Doing Business in the Netherlands 2012 - American Chamber of ...

24 Dispute Resolution
24.1 Jurisdiction
In the Netherlands, the civil and criminal judiciary comprises 19
district courts (with cantonal branches), five courts of appeal and the
Supreme Court. The district courts have general jurisdiction in the
first instance over civil law disputes, administrative disputes and
criminal cases, which are all judged by separate branches of the
district courts. Judges in principle are professional judges and
appointed for life.
As per 1 July 2011, the jurisdiction of the cantonal divisions was
extended. In civil and commercial cases, the cantonal branches of the
courts are now concerned with first instance claims up to EUR25,000
regardless of the cause of the claim (formerly: EUR5,000) . The
cantonal branches of the district courts also have jurisdiction over
disputes regarding employment law, agency and lease, and since 1
July 2011, also consumer purchases and consumer credit.
The civil branches of the district courts essentially hear all other civil
and commercial first instance claims. The judgments given by both
the civil branches and the cantonal branches of the district courts may
be appealed before a court of appeal. The court of appeal fully
reassesses the case, both factually and legally.
A judgment given by the court of appeal may, in principle, be
submitted for review or cassation before the Supreme Court of the
Netherlands on issues of law only. The Supreme Court will, therefore,
not decide on any factual issues. A submission for cassation to the
Supreme Court may be brought on grounds of non-compliance with
formal requirements (for instance, if a court fails to give adequate
reasons for its judgment) or breach of the law, but not a breach of any
foreign law.
The Dutch Supreme Court and lower courts have no authority to
examine statutes for compliance with the Dutch Constitution
254 Baker & McKenzie