German Legal Citation - Citing German Case Law

Citing German Case Law

The Entscheidungen des Bundesgerichtshofs in Strafsachen (cited as "BGHSt") covers criminal case law in the present-day Federal Republic of Germany that was decided by the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof). Case law from German unification (1871) until 1945, decided by the Empire Court of Justice (Reichsgericht), would be in the Entscheidungen des Reichsgerichts in Strafsachen (cited as "RGSt"). Similarly, decisions in private law can be found in the Entscheidungen des Bundesgerichtshofs in Zivilsachen ("BGHZ") and Entscheidungen des Reichsgerichts in Zivilsachen ("RGZ"). E.g. BGHZ 65, 182 would refer to a case published in BGHZ, volume 65, beginning at page 182.

Alternatively, cases may be cited to law reviews where they have been rendered, e.g. BGH, NJW 1982, 473. Ideally, the date of the court decision and the docket number should be given before the citation, but whether this is required usually depends on the publisher.

It is not general practice to cite case names, since the names of parties are anonymized. However, in some areas of law (e.g. corporate law), where the name of a party (usually the company involved in the case) is generally known, some cases have gained notoriety under that name (e.g. the Holzmüller decision). Other cases, especially in criminal law, have become known under names emphasising the peculiar story that made them notorious, such as the Katzenkönigfall or the Gubener Verfolgungsfall. In such cases, it may be helpful for readers to render that name, even though it is entirely optional and such case names are not official.