International Law

A JOINDER BETWEEN PARTIES IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN

By Karel.Frielink

An interest must be proved

When two parties are involved in legal proceedings a third party may request permission to join the proceedings thereby to joining with one party in raising defense against the other (?voeging?). Alternatively, a third party may request permission to intervene (’tussenkomen‘) in pending proceedings, in which case neither party is joined.

The Dutch Supreme Court (May 3, 1957, NJ 1959, nr. 62) ruled that a joinder between parties in pending proceedings may only be sustained if the party requesting the joinder have an evident interest in supporting one of the parties? positions, and thus in protecting its own rights or legal position, whereby a decision against the party being supported would be detrimental to the requesting party. This requirement applies to proceedings on the merits (cf. also Supreme Court, May 22, 1992, NJ 1992, nr. 512).

In case of interlocutory proceedings (a.k.a. preliminary relief proceedings), other (broader) standards may, in principle, be observed, since i) interlocutory proceedings are by nature of a less formal character and ii) in interlocutory proceedings there is no question of the establishment of rights. In other words: a joinder sustained in interlocutory proceedings does not imply that a request for joinder by the same intervener in proceedings on the merits between the original parties also qualifies to be granted. Such a request shall be reviewed on its own merits.

The rationale of a joinder is to resolve several disputes in a single legal case where more proceedings would otherwise have been necessary to resolve them. Regarding these disputes the intervener should at least be considered  to have a case if he were to institute proceedings (independently) and it may not be known in advance that his claims will fail. If his case were to be declared inadmissible and/or it were to be known in advance that his claims would fail, then he may not be admitted as party to the procedure at hand between other parties.

Karel Frielink
Attorney (Lawyer) / Partner

Full post as published by Karel's Legal Blog on October 28, 2008 (boomark / email).