the rights of the original squeezed out shareholder. This applies, in particular, to...
ECJ: No Transfer of Working Times Compliance to Third Parties
European LawRoad transport operators cannot discharge themselves of their responsibility for compliance with the driving and rest times of drivers by transferring this responsibility to third parties, according to a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice...
EU Mobility Directive Implemented in Austria
Corporate LawDirective (EU) 2019/2121 (Mobility Directive) is about to be implemented in Austria and will result in more legal certainty in cross-border restructurings. To date, only cross-border mergers were regulated by law in Austria under the EC Merger Regula...
GER: BGH on Claim Assignments in Loan Agreements
Civil LawAccording to the German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof, hereinafter BGH), an assignment-by-way-of-security of all claims against a vehicle manufacturer which was agreed to in a General Terms and Conditions form goes against buyers’ right to...
GER: Voting Bans in GbR Partnerships
Civil LawWhen does a partner in a German civil law partnership (Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts, hereinafter GbR) lose their voting rights due to a conflict of interest? This is the question that the German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof, hereinaft...
OGH: Partnership Agreements and Change of Partners
Corporate LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has clarified the principles according to which partnership agreements are to be interpreted after a change of partners. The dispute in the main proceedings is based on the following:...
ECJ: Binding Effect for Nullity under Art 101 TFEU
Competition LawThe European Court of Justice has ruled that in the context of actions for annulment under Art 101(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter TFEU), for infringements of competition law, those previously issued decisions i...
GER: Competition Law and ‘Affiliate’ Liability
Civil LawThe German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof, hereinafter BGH) has addressed the issue of affiliate marketing programmes. The operators of such programmes are not liable for any misleading advertising by an affiliate if the affiliate was actin...
OGH: Section 27(3) Tenancy Law and Suspension of Limitations
ZivilrechtThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has clarified that Section 27(3) of the Austrian Tenancy Act (Mietrechtsgesetz, hereinafter MRG) normalises suspension of the statute of limitations. In the case at hand, the plaintif...
EU: New Supply Chain Regulation to Stop Deforestation
European LawIn future, the EU only wants imported products for which forests have been neither degraded nor deforested. The new EU regulation for deforestation-free supply chains adopted by the EU Parliament on 19 April 2023 imposes precisely such a verification...
OGH: Painters May Remove Construction Rubble
Administrative LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has ruled in an action under competition law that a painting business may also carry out demolition work and collect and dispose of the resulting rubble. This is covered under trade l...
OGH: Will Can Be Signed ‘by Mouth’
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has confirmed that a notarial will can be signed ‘by mouth’. The testator was responsive when making his will in 2019, but could only answer questions by nodding or making eye contact...
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