Netherlands Commercial Court open for business
In 2017 we wrote a blog about the planned opening of a new commercial court in Amsterdam, the Netherlands Commercial Court (‘NCC’) [ link blog ]. With a small delay the NCC ((NCC District Court and NCC Court of Appeal (‘NCCA’)) has now officially been established. It launched at January 1st of this year and on March 8th the first judgement was already delivered, demonstrating its promised ability to “provide swift and firm guidance in complex litigation”.
The NCC procedures are designed to handle complex, international business disputes as swiftly and efficiently as possible. The NCC is built on the solid foundation of the Dutch judiciary, which is highly respected and ranked internationally for being the most efficient, reliable and transparent worldwide. It is based on the principles of accountability, transparent and stables laws, open government and accessible and impartial dispute resolution (for more information: https://worldjusticeproject.org/our-work/research-and-data/wjp-rule-law-index-2019).
The NCC and NCCA offers litigants the opportunity to litigate in English and will be able to give judgments in English. A matter may be submitted to NCC if parties have explicitly decided to litigate before the NCC.
A foreign lawyer can speak in the Netherlands Commercial Court; lawyers who are a member of the Bar in an EU or EEA Member State or Switzerland can perform the same duties as a Dutch lawyer as long as they work in conjunction with a member of the Dutch Bar.
In the case of its first judgement, the parties were based in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Ireland and in summary proceedings the NCC granted permission for pledged shares to be sold and transferred, instead of a public auction (article 3:251 of the Dutch Civil Code) because it agreed that the contemplated transaction would deliver the highest value for the pledged shares and facilitate the business’s recovery.
For more information about the judgement see the NCC website.
For more information on the procedure at the NCC in general, see the Rules of Procedure and the Explanotary Notes.
