General Terms and Conditions

These General Terms and Conditions apply to our webinars and courses. Data processing is also regulated in accordance with the GDPR.

§ 1 Application

(1): The following General Terms and Conditions apply to all legal relationships between the POLARIS Institute (hereinafter the Provider) and the participant (hereinafter the Participant) of webinars and online courses.

(2): No oral side agreements have been made. All future amendments to the contract must be documented in text form; this also applies to the rescission of this text form clause.

§ 2 Conclusion of Contract

The contract is concluded on the Provider’s website, through personal agreement, or via remote communication means.

The Participant may initially place courses in the shopping cart without obligation and edit their details before completing the purchase. The Participant may correct the courses in the cart and their entries at any time by using the navigation buttons provided.

When concluding a contract on the website, the Participant submits a binding contractual offer by clicking the registration button. The contract is then concluded through the Provider’s confirmation email, which also contains a link to these Terms and Conditions including the cancellation policy. If the Participant does not receive this email, acceptance of the contract by the Provider shall be deemed to have occurred at the latest upon debiting the payment (e.g. credit card payment) or enabling participation in the course (whichever occurs first).

The contract language is German; upon request, a machine translation may be provided.

A written contract is retained and stored by the Provider, but a contract may also be concluded orally. Contracts concluded on the website are not stored by the Provider.

The Provider is entitled to withdraw from the course contract if there is an important reason in the person of the Participant justifying refusal of participation.

§ 3 Payment / Default

Unless otherwise agreed, all prices are exclusive of VAT (educational services are exempt from VAT). Connection costs incurred by the Participant for online courses are not included.

Payment by the Participant on invoice is regulated as follows:

Webinars and online courses: Payment is due immediately upon receipt of the invoice. The Participant is informed that they will be in default no later than 30 days after receipt of the invoice. As part of the contract conclusion, the Participant will also enter into a data processing agreement with the Provider online.

The Participant has the following payment methods available:

Credit card: The charge is made after acceptance of the contractual offer by the Provider.

Advance payment: The Provider provides the Participant with the bank details.

Invoice: The Participant receives an invoice at an address specified by them and is obliged to pay it before the start of the course.

Instalment payment: The Participant may split the amount into two instalments within a maximum of 4 weeks. However, the number of hours may not exceed the value of the down payment. Furthermore, the Participant is obliged to pay both instalments even if they waive the unpaid lessons. The payment obligation applies to the total amount.

If fees arise due to a return debit initiated by the Participant, the Participant must bear these costs, provided they are responsible for the return debit and it was not justified.

The Provider is entitled to verify payment of the course fee before the course begins and may request proof of successful payment. If the Participant does not provide such proof or fails to pay, the Provider may refuse participation in the course.

§ 4 Course Content and Location

The course descriptions on the Provider’s website serve only for illustration and are approximate. No guarantee is given for complete compliance.

The Provider is entitled to make adjustments to the content or structure of the course for professional reasons, e.g. if updates or further development of the course content are required, provided that no essential change occurs and the modification is reasonable for the Participant.

The Provider may replace the announced lecturer with another equally qualified lecturer if necessary due to prevention, health, or other reasons.

The Provider may change the location and time of the announced course, provided the change is communicated to the Participant in good time and is reasonable.

§ 5 Duties of the Participant in Online Courses

The Participant may only use the course personally and must not make it accessible to third parties, unless otherwise agreed with the course management and administration.

The Participant receives access data from the Provider or selects them independently. These access data are intended to prevent unauthorized use of the course. If the Participant chooses or changes their own access data, they must ensure sufficient password security. Short and easily guessable passwords must not be used. The Participant must protect these access data against unauthorized access by third parties and change them regularly for security reasons. Digital storage of usernames and passwords is only permitted in securely encrypted form.

In case of repeated incorrect entry of access data, access may be blocked to protect the Participant.

The Participant is obliged to inform the Provider immediately if they become aware that third parties have access to their access data or have otherwise gained access to their course. If the Participant fails to notify the Provider immediately, they are obliged to compensate the Provider for any resulting damage.

§ 6 Availability of the Online Course

The course is accessed via the Internet and can only be fully used with a sufficiently fast Internet connection provided by the Participant. Ensuring this is the responsibility of the Participant.

The Provider strives for the highest possible availability of the course. However, constant availability cannot be guaranteed and also depends on the functioning of the Internet infrastructure, which is beyond the Provider’s control.

The Provider is entitled to temporarily restrict or suspend use of the course, particularly for maintenance, servicing, improvements, or other operational reasons. The Provider will take into account the average interests of Participants as far as possible (e.g. when scheduling maintenance times). In urgent cases of disruption, the Provider may carry out troubleshooting even during normal business hours.

The Provider is not liable for force majeure or operational disruptions occurring at the Provider or its subcontractors, e.g. due to riots, strikes, lockouts, which temporarily prevent the Provider from delivering services without fault. The Provider is also not liable for data losses or unavailability that could have been easily prevented by appropriate precautions taken by the Participant in accordance with technical standards and self-protection.

If the Provider is unable to deliver services due to force majeure, the Provider’s obligation to perform is suspended for as long as the impediment persists.

If the impediment lasts longer than one week, the Participant has the right to terminate the contract without notice if fulfillment of the contract is no longer of interest to them due to the impediment.

§ 7 Availability and Conduct of Online Events / Exclusion of the Participant

Course places are allocated in the order of receipt of registrations. The Participant will be notified at least seven days before the start (in writing or by email) if the event cannot take place due to insufficient participant numbers.

The Provider has domiciliary rights. The Participant must comply with the instructions of the Provider or its staff. Additional regulations issued by the Provider also apply. The Provider may exclude the Participant from further participation in the event if the Participant culpably violates the obligations under this section. In cases of serious violations, exclusion may occur without prior warning.

If the Participant is excluded by the Provider, they are obliged to compensate the Provider for any resulting damage. In particular, the Participant has no claim to full or partial reimbursement of course fees already paid.

§ 8 Withdrawal / Deregistration

Participants have a right of withdrawal, except for digital content if the Participant has requested immediate performance of the service by the Provider and the Provider has informed the Participant about the expiry of the right of withdrawal. For purely online courses, the right of withdrawal expires immediately under these conditions as soon as the consumer has received the service (e.g. by logging in or downloading). The refund regulation for services does not apply in this respect.

§ 9 Right of Withdrawal

The Participant has the right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen days without giving any reason. The withdrawal period is fourteen days from the day of conclusion of the contract.

To exercise the right of withdrawal, the Participant must inform the Provider (including name, address, email address, and telephone number) of their decision to withdraw from the contract by means of a clear written statement (e.g. by email). To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for the Participant to send the notification before the withdrawal period expires (except in cases where digital content is used within these fourteen days, see § 8 Withdrawal / Deregistration section (1)).

If the Participant withdraws from the contract, the Provider must reimburse all payments received from the Participant without undue delay and at the latest within fourteen days from the day on which the Provider received the withdrawal notification. The Provider will use the same payment method as used in the original transaction, unless expressly agreed otherwise; in no case will the Participant be charged fees for the reimbursement.

If the Participant requested that the service begin during the withdrawal period, they must pay the Provider an appropriate amount corresponding to the proportion of services already provided up to the time of withdrawal compared to the total scope of services under the contract.

§ 10 Cancellation of the Course

The Provider is entitled to cancel the course if the required number of participants is not reached.
The Provider is also entitled to cancel the course if the Provider or a third-party service provider engaged by the Provider (such as the lecturer or the event platform) is prevented from holding the course, e.g. due to internet failure, server problems, issues with third-party providers, riots, strikes, lockouts, natural disasters, pandemics, bad weather, traffic disruptions, or illness, which prevent the Provider from conducting the course on the agreed date without fault.
The Provider is obliged to inform the Participant of any cancellation as soon as possible.
In the event of cancellation under paragraph 1 or 2, the Participant is not entitled to claim damages.
In the event of cancellation, the Provider may offer the Participant an alternative date. If no agreement is reached, the Provider will refund any course fees already paid by the Participant.

§ 11 Participant’s Non-Attendance

If the Participant withdraws from the course or otherwise refuses to attend, they must pay the course fees partially or in full, as follows: Group courses:
- Withdrawal more than 21 days before the first course day: 0% of course fees due
- Withdrawal 21–14 days before the first course day: 50% of course fees due
- Withdrawal less than 14 days before the first course day: 100% of course fees due
- Cancellation of individual lessons or non-attendance: the lesson cannot be rescheduled and must still be paid in full.

Individual courses:

Withdrawal more than 21 days before the first course day: 0% of course fees due
Withdrawal 21–14 days before the first course day: 50% of course fees due
Withdrawal less than 14 days before the first course day: 100% of course fees due
Cancellation within 24 hours before the agreed lesson or non-attendance: the lesson cannot be rescheduled and must still be paid in full. If cancelled more than 24 hours before the agreed lesson, a new date can be arranged and the cancelled lesson will not be charged.

The Participant may nominate a substitute participant, provided they are at the same language level (for group courses) or replace an individual student.

§ 12 Copyright and Industrial Property Rights, Recordings

All event materials provided by the Provider are protected by copyright. This includes the Provider’s website content, lectures, presentations, scripts, and other course materials. The Participant is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, or publicly present such materials.
The Participant is not permitted to make image, film, or audio recordings of the event without the express permission of the Provider.

§ 13 Liability of the Provider

The Provider is not liable for minor negligent breaches of duty, provided these do not concern essential contractual obligations or the Provider has not assumed a guarantee for the fulfillment of such obligations or the success not achieved due to the breach. This also applies to corresponding actions of the Provider’s agents and bodies.
This exclusion of liability does not apply if the damage results from injury to life, body, or health.
Any liability of the Provider arising from grossly negligent breaches of duty or grossly negligent tortious acts is limited to the damage foreseeable by the Provider.
This paragraph applies accordingly to tortious acts committed by the Provider’s employees and agents.
The Provider is not liable for the content of external links on its website, in particular not for advertising information provided by the course venue providers and/or lecturers.
For online content, the Provider is only liable for the proper input of data into the Internet at its access point. The Provider is not liable if the properly input data do not reach the Participant in sufficient quality. In particular, the Provider is not liable for the Participant’s reception configuration or errors by network operators.

§ 14 Data Protection

For the contract, contractual data are collected in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR (e.g. name, address, email address, services used, and all other electronically or stored data necessary for the execution of the contract), insofar as they are required for the establishment, content, or amendment of the contract.
Contractual data are only passed on to third parties insofar as this is necessary for the fulfillment of the contract (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR), corresponds to the overriding interest in effective performance (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR), or if consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR) or another legal authorization exists. Data will not be transferred to a country outside Switzerland or the EU unless the EU Commission has determined an equivalent level of data protection, consent has been given, or standard contractual clauses have been agreed with the third-party provider.
Data subjects may request information about stored personal data free of charge at any time. They may request the correction of incorrect data (including supplementation), restriction of processing, or deletion of their data. This applies in particular if the purpose of processing has ceased, consent has been withdrawn, no other legal basis exists, or processing is unlawful. Personal data will then be corrected, blocked, or deleted without delay within the legal framework. Consent to the processing of personal data may be revoked at any time by informal communication (e.g. by email). Revocation does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out up to that point. Transmission of contractual data in machine-readable form may be requested. If a violation of rights is feared due to data processing, a complaint may be lodged with the competent supervisory authority.
Data are generally stored only as long as required for the purpose of processing. Extended storage may occur if necessary for legal enforcement, legitimate interests, or if a legal obligation exists to retain data (e.g. tax retention periods, limitation periods).

§ 15 Jurisdiction / Final Provisions

For all legal relationships with the Provider, the law applicable is that of the Provider’s domicile. The place of jurisdiction is the competent court at the Provider’s domicile.