Die Person mit unbekanntem Aufenthalt im zivilrechtlichen Erkenntnisverfahren

The localisation of persons, in particular of parties, plays a significant role in German civil proceedings, for example when it comes to formal requirements for written submissions, the determination of the court having international or local jurisdiction, and the service of written pleadings. The inability to locate a person can therefore hinder the conduct of civil proceedings in many ways. Nevertheless, there has been no comprehensive review of the topic so far. The present study is intended to partially close this gap. After examining various terms concerning the localisation of persons and evaluating the existing norms dealing with the problem (e.g. § 185 No. 1 and No. 2 ZPO [Code of Civil Procedure]), the work focuses on the systematic examination of the remaining questions in relation to the above-mentioned problematic areas. In doing so, problematic cases are identified and afterwards, generally applicable solutions are developed.