Starting from the terms trade, merchant and free profession, the legal stages of founding a company are presented. In this context, the commercial and company register and the concept of a company are discussed.
Subsequently, the forms of representation (procuration and power of attorney), the independent auxiliary persons (commercial agents and commercial brokers) of the merchant and the particularities of commercial transactions are presented.
After the organization of the sole proprietorship, the partnerships (Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts, offene Handelsgesellschaft and Kommanditgesellschaft) and the corporations (especially the GmbH) are explained.
Parallel to the establishment of the company, the hiring of employees is discussed. The focus is then on the special features of the employment relationship (collective bargaining agreements, vacation, incapacity to work, etc.). This section concludes with the possibilities of terminating an employment relationship. After this so-called individual labor law, the organization of the trade unions and the works constitution (collective labor law) are presented.
