Background
Dozens of cases were brought to the European court about excessive legal delays in Germany.
One example was the case of Rüdiger Rumpf. Mr Rumpf ran a personal security service. He lodged an administrative request – later leading to a legal challenge – which had been crucial to the running of his business.
However, it took 13 years and 5 months for his case to be finally rejected. Whilst losing the case had cost money, the length of proceedings and resulting uncertainty had also caused him significant damage.