meeting

Which translation, when

Why

German corporate life splits the meeting by who is in the room. Owners hold Versammlungen, the GmbH’s Gesellschafterversammlung, § 48 Abs. 1 GmbHG, the AG’s Hauptversammlung, convened under § 121 AktG and, since 2022, virtual where the articles allow, § 118a AktG. Organs hold Sitzungen, the Aufsichtsrat under § 110 AktG, two per half-year, reducible to one by resolution in unlisted companies, the Vorstand and the Beirat in the same grammar. The GmbH can even skip the room, if all shareholders agree, the statute lets them decide without a Versammlung, § 48 Abs. 2 GmbHG, so no meeting was held may simply be the Umlaufbeschluss working as designed. The paperwork follows the split, the Hauptversammlung writes notarial minutes, eine Niederschrift, § 130 AktG, with relief for unlisted companies, while a Sitzung keeps a Protokoll. The working verbs serve both rooms, einberufen, abhalten, stattfinden, whereas das Treffen belongs to diaries and cafés, the one register no corporate document survives.

Typical mistakes

• Das Treffen des Vorstands is a coffee arrangement, organs hold Sitzungen, owners Versammlungen, and the register slip is loud enough to end the document’s credibility.
• The AGM writes notarial minutes, § 130 AktG, eine Niederschrift, with relief for unlisted companies, so meeting minutes translates by organ and listing status, not by one word.
• The GmbH can skip the room, § 48 Abs. 2 GmbHG lets unanimous shareholders decide without a Versammlung, so no meeting was held is not yet a defect, it may be the Umlaufbeschluss working as designed.

What matters

Corporate housekeeping translates by room: the annual general meeting is die Hauptversammlung, § 121 AktG, virtual if the articles allow, § 118a AktG, its minutes notarial, § 130 AktG, while the board meeting next door is die Aufsichtsratssitzung, § 110 AktG, twice per half-year when listed. Das Treffen der Aktionäre would read like a fan convention.

Examples