The Senate of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, through the Senator for Justice and Constitution, made use of the powers to issue ordinances pursuant to § 119b (1), 184a (1) no. 2 GVG and established a senate as a Commercial Court for selected subject areas at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Bremen (Ordinance on the Establishment and Organisation of the Commercial Courts of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen – CCVO). 

Proceedings before the Hanseatic Commercial Court for Aerospace, Logistics and Maritime Trade Bremen (HCCB) give companies the opportunity to bring disputes in certain areas before the Commercial Court as a court of first instance (for details, see Jurisdiction). On the one hand, it offers companies the advantages of state jurisdiction, which firstly consist in its composition of competent and independent judges who work with great legal skills and experience in commercial law disputes as well as a high level of professional ethics, and on the other hand, the decisions of the Commercial Court create an enforceable title particularly quickly – without having to go through two factual instances. In addition, a binding clarification of legal issues can also be obtained from the Federal Supreme Court in the state courts. The court fees are also moderate. They are based on the economic significance of the dispute and are to be determined transparently using fixed rates.

On the other hand, the proceedings before the Commercial Court are tailored to the special needs of companies that operate internationally. § 2 of the CCVO in conjunction with § 184a Abs.1 GVG, §§ 606 et seq. ZPO (German Code of Civil Procedure) the possibility of conducting the proceedings in English and using English-language documents. In addition to the applicable general procedural law, Section 612 ZPO provides for an early organisational meeting at first instance, at which agreements on the course of the proceedings are made as early as possible so that the proceedings can be concluded in a concentrated and speedy manner. The existing flexibility of the ZPO can be used here to realise many advantages within the framework of state court proceedings that are familiar to entrepreneurs from proceedings before international arbitration tribunals. In addition, with the simultaneous introduction of § 273a ZPO, the federal legislator has expanded the possibilities for entrepreneurs to ensure at an early stage that the information in dispute is classified as confidential. This categorisation triggers the protective effects of §§ 16 to 20 of the Trade Secrets Protection Act.