Dutch law lets you have witnesses questioned under oath before you start a court case, or alongside a case that is already running. This is the preliminary witness examination (het voorlopig getuigenverhoor), since 1 January 2025 part of the wider “preliminary evidence measures” (voorlopige bewijsverrichtingen) in Articles 196-204 of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure (Wetboek van Burgerlijke Rechtsvordering, Rv), which replaced the old Article 186 Rv. The main exception: the court can refuse the request in a small number of defined situations, for example when you have no sufficient interest in it.
Die waarde van die instrument lê in tydsberekening. Jy kry die kans om te sien wat die bewyse eintlik is voordat jy jou tot 'n eis of 'n verdediging verbind. Dit kan wys dat 'n saak sterker is as verwag, of dat dit glad nie die moeite werd is om dit aanhangig te maak nie – 'n aansienlik goedkoper manier om tot daardie gevolgtrekking te kom as na 'n volledige verhoor.
Wanneer staan die hof 'n versoek toe?
Die drempel is laag. As jy konkreet genoeg uiteensit wat jy wil bewys en hoekom, is jy oor die algemeen geregtig op die ondersoek. Die hof bepaal nie vooraf of die bewyse jou saak werklik sal help nie.
Under Article 196(2) Rv, refusal is limited to defined situations: the request is not specific enough, you have no sufficient interest, it conflicts with due process (goede procesorde), it amounts to abuse of power, or other weighty reasons oppose it. In ECLI:NL:RBOVE:2026:4324 (District Court of Overijssel, 7 July 2026), the court applied these grounds and held that the merits of the intended claim are for the main proceedings, not for this request.
Waarom is die drempel so laag gestel?
Die ondersoek is bedoel om jou te help om 'n saak te beoordeel, nie om dit vooraf te beoordeel nie. Dit is ook hoekom dit vroegtydig beskikbaar is, voordat die ander party 'n verweer ingedien het en voordat standpunte verhard het.
Hoe werk die prosedure?
You start it with a petition (verzoekschrift) to the court that would have jurisdiction over the main claim, naming the witnesses with their addresses and describing the facts you want proved, as Article 197(2) Rv requires. The other party is heard on the request, may attend the examination, and both sides may put questions to the witnesses.
Watter verpligtinge het getuies?
Getuies moet verskyn en die waarheid vertel sodra hulle onder eed is. Om valse getuienis onder eed af te lê, is meineed (meineed) kragtens Artikel 207 van die Nederlandse Strafwetboek (Wetboek van Strafrecht), 'n kriminele oortreding wat 'n aansienlike maksimum vonnis dra. 'n Getuie wat versuim om te verskyn, kan gedwing word om dit te doen.
Sommige getuies mag hul stilswyende reg aanvoer: naasbestaandes van 'n party, en professionele persone wat gebonde is aan 'n vertroulikheidsplig, soos prokureurs, dokters en notarisse.
Wat gebeur daarna met die verklarings?
The statements are recorded in an official report (proces-verbaal) signed by the judge. That report can be used as evidence in the proceedings that follow, and the court weighs it like other witness evidence.
Waarom versoek partye 'n voorlopige ondersoek?
Since 2025 the same route also covers a preliminary expert report and a site visit (Article 196 Rv). For witness evidence, three reasons come up most often: to test a case before spending money on proceedings, to secure evidence that may not be available later – a witness who is elderly, unwell, or about to move abroad – and to record an account while memories are still fresh, which in commercial disputes about what was said during negotiations is often decisive.
Wat is die nadeel?
Die ondersoek wys ook vir die ander kant wat jou getuienis is, en 'n getuie wat swak presteer, kan nie ongehoord bly nie. Beskou dit as 'n instrument om doelbewus te gebruik, nie roetinegewys nie.
An example to illustrate: a supplier believes a customer promised, in a phone call, to pay for extra work carried out. Before starting proceedings, the supplier requests a preliminary examination of the two people who were on that call. Their answers show the promise was only ever conditional – information the supplier can now use to decide whether to sue at all.
What should you check as the requesting party?
The request succeeds or fails on how concrete it is.
- Which specific facts do you want to prove, and why do they matter for your claim or defence?
- Which witnesses can confirm them, and do you have their names and addresses?
- Is there a risk that evidence will be lost, such as a witness moving abroad?
- Which court would hear the main case?
- Are you prepared for the other side to learn your evidence?
What should you check as the opposing party?
You are heard on the request and may attend and ask questions.
- Is the request specific enough, or is it a fishing expedition?
- Does one of the refusal grounds of Article 196(2) Rv apply?
- Do you want to name counter-witnesses for your own side?
- Which questions will you put to the witnesses at the hearing?
What can we do for you with a preliminary witness examination?
ons siviele prokureurs handle preliminary evidence measures for both requesting and opposing parties.
- We assess whether a preliminary examination helps your case or only reveals your evidence.
- We draft the petition with the facts to be proved and the witnesses to be heard.
- We draft the defence against a request and invoke the refusal grounds where they apply.
- We prepare and question the witnesses at the hearing.
- We use the official report to decide on, and prepare, the main proceedings.
Opsomming
- A preliminary witness examination lets you have witnesses heard under oath before or during proceedings, under Articles 196-204 Rv.
- The threshold to obtain one is low; refusal is limited to the grounds in Article 196(2) Rv.
- Witnesses must appear and testify truthfully; false testimony under oath is perjury under Article 207 of the Criminal Code.
- Die gevolglike verklarings kan as bewys in latere verrigtinge gebruik word.
- Weeg die strategiese koste af: die ondersoek wys ook jou bewyse aan die ander kant.
Algemene vrae
Kan ek 'n voorlopige getuie-ondervraging aanvra voordat ek 'n eis begin?
Yes. That is one of its main uses: it lets you test the evidence before you decide whether to bring a claim at all. You file a petition with the court that would hear the main case.
Can the other party block the examination?
No. The other party is heard on the request and can argue that a refusal ground of Article 196(2) Rv applies, but once the court grants the request it cannot block the examination. It may attend and question the witnesses.
Can a witness refuse to answer?
Only in defined cases. Close relatives of a party and professionals with a duty of confidentiality, such as lawyers, doctors and notaries, may invoke a right to refuse to testify.
