Arbitra International

This Practice Note considers the issues of arbitral jurisdiction in the Netherlands and discusses the options available to the party seeking to stop the court proceedings.IntroductionWhen court litigation is started in the Netherlands in breach of an arbitration agreement, Dutch law is generally very protective of arbitration. The main framework is Book 4 of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure (DCCP), which is also referred to as the Netherlands Arbitration Act.Challenging the jurisdiction of the courtChallenging the jurisdiction of the court is the primary and most effective mechanism for a party against whom court proceedings have been initiated contrary to the existence of an arbitration agreement.Articles 1022 DCCP (for Netherlands seated arbitrations) and 1074 DCCP (for foreign seated arbitrations) provide that the state court before which a dispute is brought must decide that it has no jurisdiction if a party timely invokes the existence of an arbitration agreement. The state courts will consider the arbitration agreement valid if it is valid either under

Enforcement of international (foreign) and domestic arbitration awards in the Netherlands, grounds for setting aside a domestic award, enforcing a foreign award, revocation, enforcement proceedings and grounds for refusal, enforcement pursuant to the ICSID Convention and limited grounds of challenge in accordance with the New York Convention

This Practice Note considers the availability of interim and/or emergency measures (relief) in support of arbitration proceedings under the law of the Netherlands, how to apply to the tribunal for relief, and types of remedies and relief that could be ordered by the tribunal. The Practice Note also considers applications to the courts in the Netherlands for interim/emergency relief and remedies in support of arbitration and the jurisdiction of the courts in the Netherlands.

The concept of state immunity in the Netherlands, immunity from suit and enforcement, exceptions to and waivers of immunity.