Have your contract checked: Contract review ensures legal certainty

How is a contract concluded in the first place?

A contract is concluded by two concurring declarations of intent. These are referred to as "offer" and "acceptance".

Freedom of contract exists in Germany. This means that people have the right to conclude and form contracts freely. However, there are limits to this freedom to conclude, form and structure contracts, including the general prohibitions of unlawfulness (Section 134 BGB), immorality (Section 138 BGB) and the statutory consumer protection regulations.

Conclusion of contract: Verbal vs. written

Contracting parties can conclude contracts verbally or in writing. Some contracts are even concluded tacitly. Think of buying a newspaper at a newsstand. As a rule, the customer does not explicitly say "I would like to buy a newspaper", but rather takes a newspaper and hands over the purchase price to the seller without either of them saying a word.

However, a written contract fulfills an important evidentiary function. It is often only with the help of a written contract that contracting parties can understand years later what they agreed in the past. A written contract is also an advantage in the event of a dispute, as it is difficult to prove the conclusion of a verbal contract without credible witnesses.

In some cases, the law even requires the written form. For example, in the case of notices of termination under employment law, declarations of surety or acknowledgement of debt.

Legal regulations on the conclusion of contracts

In Germany, there are predefined legal regulations for the conclusion of contracts. These can be found in the German Civil Code (BGB) and the German Commercial Code (HGB), among others.

This has an important advantage for contracting parties: unless otherwise agreed in the contract itself, these provisions automatically apply.

However, the statutory provisions do not apply to every individual case. For example, the provisions of the German Civil Code (BGB) on a purchase agreement also apply to a company purchase - although some of the provisions (e.g. in relation to withdrawal) are not specifically applicable.

Accordingly, the contract must be precisely adapted to the respective circumstances. For this reason, a contract review by an experienced lawyer is recommended - especially for high purchase prices. They will check the extent to which the legal provisions actually apply and make any necessary changes to the contract.

However, a contract review is also advisable for another reason: If contracting parties agree to content that may not actually deviate from the legal requirements, such agreements are often invalid. In practice, this regularly leads to legal disputes, e.g. because an employment contract contains clauses that unreasonably disadvantage the employee.

Which contract can I have checked?

In principle, every contract can be reviewed as part of a contract check. A contract check is particularly recommended for the following types of contract:

Real estate purchase contract

Although a real estate purchase is always accompanied by a notary appointment, a notary does not inform the contracting parties about the specific advantages and disadvantages of the contract contents. This is why a contract review by an experienced lawyer is so important.

Rental agreement

Incorrect information about living space and inadmissible cosmetic repair clauses are common pitfalls in tenancy agreements. Before you sign a rental agreement, you should have it checked. This will help you to identify incorrect content and adjust the tenancy agreement in your favor.

Employment contract

As a rule, employers draft employment contracts as favorably as possible for themselves. A contract review offers legal certainty - for employers and employees alike.

Property development contract

A construction contract contains a large number of contractual components and is correspondingly complex. A contract review by a lawyer eliminates any ambiguities and informs both contracting parties about the correct form of the contract.

What does a contract review cost?

The costs for a contract review vary depending on the individual case. They depend largely on the type and scope of the contract.

Have your contract checked online - with Recht 24/7 at a fair fixed price

As part of our "Contract review" service, you can have any contract reviewed online at Recht 24/7 , e.g:

• Real estate purchase contracts
• Developer contracts
• Employment contracts
• Rental agreements

The Recht 24/7 contract review costs EUR 219 and includes the following services:

Have your contract checked: The most important points in brief