NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Sandra Verburgt, Petra Beishuizen and Ivo Janssens, Delissen Martens Advocaten
tual rights and obligations as provided for by the Dutch Civil Code. Such a contract is not subject to the Family Code. Registered Partnerships Registered partnerships do have a basis in the Family Code. Registration of partnership takes place by means of a deed of registration of partnership drawn up by the Registrar of Births, Deaths, Marriages and Registered Partnerships. Matrimonial property law and spousal mainte - nance law have been declared applicable in the same way as they apply to marriages. 2.7 Enforcement Court decisions dealing with matrimonial proper - ty law settlements and/or spousal maintenance are ordered to have immediate effect and there - fore such a decision is enforceable. The deci - sion can be served upon the spouse-debtor by a bailiff, with a request for compliance within a certain timeframe – failing which, the bailiff may take assets into custody or seize financial assets or the wage of the spouse-debtor. International enforcement without international treaty is only available if an exequatur has been obtained from the Dutch court. Following the Supreme Court judgment dated 26 September 2014 (ECLI:NL:HR:2014:2838) (“Gazprom”), the foreign decision will need to meet the following conditions: • the jurisdiction of the foreign court is based on a ground of jurisdiction that is generally acceptable by international standards; • the foreign decision was taken in legal proceedings that meet the requirements of proper and sufficiently safeguarded justice; • the decision is binding and can no longer be appealed against and, further, it can be enforced in the country of origin;
• the recognition of the foreign decision is not contrary to Dutch public policy; and • the foreign decision is not incompatible with: (a) a decision of the Dutch court granted to the same parties; or (b) a previous decision of a foreign court that was granted to the same parties in a dispute that concerns the same subject matter and is based on the same cause – provided said earlier decision is eligible for recognition in the Netherlands. The following terms apply where the financial order is subject to international regulations and conventions. • Matrimonial property settlement subject to EU Matrimonial Property Regulation – recognition and enforcement is available based on the regulation. • Spousal maintenance subject to the EU Maintenance Regulation – recognition and enforcement is available based on the regula - tion. • Spousal maintenance subject to the Lugano Convention 2007 – recognition and enforce - ment is available based on the convention. • Spousal maintenance subject to the Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Maintenance and Other Forms of Maintenance 2007 – recognition and enforce - ment of spousal support is only available if the request for recognition and enforcement is made simultaneously with the request for recognition and enforcement of child mainte - nance. 2.8 Media Access and Transparency In the Netherlands, all family law cases are heard in closed session. The court will decide whether other individuals may attend a hearing. Usu - ally, individuals other than the parties are only
224 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook