Service contract law and law on contracts for work and services

The law governing service contracts and contracts for work and services is in part essentially the same, but can nevertheless lead to very different legal consequences. The two fields of law are essentially differentiated according to whether a specific work result is owed, which then establishes a contract for work and services, or whether the services of the obligated party are only aimed at providing the services as such, which would lead to the applicability of service contract law.

The law on contracts for work and services is characterized by the fact that the claim for remuneration is generally dependent on prior acceptance and the limitation period for corresponding claims only begins at that point. In addition, there may be extensive claims for defects under the contract for work and services.

Service contract law does not recognize these claims for defects as such; any deficiencies in performance are regularly enforced via counterclaims for damages.

The decisive orientation that is advantageous for the client can already be implied when the contract is drawn up. In the event of later disputes, it is often not recognized that a contract that both parties consider to be of a different nature can possibly be interpreted in a different way, so that completely new elements of attack or defence can be created.