Die Kostenentscheidung nach Erledigung der Hauptsache im Spannungsfeld zwischen der Bindung des Richters an Gesetz und Recht sowie dem Grundsatz der Verfahrensökonomie

Abstract To which Party should Court Fees be Charged if there is no longer any Need to Adjudicate? – Judges caught between the Conflicting Priorities of their Obligation to adhere to the Law and Procedural Economy Under German procedural law the court fees of each party depend on the outcome of the case, with the defeated party usually having to accept the costs. In a case that does not proceed to judgement because the parties agree that the process no longer makes sense (“ubereinstimmende Erledigungserklarung”), the fees are to be taken by the party who would have lost if a decision by the court had been made. As these constellations may lead to the futile taking of evidence and rising expenses, the process orders in administrative law as well as in civil law provide regulations that allow the court to decide on the distribution of the fees between the parties on equitable discretion (“nach billigem Ermessen”). Even hard questions of law (“schwierige Rechtsfragen”) can remain undecided – a turn away from...