There are 3 kinds of procedures in civil law: summons procedures, petition procedure and the resolution judge.
Summons procedure
In a summons procedure, you ask the judge to decide a conflict. The first step in this procedure is the summons. This is when you explain what the conflict is and what you want. The opposing party (‘defendant’) can then respond to the summons.
Petition procedure
In a petition procedure, you write a letter to the judge to ask him or her to do something. For example, you can ask the judge to confirm a divorce. The other person, or an interested party (someone who is affected by the case), can respond to the petition; the Dutch word for this response is verweer.
Both the summons procedure and the petition procedure are usually quite complex; they require extensive proceedings, called the ‘substantive proceedings’. If you need the judge to make a decision very soon, you can start an urgent procedure (‘preliminary relief proceedings’).
Resolution judge
Do you have a dispute or a payment problem? Are you unable to resolve the matter together, with community mediation or with another form of mediation or help? Perhaps the resolution judge can help. The resolution judge will work with you and the other party or parties to try and find a resolution.
