Can a Dutch court issue an anti-suit injunction?

Dutch term: Anti-suit injunctie | Legal basis: Case law + 6:162 BW

An anti-suit injunction is a court order prohibiting a party from commencing or continuing proceedings in a foreign court. Dutch courts can, in principle, issue anti-suit injunctions through summary proceedings (kort geding) based on the general tort provision of article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code, but they do so only in exceptional circumstances.

Within the EU, the Court of Justice has severely limited anti-suit injunctions between EU member state courts (Turner v Grovit, Case C-159/02; West Tankers, Case C-185/07), holding that they are incompatible with the Brussels I framework of mutual trust. Outside the EU context, Dutch courts retain the theoretical power to issue anti-suit injunctions but exercise it very rarely.

Why it matters for international businesses

For international businesses facing parallel proceedings in different jurisdictions, the practical options under Dutch law are lis pendens applications under Brussels I Recast (within the EU) or urgent kort geding proceedings (outside the EU), rather than anti-suit injunctions.