A FINE UNDER THE CIVIL PROCEDURE CODE OF GERMANY

Abstract

Abstract. The article is devoted to the grounds of holding a person liable in German civil proceedings and a fine as one of the forms of liability. The grounds for imposing a fine can be summarized as follows: 1) if a party has not appeared at a hearing in the event that the court ordered the parties to appear in person; 2) if a duly summoned witness has not appeared; 3) if the witness refuses to testify or be sworn in; 4) non-appearance of an expert in court or refusal to provide an expert opinion; 5) if a person does not fulfill the obligation to perform actions (provide information about income or property, etc.); if a debtor violates the obligation determined by the court to perform or cease actions, to refrain from performing actions. It was established that the possibility of imposing a fine always depends on the presence of certain conditions. In case of non-appearance of a party, the expediency of imposing a fine should depend on the significance of the participant’s non-appearance for the course of the court proceedings (for example, whether it has the effect of prolonging the litigation, hindering the peaceful settlement of the dispute, complicating the clarification of the actual circumstances of the case), as well as – as far as is known – on the degree of breach of duty (for example, the degree of guilt; first or repeated non-appearance), justification of the non-appearance with improper reasons or failure to provide explanations for the reasons for the non-appearance, personal and economic circumstances of the participant in the case. German procedural law does not always consider a fine as a measure of holding a person liable, and therefore allows it to be imposed repeatedly: for example, on a forensic expert for failure to appear or evading to provide their expert opinion. However, if a witness refuses to testify or be sworn in, the fine cannot be imposed again. It was noted that in some cases, the imposition of a fine should be preceded by a warning: in the case of late submission of an opinion by an expert, a fine may be imposed on them, but this should be preceded by giving a warning to the expert about giving a certain period. In order to bring to justice a debtor who violates the courtdefined obligation to perform or stop actions, to refrain from performing actions, a warning is also necessary.