CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
The Dutch constitution provides for the legal system and enshrines the independence of the judiciary. It is the role of the legislature (with the advice of the Council of State) to ensure that laws are constitutional. In the Netherlands, the constitutionality of a law is not a matter for the courts.
CIVIL PROCEEDINGS
The Netherlands has a civil-law system similar to that used in France, Germany and many other countries. As a member of the European Union, the Netherlands is also subject to European law. Civil cases are dealt with by eleven district courts located throughout the Netherlands, four courts of appeal, and the Supreme Court of the Netherlands (Hoge Raad). The courts are divided into various sectors, for example the family sector and commercial sector. The district courts also have a special chamber that deals with claims under €25.000 and disputes concerning employment, tenancy and consumer sales. This chamber is also referred to as the subdistrict court (kantongerecht).
Some courts have specific expertise in and jurisdiction over cases in specific areas. For example, the Enterprise Chamber (Ondernemingskamer) of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal has exclusive jurisdiction over certain matters relating to corporate law. Patent matters must be submitted to The Hague District Court and maritime matters to the Rotterdam District Court. International business disputes can be heard by the Netherlands Commercial Court in Amsterdam (see below).
Both at first instance and on appeal, cases are examined on both their facts and their legal merits. The Supreme Court, however, does not review the facts of a case.
Civil litigation in the Netherlands is often a relatively expeditious process – it may take several months to a year (but occasionally longer) to obtain a final decision. Often the courts try to expedite matters by calling on the parties to enter into settlement negotiations during a rather informal hearing (mondelinge behandeling). If the matter at hand is urgent and, in view of the parties’ interests, requires an immediate remedy, it is possible to start summary proceedings to obtain provisional measures. Sometimes a decision can be obtained in just a few days. It is not unusual for litigation to continue no further than these summary proceedings, the parties considering the summary decision to be a reliable indication of the eventual outcome in the proceedings on the merits. In the Netherlands, unlike its neighbours, the time limits for bringing a civil claim are relatively long. The applicable time limit is determined by the nature of the claim. Usually, it is five years. However, a time limit of two or three years applies with respect to certain types of claims.
Two key elements stand out with regard to such time limits in the Netherlands. The first is that a time limit may be interrupted (and extended) by an ‘act of interruption’ (stuitingshandeling), such as a letter in which a creditor stipulates the intention to use the right of performance. A new time limit will begin following such an act of interruption. The second is that a creditor must complain in due course after discovering a failure in the performance of an obligation, at the risk of forfeiting all rights to a legal claim.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS
In most administrative law matters the party who does not agree with the administrative decision must object to the decision-maker itself and ask for reconsideration. If the decision is not reconsidered, the party can start proceedings at the competent court. This can be the administrative section of one of the eleven district courts or a specific administrative court, such as the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State (Afdeling rechtspraak van de Raad van State). This court decides in the first and only instance disputes concerning decisions or orders issued by municipal, provincial or central government bodies (decisions in individual cases as well as orders of a general nature). Applications for provisional relief (pending the outcome of the proceedings) can also be submitted to the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State.
A decision of the district court can be appealed at the competent administrative court of appeal. Depending on the matter this can be the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State, which is the highest general administrative court when acting as appellate court, the College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven (for economic administrative law), the Centrale Raad van Beroep (for social security and public service law) or Hoge Raad (for tax matters).
CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS
Criminal cases are dealt with by the criminal sector of the eleven district courts located throughout the Netherlands, four courts of appeal, and the Supreme Court of the Netherlands (Hoge Raad).
