verdict itself has at least three distinct, but subtlely different meanings, depending on whether you're an AE or BE speaker.
Askoxford defines verdict as:
1 a decision on an issue of fact in a civil or criminal case or an inquest. 2 an opinion or judgement.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/verdict?...Cambridge as:
an opinion or decision made after judging the facts that are given, especially one made at the end of a trial
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?ke...and AHD as:
1. Law The finding of a jury in a trial.
2. An expressed conclusion; a judgment or opinion: the verdict of history.
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictiona...in summary:
for decisions made by a court of law, I think the meaning 2 is too general.
for decisions made by a court of law in BE verdict I would normally associate with a preceding trial, and the verdict is the decision made at the end of this trial. This might be different for AE, if the AHD definition is as narrow as it seems.
For the type of scene described in your example, I would only ever use 'decision', since the process leading up to it was not a trial, there was no jury involved, and I would consider that the normal choice of words in English.
"...the recent decision of the German ...."
