Yes, most disputes in the Netherlands can be resolved without a court judgment: through a demand letter and notice of default, mediation, binding advice (bindend advies) or arbitration. The main exception is when something has to stop immediately or the other party simply does not respond; then summary proceedings (kort geding) before the court are usually the faster route.
目次
効果的な要求書とはどのようなものか？
ほとんどの紛争は裁判ではなく、書簡のやり取りで解決します。効果的な書簡は具体的です。合意内容、履行されていない事項、要求事項、そして期限を明確に記載しましょう。
Where a payment or performance is overdue, a notice of default (ingebrekestelling) sets a final deadline and creates the legal position from which you can later claim damages or dissolve the agreement (Article 6:82 of the Dutch Civil Code, BW). It is the cheapest step in the whole process, and the one most often skipped.
調停はどのような場合に効果を発揮するのか？
調停では、公平な調停人があなたと相手方が合意に達するよう支援します。何も強制されることはなく、合意内容は和解契約書に記録され、それが契約として拘束力を持ちます。
Mediation works well where you have a relationship worth preserving – commercial partners, employer and employee, co-parents – and where each side is able to state and defend its own interests. It works less well where there is a serious imbalance of power, where one party has no insight into the facts, or where you need a precedent rather than a settlement. Confidentiality is part of the appeal: in the mediation agreement both parties undertake that what is said in mediation stays there. A settlement reached in mediation is usually laid down in a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst) under Article 7:900 BW.
拘束力のあるアドバイス（バインドアドバイス）とは何ですか?
Under a binding advice, you and the other party ask a third party to decide the dispute and agree in advance to be bound by that decision. It is contractual rather than judicial: the outcome binds because you agreed it would, and under Article 7:904 BW a court will set it aside only where being bound would be unacceptable by standards of reasonableness and fairness, for example because the procedure was seriously defective.
It is fast and informal, and it suits technical valuation disputes and the consumer complaints boards of De Geschillencommissie. It does not itself produce a title you can enforce directly; enforcement still requires the court.
なぜ契約書には仲裁条項が含まれるのか？
Arbitration is a private tribunal that issues a binding award; Dutch arbitration is governed by Book 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Rv), starting with the arbitration agreement in Article 1020 Rv. Parties choose it where they want a specialist decision-maker, confidentiality, or an award that is enforceable across borders under the New York Convention – the last being the main reason most international contracts contain an arbitration clause.
The trade-offs are real: arbitration is usually more expensive than a first-instance court case, and there is no appeal on the merits unless the parties agreed on arbitral appeal (Articles 1061a-1061l Rv). The state court can only set an award aside on limited grounds (Articles 1064-1068 Rv). An arbitration clause is a choice made when the contract is signed, so it is worth reading before it is needed rather than after.
略式手続き（kort geding）はどのような場合に役立ちますか？
Where something has to stop now – a continuing breach, an unlawful publication, an unpaid invoice threatening your business – summary proceedings under Articles 254-260 Rv can produce an enforceable order from the preliminary relief judge (voorzieningenrechter) within weeks, sometimes days.
You must show an urgent interest, and the judgment is provisional: either party can still start proceedings on the merits. It is still court litigation, but it is fast, and the pressure it creates frequently produces a settlement before judgment is even given.
最適なルートを選ぶにはどうすれば良いでしょうか？
Three questions settle it, and the third comes first in practice. Do you need speed, a preserved relationship, or a precedent? Is the dispute about facts and figures, or about the interpretation of a contract? And what does the contract already say – an arbitration clause or a designated complaints board may have made the choice for you.
What can we do for you with resolving a dispute?
現場の声を力強いメッセージへ。 民事弁護士 help you pick the route that fits your dispute and then take it.
- We read your contract for an arbitration clause, binding-advice clause or complaints board before you take any step.
- We draft the demand letter and the notice of default with a clear final deadline.
- We prepare you for mediation and draft the settlement agreement that records the outcome.
- We conduct arbitration and binding-advice proceedings, or challenge an award or advice that is unacceptable.
- We start summary proceedings when something has to stop immediately.
製品概要
- 履行が遅れている場合は、不履行通知を含む正確な催告書を作成することで、ほとんどの紛争は解決し、費用も最小限に抑えられます。
- 調停は、関係を維持する価値があり、双方がそれぞれの利益を主張できる紛争に適している。
- 拘束力のある助言は、迅速かつ非公式な契約上の結果をもたらすが、それ自体で法的強制力のある権利を生み出すものではない。
- Arbitration gives a specialist, confidential and cross-border enforceable award, at a higher cost and usually without an appeal on the merits.
- 略式手続きは、事態を直ちに停止する必要がある場合に用いられる手段であり、多くの場合、判決前に和解に至る。
よくある質問
調停合意は法的拘束力を持つのか？
The settlement you reach in mediation binds you as a contract once both parties sign it, usually as a settlement agreement under Article 7:900 BW. Until then, either party can walk away.
Can I still go to court if my contract has an arbitration clause?
In principle no: the state court must declare itself without jurisdiction if the other party relies on the arbitration agreement before putting forward any other defence (Article 1022 Rv). Summary proceedings for urgent measures often remain possible.
How quickly can summary proceedings produce a decision?
Usually within a few weeks of the summons, and in very urgent cases within days. The judgment is provisional, so a case on the merits can follow.
