Artikel 17

(1). The Federal Republic of Germany will afford the creditor the right, within the limits of the present Agreement and the Annexes thereto, to enforce through German courts and authorities
(a) his rights with respect to a debt as they exist at the time when action is taken under this Article if the creditor and debtor do not agree on terms of settlement and the creditor declares his assent to the establishment by such courts of terms of payment and other conditions for his debt in accordance with the provisions of the present Agreement and the Annexes thereto;
(b) his rights under the terms of settlement of the debt if the debtor fails to discharge his obligations in accordance with such terms (including such rights as under the provisions of the present Agreement and the Annexes thereto may be exercised by the creditor upon the failure of the debtor to discharge such obligations), except that the creditor shall not be entitled to the transfer in non-German currency of a principal sum which becomes due as a result of such failure sooner than would have been the case if the debtor had not failed to discharge such obligations.
(2). The creditor shall not be afforded the right provided under paragraph (1) of this Article if, under the provisions of the relevant contract or the present Agreement and the Annexes thereto, the dispute is, at the time that the right provided for under paragraph (1) of this Article is sought to be exercised, exclusively cognisable by an arbitral body or by a court in a creditor country. When such exclusive jurisdiction is provided by the terms of the relevant contract, the debtor and creditor may by agreement waive such a provision and the creditor shall, thereupon, be entitled to such right.
3. (a) Irrespective of whether there is reciprocity between the country in which the decision is rendered and the Federal Republic of Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany will afford the creditor the right, subject to the relevant qualifications contained in paragraph (1) and to the provisions of paragraph (4) of this Article, to enforce through German courts and authorities final decisions concerning a debt rendered by courts and arbitral bodies (i) in a creditor country after the entry into force of the present Agreement;
(ii) in a creditor country prior to the entry into force of the present Agreement, if the debtor does not contest the debt as established by such decision.
(i) in a creditor country after the entry into force of the present Agreement;
(ii) in a creditor country prior to the entry into force of the present Agreement, if the debtor does not contest the debt as established by such decision.
(b) A German court, in any other proceeding respecting a debt which has been the subject of a final decision rendered by a court or arbitral body in a creditor country prior to the entry into force of the present Agreement, shall accept as proved the facts upon which such decision was based, unless the debtor introduces evidence to the contrary. In that case the creditor shall be entitled to introduce rebutting evidence including the transcript of evidence in the former proceeding. The amount of a non-contractual pecuniary obligation established by a decision of a German court in a proceeding under this paragraph shall, for the purpose of paragraph (1) (a) of Article 4 of the present Agreement, be deemed to have been fixed at the date of the final decision of the court or arbitral body in a creditor country.
(c) The Federal Republic of Germany will afford the creditor the right, subject to the relevant qualifications contained in paragraph (1) of this Article, to enforce through German courts and authorities final decisions concerning a debt rendered by courts and arbitral bodies within Germany before 8th May, 1945, or within the territory of the currency area of the Deutschemark West after 8th May, 1945.
(4). German courts may refuse to enforce a decision of a foreign court or of an arbitral body (except an arbitral body established under the provisions of the present Agreement and the Annexes thereto) under the provisions of paragraph (3) of this Article in any case in which
(a) the court which gave the decision had no jurisdiction or the jurisdiction of the arbitral body which gave the decision was not based on the agreement of the parties concerned; or
(b) the debtor, in the proceedings in the original court or arbitral body, was not afforded an opportunity to defend the proceedings; or
(c) the enforcement of the decision would be contrary to public policy in the Federal Republic of Germany; provided that the fact that a judgment is not in harmony with the provisions of the present Agreement and the Annexes thereto shall not be deemed to make its enforcement, within the limits of the present Agreement and the Annexes thereto, contrary to public policy within the meaning of this provision.
(5). The Federal Republic of Germany will afford Bondholders' Councils or analogous bodies referred to in Annex I and creditors' representatives referred to in Article VIII of Annex II to the present Agreement the right to have established through German courts and authorities the terms of the offer of settlement in the event of the debtor (other than the Federal Republic of Germany) failing to make a proposal for settlement on his existing bonded debt in accordance with the relevant provisions of Annexes I and II to the present Agreement.
(6). (a) A debtor who fails to make a proposal for settlement under Annex I or II to the present Agreement shall not, in any proceeding in a German court brought under paragraph (1), (3) or (5) of this Article, be entitled to the benefit of the provisions respecting hardship contained in paragraph 7 (1) (e) of Annex I or paragraph 11 of Article V of Annex II to the present Agreement. When establishing the terms of the offer of settlement or the terms of settlement for the debt, the court shall prescribe the earliest date of maturity which, under the provisions of the relevant Annex, may be applied in settling the debt. The court shall in its judgment award to the plaintiff the expenses referred to in paragraph 7 (h) of Annex I to the present Agreement or paragraph 2 of Article X of Annex II to the present Agreement, to be paid by the debtor; such expenses shall be immediately due and payable. The court shall also provide for payment by the debtor of the costs of the proceeding and of all reasonable costs and expenses incurred in such proceeding either by the creditor of a non-bonded debt or by the Bondholders' Council or analogous body, or by the creditors' representative concerned, in the case of a bonded debt.
(b) If a debtor fails to effect adherence in accordance with Clause 22 of Annex III to the present Agreement, the creditor concerned shall, in any proceeding brought under paragraph (1) or (3) of this Article, be entitled to enforce his rights in accordance with the provisions of the said Annex, but, in the case of a debt owed by a German Commercial or Industrial Debtor within the meaning of the said Annex (whose debt is direct to the creditor), only after the expiration of thirty days after the first meeting of the Consultative Committee provided for in Clause 17 of the said Annex. When ordering payment of the debt in accordance with the said Annex, the court shall award to the creditor the costs of the proceeding and all reasonable costs and expenses incurred by him in such proceeding, to be paid by the debtor.
(c) A debtor who fails to make a declaration of participation required under Article 14 of Annex IV to the present Agreement shall not, in any proceeding in a German court brought under paragraph (1) or (3) of this Article, be entitled to the benefit of the provisions respecting hardship contained in Article 11 of that Annex. A failure based solely upon a denial of the existence of the debt shall not deprive the debtor of such benefit; provided, however, that if the Court of Law or Court of Arbitration referred to in Article 15 of Annex IV finds that such debt exists, the debtor shall not be entitled to benefit from such clause if he fails to make the required declaration within thirty days from the date of the service of the final decision of such court. In a proceeding under this sub-paragraph in which the debtor is not entitled to benefit from the hardship clause the court shall order the payment by the debtor of court costs and all reasonable fees of the plaintiff's counsel.
(7). The Federal Republic of Germany will afford the creditor the right, within the limits of the present Agreement and the Annexes thereto, to enforce through German courts and authorities his claims against a person residing in the currency area of the Deutschemark East out of property owned by such person in the currency area of the Deutschemark West if the claims arise out of obligations which meet the requirements of Article 4 of the present Agreement except as to the residence of the debtor. The right to transfer in foreign currency any sums received by the creditor shall be subject to the foreign exchange regulations from time to time in force in the currency area of the Deutschemark West.