NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Yvette Borrius, Christine Vreede, Tiffany Zandbergen and Daphne Beunk, Florent B.V.
those based on contraventions of consumer law, ideo- logically motivated class actions, breaches of environ- mental legislation, ESG matters, climate change litiga- tion and violations of the GDPR. In complex cases, the district court determines several litigation stages. Under the WAMCA, the collective action must have a sufficiently close connection to the Dutch jurisdiction. This is generally the case if: • the ad hoc foundation can make a plausible claim that the majority of persons whose interests the legal action aims to protect, have their habitual residence in the Netherlands; • the defendant against whom the legal action is directed is domiciled in the Netherlands and addi- tional circumstances suggest a sufficient connec- tion with the Netherlands; or • event(s) or circumstance(s) giving rise to the collec- tive action took place in the Netherlands. Insofar as collective (class) actions relate to events that took place before 15 November 2016, the previ- ous regime, WCA, will apply (and damages cannot be claimed under Article 3:305a of the DCC). Once the representative interest group obtains a declara- tory judgment, it is up to the individual group mem- bers to claim monetary compensation in individual proceedings. However, upon a positive judgment the representative interest group will typically enter into settlement negotiations with the defendant. Dutch law provides for court certification of damages in mass claim settlements (Collective Mass Claims Settlement Act, also known as WCAM), as further illuminated in 8. Settlement. Directive 2020/1828 The EU Directive 2020/1828 on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consum- ers (RAD) has been implemented in Dutch law in the form of the Representative Actions Directive Imple- mentation Act, which entered into force on 25 June 2023. On 13 July 2023, the Dutch Minister for Legal Protection issued the Decree on Qualified Entities for Cross-border Representative Actions. Altogether, these requirements largely align with the admissibil- ity requirements that already apply under the existing collective action regime (Article 3:305a DCC), supple-
menting these in some respects. Per mid 2025 (status 23 April 2025), six entities have been designated as QE to bring representative actions at a European level (SCCC, SDBN, STBYP, SOMI, ICAM and VEB). 3.8 Requirements for Cost Estimate Dutch attorneys are required, under the Rules of Pro- fessional Conduct of the Dutch Bar Association, to discuss the financial consequences of their engage- ment and of any legal action. Fee estimates are often used for well-defined procedural steps. The Netherlands does not provide for pre-trial pro- ceedings as such. In a pre-trial setting, parties may gather or secure evidence prior to proceedings by, for example, demanding inspection of or levying an attachment on documents or copies of documents, or by submitting a request for a provisional examination of witnesses or an expert report. The courts may also order parties to be present at a preliminary hearing, during which witnesses and experts may be heard. The Dutch legal system does allow parties to initi- ate interim actions and apply for injunctive relief once the dispute is brought before the court. Some interim actions must be put forward prior to all other (substan- tive) defences. Examples of interim actions are: 4. Pre-Trial Proceedings 4.1 Interim Applications/Motions
• motions contesting jurisdiction; • requests to implead a third party; • requests for joinder and intervention; • referral; • consolidation of cases; and • provision of security for litigation costs. 4.2 Early Judgment Applications
It is possible to request the court, via an appearance of the parties (which can be ordered at every stage of the proceedings, Section 87, DCCP) or by a proce- dural motion, to first render a decision regarding pre- liminary issues such as the period of prescription, the competence of the court, the production of (copies of) exhibits, or the applicable law. This is increasingly
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