Civil procedural law deals with proceedings in civil cases. You will come into contact with this if a lawsuit is started on the basis of a summons or a petition. It includes all the rules relating to legal proceedings. Think about the way in which a dispute must be instituted, the method of litigation and the requirements for procedural documents.

Civil procedural law has an immense number of rules. For this reason, compulsory legal representation applies in most civil cases. This means that citizens and companies are obliged to hire a lawyer during proceedings.

Do you want to start proceedings? Or have you received a summons? Our lawyers will be happy to help you. Our lawyers specialise in civil procedural law and can provide you with excellent assistance during the legal proceedings.

What we do in civil proceedings

• Assessing a claim, or a summons you have received, before you commit to litigation
• Drafting summonses, petitions, statements of defence and counterclaims
• Representation at hearings before the subdistrict court, the district court and the court of appeal
• Summary proceedings (kort geding) when a matter cannot wait for a full case
• Prejudgment attachment to secure a claim before judgment is given
• Enforcement of a judgment, and defence against enforcement
• Settlement negotiations and mediation as an alternative to a hearing

How a civil case runs

Most disputes begin with a summons (dagvaarding); some matters, such as many employment and family cases, begin with a petition (verzoekschrift). The other party responds in writing, the court in most cases calls the parties to a hearing, and judgment follows. An appeal against a judgment in civil proceedings must normally be lodged within three months; in summary proceedings the term is four weeks. Those periods are strict, so it is worth having a judgment reviewed as soon as it arrives.

When a lawyer is compulsory

Claims up to €25,000, together with employment, tenancy, consumer credit and hire-purchase disputes, are heard by the subdistrict court (kantonrechter), where you are allowed to appear yourself. Above that amount the case goes to the district court, and there representation by a lawyer is compulsory under the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure. In cassation before the Supreme Court, only a lawyer admitted to the Supreme Court bar may act.

What it costs

We give you an estimate before we start, based on the file and on the route the case is likely to take, and we tell you when a further step would change it. On top of our fee you pay a court fee (griffierecht), which depends on the amount claimed and on whether you are a private individual or a company, and the bailiff’s charges for serving documents. The losing party is normally ordered to contribute to the other side’s costs on a fixed scale, which rarely covers the full fee.