Litigation law firm in the Netherlands

Q: How quickly can you obtain a first court decision in the Netherlands?

In summary proceedings (kort geding), a first-instance judgment is usually delivered within two to four weeks after the hearing, which is typically scheduled within two to four weeks of filing. In full proceedings on the merits, a first-instance judgment at the District Court level usually takes twelve to eighteen months. For urgent matters we almost always start with kort geding.

Q: What does pre-judgment attachment cost, and how quickly can it be obtained?

A pre-judgment attachment (conservatoir beslag) is typically obtained within one to three working days after instruction. The direct costs include a modest court fee and bailiff charges for serving the attachment. Legal fees depend on the complexity of the underlying claim, but for a straightforward attachment they are limited because the court procedure is short and ex parte.

MAAK Advocaten is a litigation law firm in Amsterdam representing international businesses in commercial disputes before Dutch courts, the Netherlands Commercial Court, and in domestic and international arbitration. Our litigation practice sits at the core of the firm and is built around commercial contracts, product liability, and supply chain disputes.

Most commercial disputes do not end in court. They end in a settlement, a payment, a negotiated exit, or a quiet withdrawal by the counterparty once the legal position becomes clear. The role of a good litigation firm is not to take every matter to judgment. It is to make sure that the client reaches the outcome they want, on the terms they can live with, as quickly as the facts allow. That is the measure by which we want our litigation practice to be judged.

When litigation is unavoidable, Dutch civil procedure offers foreign clients a relatively efficient and predictable system. Cases run on a mostly written procedure, timelines at first instance are in the range of twelve to eighteen months, and the Netherlands Commercial Court handles international commercial cases fully in English. Two Dutch instruments, summary proceedings (kort geding) and pre-judgment attachment (conservatoir beslag), frequently make the difference between a dispute that drags on for years and a dispute that resolves within weeks.

What we litigate in the Netherlands

Our litigation caseload reflects the commercial focus of the firm. We act for manufacturers, importers, distributors, commercial agents and their trading partners, and the disputes we handle typically arise out of the contracts, products and supply chains that define their businesses.

Recurring matters in our litigation practice include:

Breach of contract claims under Dutch law, including non-performance, late delivery, defective goods, and unpaid invoices
Termination and rescission disputes (ontbinding, opzegging, vernietiging) and post-termination claims
Distribution, agency and franchise disputes, including commercial agent goodwill claims under article 7:442 of the Dutch Civil Code
International sale of goods disputes, including CISG claims and forum and choice-of-law arguments
Product liability and product compliance enforcement, including recalls and actions brought under the Product Liability Directive
Supply chain disputes between manufacturers, importers and distributors
Commercial debt collection and enforcement actions against Dutch-based debtors
Pre-judgment attachments and enforcement of Dutch and foreign judgments and arbitral awards
Regulatory litigation and enforcement actions by market surveillance authorities (NVWA, RDI, ILT, NLA, Douane), including administrative objection and appeal proceedings
Greenwashing claims and ESG-related disputes
Evidence seizure (bewijsbeslag) and exhibitie procedures for securing and obtaining evidence before or during proceedings

We do not handle criminal cases, family matters, or pure administrative disputes. We do handle commercial matters that sit at the intersection of Dutch law, EU regulation and international trade, which is where most of our clients live.

Summary proceedings and pre-judgment attachment in the Netherlands

Two Dutch litigation tools deserve special mention, because they are often the reason foreign clients come to us for a Dutch-law dispute rather than handling it in their home jurisdiction.

Summary proceedings, or kort geding, are accelerated court proceedings designed to deliver a first-instance judgment within weeks rather than months. They are used when a client needs urgent relief: a payment order on an undisputed invoice, an injunction to stop an unlawful act, a ruling on the enforceability of a contractual obligation, or interim protection while a full proceeding is being prepared. A summary judgment is not a final decision on the merits, but in practice it often ends the dispute because neither party has an incentive to continue fighting after the preliminary ruling is in.

Pre-judgment attachment, or conservatoir beslag, allows a creditor to freeze a counterparty's Dutch assets on short notice, without prior warning to the debtor, on the basis of a relatively light threshold of plausibility (summierlijk onderzoek). Bank accounts, receivables, inventory, real property and movable assets can all be frozen. The creditor then has a short window to initiate substantive proceedings to validate the attachment. In practice, many disputes settle shortly after an attachment is in place, because the debtor suddenly has a very concrete reason to negotiate. For international clients dealing with a Dutch counterparty that is refusing to pay or trying to dissipate assets, conservatoir beslag is often the single most effective step that can be taken. See also our practical guide on how to obtain a pre-judgment attachment.

The Netherlands Commercial Court and international proceedings

The Netherlands Commercial Court, established in 2019, conducts commercial proceedings fully in English. For international parties who would otherwise face the practical overhead of Dutch-language court submissions and certified translations, the NCC removes a significant layer of friction.

The NCC is suitable for substantial international commercial disputes where the parties have agreed to its jurisdiction, either in the contract itself or by subsequent agreement. Its procedure is closer to international commercial litigation practice than classic Dutch civil procedure, with a more active role for the judge in case management. Filing fees are higher than in the regular Dutch courts, reflecting the specialised nature of the court and the size of the disputes it handles, but for cross-border matters with substantial amounts in issue, the economics usually work in the client's favour. See also our glossary entry on forum selection and the NCC.

For disputes that should be resolved by arbitration rather than court, we act in proceedings under NAI, ICC, UNCITRAL and ad hoc rules. We also handle the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in the Netherlands under the New York Convention, and the enforcement of Dutch judgments in other jurisdictions.

Regulatory litigation in the Netherlands

In addition to civil commercial disputes, MAAK Advocaten handles administrative enforcement actions brought by Dutch and EU market surveillance authorities. Regulatory litigation is a growing part of the practice, driven by increased enforcement activity across product safety, environmental compliance and digital regulation.

We represent clients in objection and appeal proceedings against decisions by the NVWA, RDI, ILT, NLA, Douane and the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP). These proceedings follow administrative law procedure and require a combination of legal and technical argumentation. We also advise clients on the strategic use of market surveillance authorities against non-compliant competitors: filing well-documented complaints with the right authority can be an effective way to level the playing field when a competitor is undercutting on price by ignoring regulatory obligations.

How we run a litigation

Litigation is one of the few areas of legal work where the distance between the decision-maker at the client and the lawyer handling the case really matters. A good litigation strategy needs the client's commercial priorities to shape every significant step, and the lawyer needs the authority and the knowledge of the client's business to act on those priorities in real time.

For that reason, the lawyer leading a matter at MAAK Advocaten is the lawyer the client speaks to directly, not a partner who attends the first meeting and then hands the file down a chain. Written submissions are drafted by the same lawyer who will stand up in court, correspondence is handled by the same person, and strategic decisions are discussed with the client as they arise rather than summarised after the fact.

Before any litigation starts, we discuss with the client what the matter is likely to cost, how long it is likely to take, what the realistic outcomes look like, and what the alternatives to litigation are, including mediation and settlement. No mandate is accepted without that conversation. We work on fixed fees where the scope allows, on hourly rates where it does not, and on hybrid arrangements where a defined budget with a variable element makes more sense. Fees are agreed in advance as described on our lawyer fees page, and we flag any development that would change the budget before we incur additional time.

Our experience in Dutch commercial litigation

In our practice we regularly act in breach of contract claims, distribution and agency termination disputes, product liability defence, supply chain disputes and commercial debt collection before Dutch courts. Our caseload includes pre-judgment attachments used as leverage in cross-border collection matters, summary proceedings (kort geding) for urgent contractual and injunctive relief, full merits litigation before the regular District Courts, and international commercial disputes at the Netherlands Commercial Court in English. We coordinate regularly with foreign counsel on multi-jurisdictional matters and handle the Dutch-law side of cases where the main proceedings are running elsewhere. The litigation practice is led by Sander van Someren Gréve.

Languages and working style

Our litigation practice operates in Dutch, English and German. Court submissions before regular Dutch courts are filed in Dutch, as procedural rules require, but we prepare all internal work product and client-facing materials in the client's working language. Before the Netherlands Commercial Court, the entire proceeding runs in English. For German-speaking clients, we handle correspondence, strategy sessions and witness preparation in German.

Fees are agreed in advance as described on our lawyer fees page. If you are facing a commercial dispute that involves the Netherlands, a Dutch counterparty, or Dutch law, an early conversation with us costs nothing and usually saves time later. We are happy to give a first assessment of the position before any engagement is in place. Read more about MAAK Advocaten.

Call +31 20 210 31 38, email mail@maakadvocaten.nl, or visit our contact page. MAAK Advocaten is based at Kraanspoor 34, 1033 SE Amsterdam.

Frequently Asked Questions

How quickly can you obtain a first court decision in the Netherlands?

In summary proceedings (kort geding), a first-instance judgment is usually delivered within two to four weeks after the hearing, which is typically scheduled within two to four weeks of filing. In full proceedings on the merits, a first-instance judgment at the District Court level usually takes twelve to eighteen months. For urgent matters we almost always start with kort geding.

Can we litigate in English in the Netherlands?

Yes, at the Netherlands Commercial Court in Amsterdam, which conducts proceedings fully in English for international commercial disputes where the parties have agreed to its jurisdiction. In the regular Dutch courts, procedural rules require submissions in Dutch, but we prepare all client-facing materials and strategy discussions in English.

What does pre-judgment attachment cost, and how quickly can it be obtained?

A pre-judgment attachment (conservatoir beslag) is typically obtained within one to three working days after instruction. The direct costs include a modest court fee and bailiff charges for serving the attachment. Legal fees depend on the complexity of the underlying claim, but for a straightforward attachment they are limited because the court procedure is short and ex parte. We can usually give a fixed fee for the attachment phase on request.