Background of the reason for a new form of faster litigation:
If a judge requires a swift assessment, summary proceedings can be initiated. Such proceedings can indeed take place very quickly, in exceptional cases even within a few hours, in the evenings and on weekends (!) if the urgent need is sufficiently acute.

However effective the summary proceedings may be, they remain provisional reviews. Especially in more complex cases, the legal system doesn't allow the judge in summary proceedings (officially: the interim relief judge) to make definitive decisions: the judge is not allowed to make constitutive decisions but is, in principle, limited to granting interim measures/interim relief.
Although the judge can go quite far in this regard, and tactical/smart litigation in summary proceedings can achieve considerable results, this limitation often proves problematic in practice. Consider, for example, the decision concerning a legal situation:
– a party has committed a breach of contract,
– there has been a breach of contract,
– a purchase has now not been legally concluded,
– is there or is there not a reason to exercise an option right,
– a summary dismissal is legally valid,
– etc.
In such cases, parties are forced to initiate substantive proceedings that do involve resolving legal issues. Understandably, these proceedings can be quite challenging: conducting substantive proceedings can sometimes take a long time, even if both parties actually want a quick resolution.

New: the abbreviated procedure:
In June 2019, the Amsterdam District Court's Commercial team will launch a new procedure: the abbreviated procedure.
This applies to "ordinary" commercial matters, including those before the subdistrict court. Both parties must be represented by a lawyer or professional representative.
The minimum interest is €5,000 and it cannot concern matters that are too complicated or of very large interest.

The abbreviated procedure is an intermediate form between summary proceedings and traditional substantive proceedings.
The abbreviated procedure is intended for substantive cases that do not require extensive witness hearings or expert investigations.
They are treated much the same as summary proceedings. However, according to the court, the case must be suitable for summary proceedings: hearings in summary proceedings are only possible upon request, and the court must grant that request.
Such a request is made using a special form so that it can be assessed quickly; the court will decide on such a request immediately.

Unlike summary proceedings, urgency is not a prerequisite for admission to the abbreviated procedure. Because it is a substantive case, not only judgments but also constitutive and declaratory judgments can be issued.

All parties must agree to the summary procedure.
Parties who would normally have to litigate before another competent court can jointly choose to bring the case before the Amsterdam District Court in abbreviated proceedings (forum selection).

The case will be scheduled for a hearing as soon as possible after receipt of the draft summons (appearance after answer). The defense to the claim must be submitted to the court and the plaintiff no later than two weeks before the hearing.
If no settlement is reached at the hearing, an oral ruling will be sought. If that is also not possible, a written judgment on the merits will be issued within a maximum of four weeks.

And quite important for legal practice: documents can be submitted by e-mail (and not just by post or fax)!

In summary, the essentials of the abbreviated procedure:

– only for cases brought before the Amsterdam court;
– only at the joint request of the parties involved;
– it must concern a case that does not require extensive witness hearings or expert investigations;
– the court must consider the case suitable for abbreviated handling;
– the request must be accompanied by a prepared (draft) summons;
– if the request is granted, the court will immediately (and after consultation with the parties) schedule an oral hearing;
– the defence must be submitted no later than 2 weeks before the oral hearing;
– the judge may already give an oral ruling at the oral hearing, otherwise a ruling will be given within a maximum of 4 weeks.

If you would like to know more about this or discuss a case for such an abbreviated procedure, please contact w.groustra@wintertaling.nl