The Functioning of the European Small Claims Procedure in the Netherlands: Normative and Empirical Reflections

Nederlands Internationaal Privaatrecht 2013(3), p. 319-328

19 Pages Posted: 28 Sep 2013 Last revised: 1 Oct 2013

See all articles by Xandra E. Kramer

Xandra E. Kramer

Utrecht University - Faculty of Law; Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Erasmus School of Law

Elena Alina Ontanu

Tilburg University

Date Written: September 27, 2013

Abstract

The European small claims procedure was the first uniform adversarial procedure in the EU, introduced to increase the efficiency and to reduce the costs of cross-border small claims litigation in the Member States. The European Commission regards this procedure as an important potential contribution to access to justice in order to resolve small claims disputes. However, there are clear signs that this procedure is seldom used and the Commission seeks to improve its attractiveness. This paper focuses on the implementation and application of this European procedure in the Netherlands. Normative and empirical research has been conducted to assess how this procedure is embedded in the Dutch legal order and how it actually functions in practice and is perceived by the judiciary. The question is whether, from the Dutch perspective, this procedure meets the objectives of providing a simple, fast and low-cost alternative to existing national procedures, while respecting the right to a fair trial. The paper concludes with several recommendations for improvement.

Keywords: European small claims, Netherlands, access to justice, fair trial

JEL Classification: K41, K33, K12

Suggested Citation

Kramer, Xandra E. and Kramer, Xandra E. and Ontanu, Elena Alina, The Functioning of the European Small Claims Procedure in the Netherlands: Normative and Empirical Reflections (September 27, 2013). Nederlands Internationaal Privaatrecht 2013(3), p. 319-328, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2331927

Xandra E. Kramer (Contact Author)

Utrecht University - Faculty of Law ( email )

Janskerkhof 3
Utrecht, 3512 BK
Netherlands

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Erasmus School of Law ( email )

3000 DR Rotterdam
Netherlands

Elena Alina Ontanu

Tilburg University ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, DC Noord-Brabant 5000 LE
Netherlands

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