On May 14, 2009, the German Bundestag debated the federal government's draft bills on internet auctions in enforcement proceedings and on facilitating electronic registrations for the association register in its first reading.
1. Internet Auctions in Enforcement Proceedings
In the future, the auction of items seized by the bailiff in enforcement proceedings is to be simplified by being conducted online. Currently, the auction of so-called movable assets – e.g., furniture and electronic devices – is stipulated in the Code of Civil Procedure as an in-person auction conducted by the bailiff. The required physical presence of the auctioneer and bidders is cumbersome and often incurs high costs, not least due to travel.
The internet auction is to be permitted as a standard procedure alongside the previously customary on-site auction. The draft bill supplements the existing provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure to make internet auctions a standard practice in enforcement proceedings. The federal states are authorized to regulate details such as the auction platform, the start, end, and process of the auction, or the requirements for participation in the auction by statutory ordinance. The internet auction of movable assets will also be established as a statutory standard procedure in the Tax Code, alongside in-person auctions.
2. Electronic Registrations for the Association Register
The draft bill creates the federal legal framework for the states to permit electronic registrations for all entries in the association register – from initial registration to the notification of an association's dissolution. However, unlike commercial, cooperative, and partnership registers, all registrations for the association register will still be possible in paper form. In addition to the provisions for electronic registration, the draft includes further changes to registration law. Furthermore, some outdated provisions from association law are repealed, and others are adapted to evolved legal practice.
Source: Press release of the Federal Ministry of Justice
Goldberg Rechtsanwälte
Attorney Michael Ullrich, LL.M. (Information Law)
Specialist Lawyer for Information Technology Law (IT Law)
Email: info@goldberg.de
