When is Judgment Given?

The Term for Receiving Judgment

After the last procedural act, the court will determine the period within which judgment will be given. The court often aims to give a judgment within six weeks, but in practice, this period may be extended. Postponement of a judgment is also called a stay of the proceedings.

No Judgment is Given

In same cases, a case may end without a court decision being given, for example:

• If the bailiff withdraws the proceedings;
• If an agreement is reached through mediation;
• When the parties reach a settlement.

If an agreement is reached, the court may record the agreements made in a judgment, if the parties so desire. Recording by the court of the agreements in an official report results in an entitlement to enforcement. This ensures that the agreements are subject to immediate execution. In other words, what has been recorded in an official report with regard to the settlement has the same effect as the judgment of the court.

Judgment is Given

At the end of the hearing, the court will announce when judgment will be given. This judgment is sent to the lawyers of both parties by post. Nowadays, (nearly) all judgments are also published on the website of the Judiciary. This is always done in an anomymised form.

Judgment

In the judgment, the court will explain why it has reached its decision, and whether the claimant’s claim will be allowed or denied. The motivation of this decision is set out in the judgment.

In addition, the court may decide that the judgment is "provisionally enforceable". This means that the judgment may be executed immediately, even if an appeal is brought or other legal remedies are exercised. The party who has been found against will in that case have to comply with the judgment immediately, without being able to wait for any new assessment of the case on appeal.

Payment of the Costs of the Opposing Party

The court may decide that the party who has been found against will have to bear part of the other party’s legal costs. This means, for example, that the party found against will often be ordered to reimburse the court fee paid by the other party. In addition, part of the lawyer’s fees of the opposing party must be reimbursed.

The reimbursement of the lawyer’s fees is based on a points system. The more acts the proceedings require, such as submitting documents or attending hearings, the more points are allocated. Each points represents a fixed amount. The final reimbursement of the lawyer’s fees is therefore a fixed amount and does not necessarily cover the actual costs of the lawyer. Only in exceptional cases can the court decide that all of the actual lawyer’s costs have to be reimbursed.