Authority

Netherlands - Central Authority (Art. 2) and practical information

Central Authority(ies):

1. the District Court in The Hague
2. For Aruba: The Attorney-General at Aruba of the Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba.

Contact details:
Address: The District Court in The Hague (Rechtbank Den Haag)
Team Administratie Civiel – Algemene Zaken
Postbus 20302
2500 EH THE HAGUE
Netherlands
Telephone: +31 88 36 12017
Fax: +31 88 36 10665
E-mail: evidence.convention.rb.den.haag@rechtspraak.nl
General website:  
Contact person: Ms Nelleke van der Valk
Languages spoken by staff:  Dutch, English

 

Practical Information
Blocking statutes:

Yes, there are two European instruments of this nature:

Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 of 22 November 1996 protecting against the effects of the extra-territorial application of legislation adopted by a third country, and actions based thereon or resulting therefrom (see, Article 5(1)).

Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (See, Art. 25(1)).

Chapter I
(Letters of Requests)
Transmission of Letters of Requests: Letters of Request are sent directly from a judicial authority in the requesting State to the Central Authority of the requested State.
Authority responsible for informing of the time and place of the execution of Letter of Request
(Art. 7):		 Judicial authority competent to execute the request.
Presence of judicial personnel at the execution of the Letter of Request (Art. 8): Declaration of applicability. See the Competent Authority.
Privileges and duties existing under the law of States other than the State of origin and the State of execution
(Art. 11):		 Declaration of applicability.
Translation requirements
Arts 4(2) and 33):

Letters of Request will be accepted in Dutch, German, English or French, or if they are accompanied by a translation into one of these languages.

The Netherlands does not undertake to translate documents for the execution of a Letter of Request.
Costs relating to execution of the Letters of Request
(Arts 14(2)(3) and 26):

Fees paid to experts and interpreters and costs occasioned by the use of a special procedure requested by the State of origin under Article 9, paragraph 2, of the Convention shall be borne by the State of origin.

The Netherlands will request that any State of origin which has made a request pursuant to paragraph 1 of Article 26 should reimburse the fees and costs to which this paragraph refers.
Time for execution: No information available.
Pre-trial discovery of documents
Art. 23):		 Letter of Request may be executed subject to certain conditions (qualified exclusion).
Information about domestic rules on the taking of evidence:  European Judicial Network in Civil or Commercial Matters - the Netherlands.

Witness examination under Chapter I
Should Letters of Request include specific questions to be used during witness examination or only a list of matters to be addressed? Under Dutch law, there is no requirement to provide a list of specific questions. However, it is considered beneficial for such a list to be presented along with the Letter of Request.
Is it a public or private hearing? Private hearing.
Do the judicial authorities "blue-pencil" Letters of Requests (i.e. rephrase, restructure and / or strike out objectionable questions or offensive wording so that a Letter of Request may be executed under the laws of the requested State)? No.
Is the witness provided in advance with a copy of the questions / matters to be addressed as contained in the Letter of Request? No.
Are documents produced by the witness authenticated by the court? No.
Is an oath generally administered to the witness? Yes.
Can the witness be made subject to further examination and recall? Yes, but a second request is necessary.
Are there sanctions for non-appearance of witness? The court may order a witness to be brought before the court. Also, the witness may be kept in custody for up to 1 year if he/she refuses to testify.
Must interpreters who assist with the witness examination be court-certified? Yes.
How is the testimony transcribed? The court makes a record of the court session and the testimony.

Chapter II
(Taking of evidence by diplomatic officers, consular agents and commissioners)
Article 15 Applicable. No prior permission is required.
Article 16 Applicable. No prior permission is required.
Article 17 Applicable. See Competent Authority.
Article 18 No declaration of applicability (i.e., a diplomatic officer, consular agent or commissioner may not apply for appropriate assistance to obtain evidence by compulsion).

Taking of evidence by video-links
(under either chapter)

Chapter I
Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? No.
Technology used: No information available.
Level of interpretation required: No information available.
Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: No information available.
Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? No information available.
Who pays for the interpretation? No information available.
How would a request for evidence be handled if witness not willing? No information available.

Chapter II
Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? No.
Technology used: No information available.
Level of interpretation required: No information available.
Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: No information available.
Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? No information available.
Who pays for the interpretation? No information available.

Other Information
Bilateral or multilateral agreements Council Regulation (EC) No. 1206/2001 of 28 May 2001 on cooperation between the courts of the Member States in the taking of evidence in civil or commercial matters.
Useful links:  
Competent authorities (Art. 8, 17) Art. 8: See here.
Art. 17: See here.
Additional authorities (Art. 24)  

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Conventions (incl. Protocols and Principles)