The (pre-trial) right of inspection: excludable?

The new law of evidence, which came into force in early 2025, has already been the subject of extensive discussion and debate. One of the most striking changes is the introduction of the pre-trial right of inspection. This allows a party to request data – such as written documents and electronic information – from a counterparty or third party, without court intervention. In principle, the counterparty and third party are obliged to comply. Under former law, a party had the right of inspection only when granted by the court in legal proceedings. An as of yet unanswered question is whether and to what extent the (pre-trial) right of inspection can be excluded. In other words: can parties agree that they are not obliged to comply with a (future) information request?

WHOA SPECIAL – 4. TEIL

Das WHOA-Verfahren gibt Unternehmen in finanzieller Krise die Chance, ihre Schulden zu restrukturieren und so die Insolvenz lebensfähiger Unternehmen zu vermeiden. In den letzten vier Jahren hat sich das WHOA-Verfahren als flexibles Instrument für grenzüberschreitende Restrukturierungen bewährt, sowohl eigenständig als auch in Kombination mit ausländischen Verfahren wie dem US-amerikanischen „Chapter 11“ oder dem englischen „Scheme of Arrangement“ bzw. dem „Part 26A Restructuring Plan“.

Wagevoe

Since 1 January 2025, a new act was introduced for shareholder disputes: the ‘Act amending the dispute resolution rules and clarifying the admissibility requirements for inquiry proceedings’ (in short: Wagevoe). Before 2025, anyone who wanted to buy out a co-shareholder or leave a company could usually expect a long process involving various procedures. As my colleague Rick Dijksterhuis explained at the time in his earlier contribution on this bill, the legislator had one clear goal: to make the resolution of shareholder disputes faster, simpler and more practical. In practice, we see that this has an impact on the way shareholders litigate.