Die fristlose Kündigung bei Vertrauensstellung (§ 627 BGB)

Service contracts subject to the performance of services of a higher nature can, in principle, be terminated without a valid reason. Which services actually are considered to be of a higher nature as well as the interpretation of the counter exception in section 627 German Civil Code (BGB) that the service relationship is not a permanent with fixed earnings is indeed highly controversial. The author points out that the special position of trust is central motif for the free right of termination and derives from foregoing that the criterion „services of a higher nature“ is waivable. Section 627 BGB‘s second counter exception protects the service provider’s planning interests. The author thus rejects the restrictive jurisdiction of the Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) for service contracts with enterprises. As a last point, the author explores the consequences of such termination for the remuneration (section 628 BGB) and discusses the legal question whether a right to reduce the service provider’s remuneration is to be accepted for the contracts covered by section 627 BGB.