NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Yvette Borrius, Christine Vreede, Tiffany Zandbergen and Daphne Beunk, Florent B.V.
ducted with regard to the extent to which the latter may or may not maintain confidentiality. 5.6 Rules Disallowing Disclosure of a Document The request for the production of documents (exhibits) may be refused if there are compelling reasons not to provide them (see 5.3 Discovery in This Jurisdiction ), which may apply to trade secrets or certain confiden- tial information. The party that has the documents at its disposal may propose to provide the documents to the judge only, to assess the nature of the docu- ments first, or to blackline the sensitive parts in the documents before providing them to the applicant. The judge will, on a case-by-case basis, balance the interests of the claimant against the interests of the refusing party and decide the way in which the docu- ments, if any, are to be disclosed. Furthermore, a party in a “functional privileged” posi- tion, capacity or relationship bound by confidentiality (ie, medical professionals, religious leaders, lawyers and civil law notaries) may be discharged from the obligation to produce documents. Correspondence between lawyers may be disclosed, unless at least one of the involved lawyers has indi - cated otherwise before sending the first correspond- ence and the other involved lawyer has accepted such confidentiality obligations. Correspondence between lawyers on settlement negotiations cannot be dis- closed without the other party’s consent. 6. Injunctive Relief 6.1 Circumstances of Injunctive Relief In urgent matters, a party may request injunctive relief in summary proceedings (Section 254, DCCP). Sum- mary proceedings are not aimed at providing a final decision (eg, the annulment of an agreement cannot be provided in summary proceedings). The most com- mon remedies are orders to do something (eg, specific performance), orders to refrain from something and the order to pay a sum of money owed. The system of injunctive relief is an open one and, in principle, any injunction can be requested from the court insofar as it is temporary in nature, such as suspension of
the execution of a court ruling, imposing a ban and ordering the performance of an agreement (Section 3:296, DCC). Alternatively, a party may file a motion for injunctive relief at any stage of the pending proceedings on the merits (Section 223, DCCP). The injunction applies until a decision is reached in any proceedings on the merits of the case. As regards business law disputes, the Enterprise Court of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal may order far-reaching immediate relief if there are well-founded reasons to doubt a sound policy or a proper course of affairs within a company, or if immediate relief is required in connection thereto (eg, the temporary sus- pension of directors, appointment of interim directors, or transfer of shares to a nominee). 6.2 Arrangements for Obtaining Urgent Injunctive Relief A preliminary injunction hearing can take place every day – including Sundays – and at any hour, either inside or outside the courthouse. The court in pre- liminary relief proceedings determines the place, date and time of the hearing. If the urgency of the case so warrants, an oral hearing can take place within a few hours, followed by an oral judgment. The courts usu- ally provide a decision within two to four weeks. 6.3 Availability of Injunctive Relief on an Ex Parte Basis Ex parte applications under Dutch law are limited to pre-judgment attachments and the enforcement of intellectual property rights. An ex parte application for pre-judgment attach- ment can result in permission to arrest shares, claims (including bank accounts), movable and immovable property, ships, aircraft and other assets (Sections 711–729e, DCCP), but also evidence (Section 730 in conjunction with Section 843a, DCCP). These applications aim to prevent the removal of assets or documentary evidence. Applications for pre-judgment attachments on wages and several other periodic pay- ments (eg, pensions) are not administered on an ex parte basis.
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