The Cologne Higher Regional Court is one of the first courts in Germany to have set up a dedicated senate for hearing civil disputes in English. In order to avail of this, the legal dispute needs to have an international component, the hearing at first instance must already have been conducted in English, and the parties to the proceedings must have agreed that an interpreter would not be required during the hearing (section 185 (2) of the German Courts Constitution Act). As per the allocation plan 
the 29th civil senate is responsible for this.
