Part III Prospectus Liability and Litigation, 20 Germany

Abstract

This chapter discusses German law. In Germany, prospectus liability is a part of the general legal concept of capital market information liability. Although statutory prospectus liability is extensively regulated, prospectus liability is generally of minor importance since cases involving the direct liability of the issuer are rather rare for securities admitted to trading on organised markets. In contrast, the number of cases of prospectus liability for other securities is much higher probably due to the fact that in this part of the capital market more dubious issuers and offerors exist. The rather small number of cases involving securities admitted to trading on organised markets is also due to the fact that German statutory prospectus liability states some major limitations especially regarding the amount of damages the plaintiff can claim. This chapter thus focuses on the prospectus liability for securities traded on organised markets.