[1] This form of ownership is related to the Dutch partenrederij system that ultimately gave rise to joint-stock companies, and dates back to the Middle Ages.
[3] The persistence of partenreederei is one of several aspects of German maritime law that, according to Pokrant and Gran, has led to it being widely regarded as outdated and difficult to understand.
[4] In 2013, changes to the German commercial code (handelsgesetzbuch or HGB), barred the creation of new partenreedereien.
[1] After the fall of Nazi Germany, the Austrian legal system retained many influences from German law.
On 1 January 2007, the Trade Law Amendment Act (German: Handelsrechts-Änderungsgesetz) entered into force, preventing the formation of any more partenreedereien, but allowing those that existed previously to continue.