Arbitration Office
Service description
Particularly in everyday disputes with neighbors or acquaintances, the atmosphere quickly becomes so tense that the parties involved can no longer talk things out in peace. Relationships that have been good up to that point are too good to jeopardize in a legal dispute because the hedge on the neighbor's property grew too high, your car was damaged when you parked, or the workman next door did a poor job on the repair job. It is precisely here that arbitrators can help to settle the dispute and preserve neighborly, family and friendly relations.
Since 01.12.2008, the State Conciliation Act has stipulated for certain neighboring rights and defamation disputes that an attempt at conciliation must be made before an arbitrator or other conciliation body before legal proceedings are initiated.
The attempt at atonement is also a prerequisite for bringing a private action.
Criminal prosecution is the responsibility of the state, but for some offenses, an arbitrator must be involved before you can turn to the court, namely for the so-called private prosecution offenses
- Trespass,
- Offense,
- Violation of the secrecy of correspondence,
- Assault,
- Threat,
- Damage to property or
- Committing the aforementioned offenses while intoxicated.
If such criminal offenses come into consideration, the public prosecutor's office will only file charges if it affirms the public interest in prosecution. If it does not see such a public interest, you will be referred to private prosecution. This means that you must file a complaint with the criminal court yourself if you want the offender to be punished.
However, you can only file such a private lawsuit if you have previously tried to reconcile with the other parties involved out of court.
Process flow
The proceedings are initiated by a request which should contain the name, profession, marital status, date of birth and address of both parties as well as a brief description of the dispute. You can send the signed application to the arbitrator in writing or declare it orally to the arbitrator "for the record".
The arbitrator will now set a date to which the parties to the dispute will be summoned. Before the appointment, you should consider what is important to you and whether and to what extent you are willing to compromise, taking into account the situation of the other party.
In the meeting, both parties have time and opportunity to present their views in peace and - unlike in court proceedings - without publicity.
The arbitrator will try to reduce existing tensions and bring about an agreement. If this is successful, the settlement reached will be recorded in minutes to be signed by the arbitrator and the parties. If necessary, such a settlement can also be enforced.
If an agreement is not reached or if the other party to the dispute does not show up for the appointment, you still have the option of appealing to the court.
Requirements
In case of disputes about claims due to
- Impacts such as exposure to gases, vapors, odors, smoke, soot, heat, noise, vibration from another property), provided they are not impacts from a commercial operation,
- Overgrowth,
- Falling over,
- of a border tree,
- the neighboring rights regulated in the State Neighboring Rights Act (e.g. erection of a neighboring or boundary wall, fastening of chimneys, ventilation shafts or antenna systems), provided that these are not impacts from a commercial operation, and
- for violations of personal honor not committed in the press or on the radio,
an attempt at conciliation shall only be dispensable if not all parties have their domicile, their registered office or an establishment in Rhineland-Palatinate in the same or in neighboring regional court districts when the conciliation proceedings are initiated.
In principle, however, an arbitration attempt before an arbitrator is reasonable and possible in all civil disputes. The only cases in which the arbitrator may not or should not act are those involving disputes not involving property law (e.g. divorce, paternity disputes, custody and access disputes), disputes involving property law involving more than 5,000 euros, or cases that are particularly difficult in fact or in law (e.g. disputes about statutory maintenance obligations).
Arbitration is excluded, for example, in the case of:
- Divorces,
- Paternity disputes,
- Access and custody disputes,
- from an amount in dispute of 5.000,- Euro.
What are the fees?
The costs of the proceedings are not high: the fee for a conciliation hearing is 15 euros and doubles if a settlement is reached. In special circumstances, the fee can be increased to up to 60 euros.
In special cases, the arbitrator may also reduce the fees or waive the collection of costs.
In addition, expenses, e.g. postage costs of the arbitrator, may be incurred.
In principle, the party who has initiated the arbitrator's activities, i.e. who has filed the request for arbitration, shall bear the costs. If the parties reach a settlement, they will regularly also agree on the costs of the arbitration proceedings.
What deadlines do I have to observe?
No special deadlines are to be observed with regard to the arbitration proceedings.
Processing time
The duration of the attempt at atonement depends on the specifics of the individual case.
Legal basis
Applications / Forms
Special forms are not required.