NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Eva Schothorst-Gransier, Claims Made Advocatuur
2.11 Appeal Mechanisms for Product Liability Claims Parties are allowed to appeal within three months at the Court of Appeal. One can also appeal at the Supreme Court, for which a term of three months also applies. Shorter terms apply for interlocutory proceedings. 2.12 Defences to Product Liability Claims According to the current Article 6:185 of the DCC, the following statutory defences regarding strict liability are available to the manufacturer: • they did not put the product on the market; • with regard to the circumstances, it is likely that the defect that caused the damage did not exist at the time the product was put on the market or that the defect occurred after - wards; • the product was neither manufactured by the manufacturer for sale or any form of distribu - tion for economic purposes nor manufactured or distributed by them in the course of their professional practice or business; • the defect was due to compliance of the product with mandatory regulations issued by the public authorities; • the state of scientific and technical knowl - edge at the time the product was put on the market was not such that the existence of a defect could be discovered ( “state-of-the-art defence” ) and • in the case of a component that the defect was attributable to, the design of the prod - uct in which the component was fitted or to the instructions given by the producer of the parts.
The new PLD introduces the presumption of defect and/or causal link under certain condi - tions. Res Ipsa Loquitur In cases of incidental product failure, defective - ness can be presumed under this doctrine. Batch Liability In the Boston Scientific case of 5 March 2015 ( ECLI:EU:C:2015:148 ) involving pacemakers and defibrillators implanted in patients, the Euro - pean Court of Justice introduced the principle of “batch liability” : “Where it is found that such products belonging to the same group, or form- ing part of the same production series, have a potential defect, products within that batch may be classified as defective without needing to prove the defect in the particular product in question” . In the same judgment, the Court ruled that compensation of damages includes the costs relating to replacing the defective product, provided that such replacement is required to overcome the defect in the product in question. Batch liability is adopted in the new PLD. 2.10 Courts in Which Product Liability Claims Are Brought Civil Court Product liability claims in the Netherlands are normally brought before one of the eleven Dis - trict Courts. The cantonal court is competent for claims with a maximum quantum of EUR25,000. The relative jurisdiction of a specific court depends on factors such as where the harmful event occurred or where the defendant is domi - ciled. Judges Cases are decided by judges. The Dutch legal system is not familiar with juries.
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