Delilleri inceleme hakkı: Hollanda'daki hukuk davalarında neler talep edebilirsiniz?

The right to inspect evidence lets a party to a Dutch civil dispute demand access to specific data held by the other party or by a third party. Since 1 January 2025 it is governed by Articles 194 to 195a of the Code of Civil Procedure (Wetboek van Burgerlijke Rechtsvordering, Rv), which replaced Article 843a Rv; the holder may refuse on grounds of professional privilege or other compelling reasons.

You can ask the holder directly or ask the court, and the right covers e-mail, chat and databases as much as paper. This article explains what you can demand, from whom, on what conditions and when a request can be refused.

What does the right to inspect evidence cover?

It is a targeted right to see, copy or receive an extract of identified data about a legal relationship you are party to. Dutch law has no American-style discovery: there is no general duty to open your files to your opponent.

The right supports a broader duty. Under Article 21 Rv parties must state the relevant facts fully and truthfully, and if they do not, the court may draw the conclusion it considers appropriate. Inspection is the tool that prevents a case from being decided on the half of the record one side found convenient to disclose.

Inspection under the Rv is not a data subject access request under Article 15 GDPR, which concerns your own personal data, nor a request under the Open Government Act (Wet open overheid, Woo), which concerns public information. Under Article 194(4) Rv the inspection rules do not apply to a party’s own personal data; that goes through the GDPR route.

1 Ocak 2025'da ne değişti?

The Act on the simplification and modernisation of the law of evidence (Wet vereenvoudiging en modernisering bewijsrecht, Stb. 2024, 62) entered into force on 1 January 2025. The transitional rules in that Act determine whether a running case falls under the old or the new rules, so check this first in a long-running matter.

• Data instead of documents. The law now refers to gegevens (data) instead of bescheiden (documents). E-mail, Teams or Slack messages, database records, log files and metadata are clearly covered.
• Üçüncü taraflar. Article 195a Rv lets the court order a third party that holds the data, such as a bank, accountant or former IT supplier, to provide it.
• Kamu kuruluşları. Under Article 194(3) Rv a public body that is not party to the legal relationship need not provide information it could withhold under the Woo.
• Combined preliminary measures. Under Article 196 Rv a preliminary witness examination, expert report and site inspection can be requested together.
• Protecting evidence. Evidentiary attachment (bewijsbeslag) is codified in Articles 205 and 206 Rv, and Article 207 Rv allows a bailiff, with leave of the court, to record his own observations in an official report.

Which conditions must your request meet?

Three conditions apply cumulatively under Article 194(1) Rv. A request that fails one of them fails altogether.

• Yasal bir ilişki. The data must concern a legal relationship you are party to; this includes a relationship arising from a tort.
• Specified data. The data must be identifiable. “All correspondence over five years” is not enough; e-mails between two named people about one contract in a defined period are.
• Sufficient interest. You must explain why the material matters for your legal position. Courts refuse many requests on this point.

In practice you specify data along three axes: who held or sent it, over what period and on what subject. For large volumes, search terms agreed in advance or set by the court are now the normal method. Under Article 194(1) Rv the requesting party bears the costs of providing the data.

Should you ask out of court or ask the court?

Both routes are available, and you do not have to try the first before the second. Under Article 194 Rv you ask the holder directly; under Article 195 Rv (against the other party) or Article 195a Rv (against a third party) you ask the court.

A precise written request with a reasonable deadline often produces the material within weeks. If it does not, the correspondence shows the court that your request was specific and reasonable. The court then sets the conditions, method and deadline for production (Article 195(2) Rv) and may require an advance on the costs. It can attach a penalty payment (dwangsom) under Article 611a Rv and shape the order, for example by allowing redaction, limiting access to named advisers or appointing an independent expert.

The court will not rewrite a vague request for you. And an inspection request does not stop the limitation period: interrupt it separately with a written notice under Article 3:317 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW).

When can inspection be refused?

Under Article 194(2) Rv the holder may refuse if they have a right of non-disclosure under Article 165(2) Rv or if compelling reasons (gewichtige redenen) oppose disclosure. The main grounds are established in practice.

• Mesleki ayrıcalık. Correspondence with your advocate, notary or doctor is protected; you cannot obtain through inspection what you could not obtain by calling that professional as a witness. Close relatives are protected in a similar way.
• Ticari sırlar. The Trade Secrets Protection Act (Wet bescherming bedrijfsgeheimen) protects source code, pricing models and similar information. The court usually orders disclosure under conditions rather than refusing outright. See our article on rekabet etmeme maddesinin ihlali ve ticari sırlar.
• Orantılılık. A request can be refused if the cost and effort are out of all proportion to what the data adds.
• Personal data of others. Producing data on identifiable people is processing under the GDPR and needs justification; special categories such as health data face stricter rules. See our article on biyometrik verilerin işlenmesi.
• Abuse and the Woo. A request can be refused as abuse of procedure, and a public body that is not involved can rely on Article 194(3) Rv.

How do you secure evidence before it disappears?

With leave of the preliminary relief judge (voorzieningenrechter) under Article 205 Rv, a bailiff can attach documents, devices and data carriers or make forensic copies. The material is placed with a neutral custodian.

An evidentiary attachment freezes the material; it does not give you access. To see it you need a separate inspection order under Article 195 Rv, and the other side is heard on that question. Leave for the attachment is usually granted without hearing the other side; access never is.

Preliminary evidence measures under Article 196 Rv serve to establish facts before or without a full trial: a witness examination before memories fade, or a neutral expert report on a technical question. Since 1 January 2025 these can be combined with each other in one application.

What if the evidence is abroad?

Within the EU, Regulation (EU) 2020/1783 on the taking of evidence, applicable since 1 July 2022, lets a Dutch court ask a court in another member state to take evidence, or take it directly in some cases. Outside the EU the Hague Evidence Convention of 1970 serves the same purpose for states that are party to it. Both routes take longer than a domestic order.

How do regulatory inspections differ?

When a regulator’s inspector visits, the Rv does not apply but Chapter 5 of the General Administrative Law Act (Algemene wet bestuursrecht, Awb). The powers are much broader than those of a litigant.

A supervisor may enter any place except a home without the occupant’s consent (Article 5:15 Awb), demand information (Article 5:16 Awb) and inspect and copy business records (Article 5:17 Awb). Under Article 5:20 Awb everyone must cooperate within a reasonable period; people with a professional duty of confidentiality may refuse to the extent that duty requires. A supervisor may use powers only as far as reasonably necessary (Article 5:13 Awb). Once questioning is aimed at a punitive sanction, you are not obliged to answer and must be cautioned (Article 5:10a Awb).

During a visit, ask for identification and the legal basis, keep a list of everything copied, and separate privileged material before it is copied. If the matter becomes a criminal investigation, other rules apply; see our guide to Hollanda'da ceza muhakemesi usulü.

Is inspection the right tool in a shareholder dispute?

Often not. A minority shareholder can request identified board minutes under Article 195 Rv, but not the board’s correspondence at large.

Where the complaint concerns how the company is run, the right of inquiry (enquêterecht) under Article 2:344 and following BW is usually stronger, because an investigator appointed by the İşletme Odası (Ondernemingskamer) gets access to the company’s records.

What should you check if you are requesting inspection?

The quality of a request is decided before it is filed. Check these points.

• Have you named the custodians, the period and the subject of each category of data?
• Can you link each category to a disputed fact in one sentence?
• Have you first asked in writing, with a reasonable deadline?
• Have you offered solutions for privilege, trade secrets and proportionality, such as redaction or an independent expert?
• Have you interrupted the limitation period separately under Article 3:317 BW?
• Do you need an evidentiary attachment first because data may be deleted?

What should you check if you received a request?

Silence never works: it invites an order with a penalty payment and an argument about your good faith.

• Is the data specified, is there a legal relationship and is there sufficient interest?
• What do you actually hold, including old mailboxes, backups, chat platforms and directors’ phones?
• Which parts are privileged, confidential or disproportionate, and on what legal ground?
• Can you produce the reasonable part now and propose redaction or expert review for the rest?
• Have you stopped routine deletion of the relevant data?

What can we do for you with a right to inspect evidence?

Ürettiğimiz medeni hukuk ekibi handles evidence and disclosure in Dutch proceedings on both sides.

• We draft a specific out-of-court request under Article 194 Rv.
• We file an inspection claim or petition under Article 195 or 195a Rv, if needed with a penalty payment.
• We apply for evidentiary attachment and preliminary witness or expert examinations.
• We assess a request you received and draft a reasoned response or partial production.
• We assist during regulatory inspections under the Awb.

ÖZET

• Since 1 January 2025, Articles 194-195a Rv govern inspection and cover all data, including e-mail and chat.
• You need a legal relationship, specified data and sufficient interest; the requesting party bears the costs.
• Third parties can be ordered to provide data under Article 195a Rv.
• Privilege and compelling reasons such as trade secrets can justify refusal, often only in part.
• Evidentiary attachment secures data, but access requires a separate order.

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