Our professional focus in international commercial law is on contractual and sales law matters, including international civil procedure law and standardized material law.
Practices in international distribution law:
- Distribution Agreements: Examination and drafting of distribution agreements and contracts in the scope of the GWB for distribution contracts without a foreign reference as well as on the basis of harmonized European Community law for international references;
- International sales of goods: sales contracts within the scope of the UN Sales Convention (CISG);
- Prevention of corruption in international trade and delivery relationships;
- Vertical distribution systems: franchises, distributors, sales agents;
- E-commerce and online sales: sales of goods and services via the Internet and trading platforms, distance selling, legally compliant design of websites, offers, consumer information and mandatory information, licensing and copyright issues;
- Foreign trade law: risk-oriented advice on cross-border trade transactions, in particular drafting contracts, securing payments and enforcing claims;
- Customs law issues, particularly in connection with Regulation (EU) No. 942/2013;
- Points of contact between labor law and distribution law: in particular agreements on success-oriented remuneration components for employees in distribution (commission agreements);
Interface between labor law and distribution law
Employees in sales usually have a performance-based wage component. Most of the time, the design takes the form of a commission, the amount of which depends on the turnover generated by the sales employee or the sales team or the achievement of certain thresholds or goals. Employees’ commission agreements are usually measured against the legal requirements of labor law and the case law of labor courts. This repeatedly leads to difficulties, especially when drafting legally effective commission agreements.
Distribution systems and supply chains
In addition to the classic questions on the law of indirect sales (authorized dealers, commercial agents and franchise systems), we deal with sales law matters with a focus on:
Framework agreements in the international delivery and distribution business;
Recourse within the supply chain;
Preventing corruption in supply chains and distribution systems;
Accountability and due diligence in international supply chains;
Sustainability, social responsibility and respect for human rights in international supply chains;