德国民事司法改革及其借鉴意义

German civil Justice Reform

本文分析了德国民事司法制度存在的问题及其原因 ,论述德国近年来为解决诉讼拖延及成本过高问题所采取的各种改革措施 ,包括简化程序、集中审理、限制上诉以及鼓励ADR方式等 ,并探讨德国民事司法改革对我国的借鉴意义。

The German civil justice system suffers from some weaknesses. Foremost amongst them is the high volume of litigation, which places strains on the court system. In some areas of Germany backlog are building up and the progress of cases may be held up unnecessarily, despite efforts to improve the administration of the courts. Three areas offer scope for reducing the burden on the courts. The first of these concerns appeals. The second area is that of alternative dispute resolution. A third area in which improvements are possible has to do with stricter adherence to the procedural rules and to the timetables. There is an emphasis on the need to handle litigation more efficiently in Germany and some interesting experiments to reduce long delays and high costs are under way.