Application to Set Aside a Judgment, Appeal and Cassation

Application to Set Aside a Judgment

A default judgment cannot be opposed by bringing an appeal. Instead, the party who failed to appear and has been declared in default of appearance as a result, may reopen the case through proceedings to set aside a default judgment. This is done by issuing a writ of summons containing an application to set aside the judgment to the original claimant who has obtained the default judgment. The proceedings to set aside a default judgment are dealt with by the same court that earlier pronounced the default judgment. In the writ of summons containing an application to set aside a judgment, the defendant can oppose the original claim, which gives this party the opportunity to submit its arguments to the court.

Bringing proceedings to set aside a default judgment does not suspend execution of the default judgment. This means that the defendant, despite the pending application to set aside the judgment, remains obliged to comply with the default judgment, as long as the judgment has been declared provisionally enforceable.

Appeal

If a party disagrees with the judgement of the court, this party can bring an appeal. In principle, the case will then be reassessed in its entirety, both factually and legally, by the Court of Appeal. This appeal must be brought within three months after judgment was given. A pro forma appeal summons, in which the arguments against the judgment are not yet elaborated in full, may be issued within this period. This gives the party more time to prepare the file and submit the exact grounds of the appeal at a later time. When bringing an appeal, the intervention of a lawyer is mandatory. See the page appeal for more information.

Cassation

If a party disagrees with the ruling of the Court of Appeal, that party may appeal to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands within three months. An appeal in cassation is a request to the Supreme Court to set aside the ruling of the Court of Appeal. In this case, the question of whether the law was applied correctly is the only issue that is assessed. This means that the Supreme Court does not look at the factual circumstances of the case, but only looks for possible legal errors. In the case of cassation proceedings, the assistance of specialised cassation lawyers is always mandatory.