Guide last updated by Katherine Read, October 2024
This guide was created by Katherine Read, Principal Library Assistant at the IALS Library.
Email katherine.read@sas.ac.uk
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We also recommend the following online research guides for foreign jurisdictions.
The Institute Library has substantial collections of the law of the countries of Western Europe, and Germany is well represented. The legal system is more complicated than that of France, in that Germany is a Federal Republic, and there are legislatures for each of the states (Länder). The number of these increased from eleven to sixteen on reunification with the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) in October 1990. As will be seen, the collections are mainly confined to federal law. Although we do have a small collection of older GDR material, it is not discussed here.
Where appropriate, Internet sources are given at the end of the relevant section. Fuller details of these sources can be found by using the Eagle-i search engine.
IALS holds an unbroken run of the older Reichsgesetzblatt from 1899 to 1945. This is held in the closed basement.
Its successor, the Bundesgesetzblatt, is published in two parts, Teil I containing laws and ministerial orders, and Teil II international agreements. There is a good annual cumulative index or Fundstellennachweis to each part. The printed volumes are not held at IALS but there is now free public access online to the Bundesgesetzblatt with the Fundstellennachweis. Coverage starts in 1949 but this does not allow any printing, text searching or downloading. An enhanced paid subscription service is available but IALS does not subscribe to this.
Our main source for up to date texts of the Codes is Beck Online, which is provided as part of the Electronic Law Library. It includes comprehensive access to legislation in force (including Sartorius Plus and Schönfelder Plus), and Das Deutsche Bundesrecht (NOMOS).
Sartorius Plus covers constitutional and administrative statutes, international agreements and European law.
Schönfelder Plus is a collection of German Statutes on civil, criminal and procedural law
IALS also has the current edition of Staudinger, J. von. Kommentar zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch mit Einführungsgesetz und Nebensgesetzen available on the Juris Rechtsportal
Offsite access to Beck Online and Juris is available to IALS and UOL staff and registered students.
Hein's Constitutions of the World provides full text access to the current and historic versions of the German Constitution in English. This includes the Constitutions of the previous GDR and the German Reich. It is accompanied by references to a selection of historical commentaries and articles, many of which are in full text, and links to further internet sources. Offsite access to Hein is available to IALS and UOL staff and registered students.
Free Internet/Electronic Sources of legislation
Gesetze im Internet is the official public information site to make German legislation accessible to the public. It includes a section in English translation.
Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany is available to download from the German Bundestag web site. It is in English, amended to 2024 and free of charge. There are also several other English language documents available to download. These include documents relating to the role of and services offered by the German Bundestag.
Parlamentsspiegel is the shared information system of the regional Länder in Germany. It allows a search for local legislation within the "Gesetzeblätter".
Similar to other Civil law jurisdictions, it is not usually possible to search for German cases by party names. Further details relating to the subject area, date of the decision and the type of Court are required. Judgments are usually only available in German.
The Institute possesses an extensive collection of German law reports, totalling 42 titles of which eight are current. These include the official reports of decisions of the Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) in both civil and criminal cases (BGHZ and BGHSt), and those of the Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) (BVerfGE). Other series are devoted to special courts.
Entscheidungen des Bundesverwaltungsgerichts (BVerwGE), 1954- (administrative)
Entscheidungen des Bundesarbeitsgerichts (BAGE), 1954- (industrial)
Sammlung der Entscheidungen des Bundesfinanzhofs (BFHE), 1956- (finance)
Entscheidungen des Bundessozialgerichts (BSGE), 1955- (social insurance)
In addition to series of law reports in the usual sense, decisions also appear in both general and specialized legal periodicals. Among the former are Neue Juristische Wochenschrift and Monatsschrift für deutsches Recht , and the latter Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht (intellectual property), Die Offentliche Verwaltung (public administrative law) and Die Aktiengesellschaft (company law). Neue Justiz , focuses on the development of law and administration of justice in the new federal Länder, which were originally East Germany prior to reunification.
A sample case reference from one of these journals is BVerfG, NJW 2014, 1581. The case was heard in the German Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht - BVerfG) and reported in Neue Juristische Wochenschrift (NJW) in 2014 (page 1581)
Some of the Journal sources of law reports are also available electronically on Beck. Please refer to the main section on Journals for full details of the titles covered.
Online Sources of German case law
The following sites either give full text reports/press releases of recent cases or refer users to other specific sites to obtain these reports. They also provide background information about the courts.
IALS Library holds a wide selection of German legal sources. A separate section of this guide considers English language sources.
Major commentaries
Schmidt-Bleibtreu, B. and others GG: Kommentar zum Grundgesetz 15th ed. 2022 Carl Heymanns
Staudinger, J. von Kommentar zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch. 13th edition, 2006. Walter de Gruyter. (The current edition of this publication is available online to academic users (Juris)
Scholz, R. and others Grundgesetz Kommentar 7 vols. 1999- Beck (e-book)
Schönke, A. Strafgesetzbuch: Kommentar. 30th edition, 2019. Beck.
Shorter commentaries
The series of Kurz-Kommentare (short commentaries), published by Beck, reproduce the text of each section of a statute in bold type, followed by commentary and reference to literature and case law. IALS currently holds a wide selection of titles, many of which have been updated recently. These works are more substantial than the series title might suggest. Recent publications in this series and other titles held at IALS include:
Anders, M. and Gehle, B. ed. Zivilprozessordnung: mit GVG und anderen Nebengesetzen 81st ed. 2023 Beck
Beurskens, M. and others . Gesetz betreffend die Gesellschaften mit beschränkter Haftung 23rd ed. 2022 Beck
Bumiller, U. FamFG: Gesetz über das Verfahren in Familiensachen 13th ed. 2022 Beck
Fischer T. , Strafgesetzbuch und Nebengesetze 70th ed., 2023 Beck
Grüneberg, C & Ellenberger, J. Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch 83rd ed. 2024 Beck
Hüffer, U. Aktiengesetz. 8th ed. 2008 Beck
Hopt, K. Handelsgesetzbuch 42nd 2023 Beck
Kreikebohm, R. et al. Kommentar zum Sozialrecht. 7th ed. 2021 Beck
Köhler, H. & Bornkamm, J. Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb... 41st ed. 2023 Beck (e-book)
Müller-Glöge, R. and others ed. Erfurter Kommentar zum Arbeitsrecht 23rd ed. 2023 Beck
Prölss, M. Versicherungsvertragsgesetz: mit Nebengesetzen, Vertriebsrecht und allgemeinen Versicherungsbedingungen 31st ed. 2021 Beck
Reinfeld, R. Praxishandbuch Geschäftsgeheimnisschutz Beck 2024 (e-book)
Schmitt, B. Strafprozessordnung: Gerichtsverfassungsgesetz, Nebensgesetze und Ergänzende Bestimmungen 64th ed. 2021 Beck
Schwab, K.. . Zivilprozessrecht. 18th ed. 2018 Beck
Weinrich, M. Die Grundrechtlichen Umweltschutzpflichten des Staates Duncker & Humblot 2022
Voßkuhle, A. and others Grundlagen des Verwaltungsrechts 3rd ed. Beck 2022
Open access books
Hacker, P. Datenprivatrecht: Neue Technologien im Spannungsfeld von Datenschutzrecht und BGB 2020 Mohr Siebeck
The following printed titles are on current subscription. The list excludes international and comparative law journals.
Die Aktiengesellschaft 1975, vol. 20-
Archiv des öffentlichen Rechts 1948, vol. 74-
Archiv für die civilistische Praxis 1883, vol. 66-
Archiv für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie 1960, vol. 46-
GRUR: Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht 1969, vol. 71-
Goltdammers Archiv für Strafrecht 1953-
Jahrbuch des öffentlichen Rechts der Gegenwart 1959, vol. 8-
Juristenzeitung 1951, vol. 6-
Juristische Rundschau 1947-51; 1960-
Juristische Schulung 1967, vol. 7-
Monatsschrift für deutsches Recht, 1947, vol. 1- (some gaps 1950-59)
Neue juristische Wochenschrift 1947-8 (1)-
Neue Justiz (previously East German and now represents the new federal Länder) 1947, vol. 1-
Die Öffentliche Verwaltung 1965, vol. 18-
Der Staat 1964, vol. 3-
Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb 1960, vol. 10-
Zeitschrift für das gesamte Familienrecht
Zeitschrift für das gesamte Handelsrecht und Wirtschaftsrecht 1961, vol. 124-
Zeitschrift für die gesamte Strafrechtswissenschaft 1881, vol. 1- (lacks 1933-51)
Zeitschrift für Unternehmens- und Gesellschaftsrecht 1980, vol. 9-
Zeitschrift für Zivilprozess 1950, vol. 64-
Electronic Subscriptions
Beck online provides full text access to two collections of German online journals, Neue Juristische Wochenschrift Group and Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz Plus. More information about the details of the journal titles are included in IALS Law Databases. Click on the 'More Information' button
Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (part of Hein) allows searching of articles from Civil law jurisdictions including Germany. It can be searched using keywords in English or German. It does not provide full text access but some of the printed journals are held at IALS. It can be accessed onsite at IALS and offsite by UOL/SAS staff/students
Open Access Journals
JurPC: Internet Zeitschrift für Rechtsinformatik: A full text journal with an archive of full text German language articles from 1989-1996 and a current section for 1997 to the current year. It also holds relevant case decisions which can be viewed by year or searched by keyword. Most decisions are in German only.
Humboldt Forum Recht, produced by students and young lawyers under the guidance of professors at the Humboldt University, Berlin: includes full text articles/features, mainly in German but with occasional contributions in English.
A good introduction is provided by:
Ardizzoni, A. et al. ed. German tax and business law 2005
Bockstiegel, K. Arbitration in Germany. the model law in practice. 2nd ed. 2015Bohlander, M. Principles of German criminal law. 2009
Bohlander, M. Principles of German criminal procedure. 2nd ed. 2021
Bumke, C. and Vosskuhle, A. German Constitutional law : introduction, cases and materials 2019
Bussche, A von dem & Stamm, M. Data Protection in Germany 2nd ed. 2017 Beck
Crosby, M.B. The making of a German Constitution: a slow revolution. 2004
Fisher, Howard D. The German legal system and legal language: a general survey together with notes and a German vocabulary 7th ed. 2021
Foster, N. German legal system & laws 4th ed. 2010
Geisler, M. & Boewe, M. The German Civil Aviation Act. 2009
Heun, W. The Constitution of Germany: a contextual analysis 2010
Jestaedt, M. and others The German Federal Constitutional Court: the Court without limits 2020 OUP (e-book)
Jungmann, C. German GmbH-Law : a guide to the German company with limited liability : including bilingual versions of the relevant statutes 2020
Koch, R. Insurance law in Germany 2nd ed. 2023
Kommers, D. & Miller, R. The Constitutional jurisprudence of the Federal Republic of Germany. 3rd rev. ed. 2012Levasseur, A. and others The Legal System of Germany 2022
Lettmaier, S. & Schulz, M. Family and succession law in Germany 4th ed. Kluwer law international 2022 (e-book)
Lingemann, S. Employment and labor law in Germany. 4th ed. 2016
Markesinis, B. Comparative introduction to the German law of torts 5th ed. 2019 (e-book)
Prútting, J. Medical law in Germany 4th ed. 2022
Robbers, G. Constitutional law in Germany 2017 Kluwer Law International (e-book)
Robbers, G. Introduction to German law. 7th ed. 2019
Robbers, G. Migration law in Germany 2020 Kluwer Law International (e-book)
Rosegarten, J. and others Mergers and acquisitions in Germany: an introduction to the legal framework. 3rd ed. 2020 Beck
Scherer, P. & Zeller, Sven. Banking regulation in Germany. 2009
Schwab, D. Gottwald, P. & Lettmaier, S. Family and succession law in Germany 2017 Kluwer Law International (e-book)
Spindler, G. & Rieckers, O. Tort law in Germany 2019 Kluwer law International (e-book)
Wegerich, T. & Freckman, A. The German legal system 3rd ed. 1999
Youngs, R. English, French and German comparative law. 3rd ed. 2014
Weiss, M. Schmidt,M. & Hlava, D. Labour law and industrial relations in Germany 2020 Kluwer Law International (e-book)
Wirth, G. Corporate law in Germany rev. 3rd ed. 2017
Zekoll, J and Wagner, G. Introduction to German law 3rd ed. 2019
Zimmermann, R. The new German law of obligations 2005
The Civil, Commercial and Criminal Codes have all been issued in translation.
Dannemann, G. and Schulze, R. (ed) The German Civil Code: article by article commentary. Vol. I, Books 1-3 ss. 1-1296 2020 Beck
Dannemann, G. and Schulze, R. (ed.) The German Civil Code: article by article commentary, Vol. II, Books 4-5, ss. 1295-2835 2022 Beck
Goren, S.L. and Forrester, I.S. The German Commercial Code as amended to 28th Oct 1994 2nd rev ed. 1998 (Rothman)
Peltzer, M. German Commercial Code 2nd rev ed. 1993 (Schmidt) (parallel German/English text)
Bohlander, M. The German Criminal Code. a modern English translation. 2008 (Oxford Hart)
The Hauser Globalex site provides English language guides to a wide range of jurisdictions and subject areas covering foreign, international and comparative legal research and tools for building research collections in these areas.
Sebastian Omlor Guide to translations of German business and commercial laws (2022)
Sebastian Omlor Legal research in Germany between print and electronic media (2022)
The German Law Journal is an English language full text journal which focuses on foreign, European and Civil law systems. It started in 2000
Virtuelle Fachbibliothek Recht (Virtual Law Library). This is a gateway to a wide variety of freely available legal internet sources. The background to the project is explained in English but the documents are mainly in German. It also gives access to the catalogues of the State Library of Berlin.
Böttcher & Kirchner: Abkürzungsverzeichnis der Rechtssprache ". 8th ed. rev. 2015
This gives an alphabetical listing of abbreviations and also arranges them in separate lists under the headings of Official Publications, Journals/Law Reports and Primary/Subsidiary Legislation.