The Netherlands Commercial Court

Legal proceedings in The Netherlands

Amsterdam will soon be joining the likes of London, Dubai and Singapore when the new Netherlands Commercial Court opens its doors.

This court shall be specialised in hearing complex (international) commercial cases.

The Netherlands Commercial Court will offer parties to business and trade disputes a forum where they can litigate in English before neutral, specialist commercial judges, right in the heart of Europe.

Dutch proceedings in English

English is indisputably the language of global business. Commercial contracts are frequently drafted in English, parties from countries with different languages communicate with each other in English. But when it comes to litigation, parties to cross-border disputes can be forced to conduct court proceedings in a language which they do not understand. The Dutch judiciary has decided to embrace English as the leading commercial language, establishing an English speaking court, the Netherlands Commercial Court here in Amsterdam.

The court will provide an alternative to parties who want to litigate in English, but wish to avoid expensive forums such as London or the United States.

The Netherlands Commercial Court is also an alternative for those parties who do not want to submit to arbitration, where proceedings are costly and outcomes may not be as predictable as before national courts.

Dutch procedural law

Dutch procedural law is recognised for being efficient, pragmatic and cost-effective. An example of the advantages of litigating in The Netherlands is the conservatory arrest (Dutch freezing/Mareva injunctions). These orders can be attained with relative ease to prevent assets located in the Netherlands from being removed from the jurisdiction or otherwise disposed of pending the completion of proceedings.
While such injunctions can be quite difficult to secure in English speaking common law jurisdictions, the Dutch courts award these arrest orders quite readily, giving plaintiffs in Dutch proceedings a high degree of security and certainty regarding their ability to execute a judgment if it is handed down in their favour.

This makes The Netherlands a particularly attractive forum for claimants with a cause of action against a Dutch defendant. The Netherlands are also an ideal forum for litigation in which the defendant or its assets are not located in the Netherlands. It is little known that Dutch court judgments are amongst the most widely enforceable judgments worldwide.
Thanks to instruments such as the Brussels Regulation, the Lugano Convention and the Hague Convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil and commercial matters, Dutch court judgments are easily enforceable in over 30 other jurisdictions, including 5 outside the European Union. In addition to this, Dutch decisions are generally also enforceable in the United States (most states), Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. This makes a Dutch judgment enforceable and valuable well beyond the borders of The Netherlands.

Why the Netherlands Commercial Court?

Netherlands Commercial Court - the pros

Specialized Dutch judges
English or Dutch as the language of proceedings
Effective and shorter proceedings
Ability to bifurcate proceedings into a merits and quantification of damages phase
Evidence may be tendered in French, German, English or Dutch, saving time and translation costs
No risk of high adversary party costs award if its claim are dismissed
Paperless litigation
Recovery options (prejudgment seizure)

Commercial Court or arbitration?

Arbitration has become an extremely popular method of dispute resolution in international commercial matters for a number of reasons: it offers parties the opportunity to conduct proceedings in a language of their choice, to select a neutral venue and to have their matter heard by arbitrators with commercial experience. The Netherlands Commercial Court will offer parties the ability to litigate in English before experienced judges with technical and commercial expertise and experience and to have their matter heard by the courts of a legal system which is unrivalled in terms of independence, efficiency and impartiality. Parties do not have to have any links to the Netherlands in order to submit a matter to the NCC, making the NCC an ideal venue for parties from two different states looking for a “neutral” third state to act as a venue for their litigation.

Why litigate in The Netherlands?

The civil legal system of the Netherlands was ranked highest of all civil justice systems in the world in the World Justice Project (WJP) 2015 Rule of Law Index ®, based on criteria such as cost-effectiveness, efficiency, impartiality and independence.

Dutch court judgments are easily enforceable in over 30 other jurisdictions, including the entire European Union and 5 other States on the basis of EU regulations, or bilateral or multilateral treaties. In addition to this, decisions of the NCC will, as a rule, be enforceable in (most states of) the United States, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.

Planning of the Netherlands Commercial Court

The Netherlands Commercial Court (NCC) will no longer be opening its doors on 1 January, 2017, as originally planned.

Addressing a question put to him by labour MP Jeroen Recourt and member of the Standing Committee for Security and Justice (vaste commissie voor Veiligheid en Justitie), Foort van Oosten MP stated that it was his “understanding that the NCC was to come into effect on 1 January 2017”, but that this deadline “would not be met”. He cited delays in the passing of the necessary legislation. These comments were made on 29 September 2016, during discussions between the Standing Committee for Security and Justice (vaste commissie voor Veiligheid en Justitie) and justice minister Ard van der Steur. A revised opening date was not stated, however according to the Dutch government’s legislative schedule, the Netherlands Commercial Court Act (Wet Netherlands Commercial Court) is slated to come into force on 1 January 2018.

Notwithstanding the delays in the launch of the NCC, support for the first fully English language commercial court in the Netherlands remains strong. The strong political support for the initiative is apparent from the discussions of the Standing Committee, with Christian Democrat Madeleine van Toorenburg MP underlining the importance of the NCC, in particular with the Brexit on its way. This was echoed by Mr Van Oosten, who cited the value of the NCC as a vehicle to promote the exemplary Dutch legal system and to attract litigation from other jurisdictions to the Netherlands. According to Mr Van Oosten, this is in keeping with the Netherlands’ history as a country with a tradition of international trade and an international legal profession.

The government is also committed to the project. Minister Van der Steur told the Standing Committee that he is strongly dedicated to the NCC initiative. According to the minister, the first draft of the bill has now been finalised and would soon be submitted to the Advisory Committee for Civil Procedure (Adviescommissie voor burgerlijk procesrecht) for comment before being tabled in parliament.