The Future of Litigation in International Commercial Disputes
The Netherlands Commercial Court
You may ask yourself why this special feature of this magazine contains a contribution in English. Litigation before the Dutch courts is, after all, a purely national matter with Dutch as the written and spoken language. But this will change as we are about to witness the birth of the so-called Netherlands Commercial Court (NCC).
As the name suggests, this court will be dedicated to commercial and - more importantly, international (i.e. cross-border) - disputes. This will be achieved by establishing a special branch at the courts of Amsterdam by 1 January 2017, both at the District Court as well as the Appeal Court level. The NCC will consist of chambers of three judges who will adjudicate matters of commercial law in English, in an expedient matter supported by, inter alia, a digital process and on the basis of Dutch procedural law.
In addition to enabling proceedings in English, this will result in the creation of a specialized court for commercial and trade law. This is in line with the practice in other countries where commercial law disputes have long since been decided by specialized courts, such as the Commercial Court in England, the Tribunaux de commerce in France and the Handelsgerichte in various German- speaking countries.
Read the full article:
The Netherlands Commercial Court: the Future of Litigation in International Commercial Disputes
Published in:
Magna Charta, June 2016
