Provisional Measures in Germany
To secure the legal and factual position of a party before or during a lawsuit, German procedural law offers the possibility to obtain
- interlocutory injunctions (einstweilige Verfuegungen) or
- attachment orders (Arrest)
against the other party.
No final court decision
As a general rule, interlocutory injunctions may not pre-empt a final decision by the courts. Thus, it is only under very exceptional circumstances that an interim payment order is granted. To secure claims for money, an order of attachment into the assets of the defendant can be obtained. If the provisional measure is later on held by a court to have been unjustified, compensation for damages must be paid.