The first advice we give you is on your prospects of success

Supreme Court Litigation

BarentsKrans is one of a select group of law firms with an extensive and highly regarded cassation practice that goes back many years. Our cassation lawyers advise lawyers and their clients from both the Netherlands and abroad, and litigate before the Dutch Supreme Court in every area of civil law. Their experience includes the following:

Liability law
Employment Law
Construction law and real estate
Civil procedure
Contract law
Energy law
Financial law
Health law
Fundamental rights
Tenancy law
Intellectual property
Public international law
Corporate law (including director’s liability)
Public liability law

The work done by BarentsKrans has led to standard judgments of the Supreme Court in all these areas of law. See a number of sample cases (Dutch) that our cassation lawyers have litigated.

Our services consist of (i) giving cassation advice and litigating in cassation, (ii) conducting interim relief proceedings before the Supreme Court, (iii) advising on proceedings before the District Courts and the Courts of Appeal, including with a view to possible cassation proceedings, (iv) keeping track of and taking part in litigation following cassation and referral to the lower courts and (v) litigating matters referred to Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for a preliminary ruling.

Contact

Philip Fruytier

Attorney-at-Law Partner

Jan-Paul Heering

Attorney-at-Law Partner

Rieme-Jan Tjittes

Attorney-at-Law Partner

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Issuing cassation proceedings before the Supreme Court What are preliminary ruling proceedings?

Opinions on cassation and cassation proceedings

If you have received an unfavourable final judgment from a court deciding on questions of fact – usually a Court of Appeal – we can provide you with an opinion on cassation and assist you in the actual proceedings. Our cassation lawyers are usually engaged by the lawyer who handled the case on appeal. However, litigants sometimes contact us directly.

Given the time limit that applies to appealing a decision in cassation (usually three months in proceedings on the merits, eight weeks in interim relief proceedings and generally eight days in insolvency cases), you should lose no time in contacting one of our cassation lawyers about your case. In fact, the grounds for cassation should already have been elaborated in the originating procedural document.

Before an appeal in cassation can be filed, an opinion on cassation has to have been issued regarding the available options and chances of success in cassation proceedings. Not every case is suited to being appealed in cassation. In an opinion on cassation, our cassation lawyers explain whether there are any starting points for obtaining a ruling in your favour in cassation proceedings. An opinion on cassation may also relate to putting forward a defence in cassation, including the options for a cross-appeal in cassation (or a conditional one).

You can file an appeal in cassation if the opinion on it is favourable. The Supreme Court’s review in cassation is limited to whether the lower courts applied the law correctly and whether its decision was sufficiently reasoned. In principle, an appeal in cassation does not deal with the actual facts of the matter.

Assistance in preliminary ruling proceedings before the Supreme Court

Our cassation lawyers can also assist you with preliminary ruling proceedings before the Supreme Court. They then keep close track of the civil proceedings being conducted before the lower court and give advice on them. They can do so either beforehand (regarding the necessity and wording of any questions to be referred for a preliminary ruling) and/or afterwards (regarding the response to the Supreme Court decision and the way forward). The lawyer handling the case before the lower court or the Court of Appeal usually contacts our cassation lawyers in this regard. However, as a client you yourself can also contact one of the specialists listed below to discuss the options available to you.

“They understand without any difficulty very complex situations and subject matters”
Legal 500, 2022

“One client particularly appreciates Rieme-Jan Tjittes for his ability to “explain complex things in plain English”. He represents clients before the Dutch Supreme Court in a range of disputes, including multi-jurisdictional matters and criminal cases.”
Chambers Europe, 2022

“The team is very knowledgeable and experienced, and at the same time hands on and pragmatic.”
Legal 500, 2022

Advice during the fact-finding instances and after cassation and referral to the lower courts

Our cassation lawyers can advise you on litigating in fact-finding instances and, if required, can assist in preparing court documents. This increases the chances of success in fact-finding instances and prevents opportunities for cassation from being missed. Our cassation lawyers are actually already familiar with the case at this point, which generally reduces the cost of any opinion they provide on cassation.

They can also advise on the proceedings after a previous judgment has been set aside and the case has been referred back to the lower courts. After such referral, separate rules of procedure apply to the adjudication of the case. Our cassation lawyers can advise on how these rules and the Supreme Court’s decision can be used to your advantage. Assistance from a cassation lawyer following referral can help you avoid awkward hurdles in referral proceedings, such as complicated issues regarding the bounds of the legal dispute following cassation and referral to the lower courts, as well as on the introduction of fresh facts.

Assistance with references to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling

Separate legal expertise is required for references to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling. Such proceedings often deal with on complex questions of European law. Our cassation lawyers have outstanding experience in persuading the Supreme Court to decide legal questions in their clients’ favour. They therefore traditionally also litigate before the CJEU and are familiar with the separate procedural requirements that apply. Their expertise also puts them in a position to advise other lawyers during preliminary ruling proceedings.

Read more about preliminary ruling proceedings.

The cassation lawyers at BarentsKrans have a long-standing reputation and are ranked highly in the Chambers and Legal500: