Court rulings & orders · On the timeline
Ruling
1 May 2024
1 May 2024
C/17/190788 · Interlocutory proceedings on jurisdiction
Court orders a short hearing on jurisdiction, one judge
District Court (Leeuwarden)
Court decision · binding on the parties
In 30 seconds
An interim judgment ordering an oral hearing on Gates's jurisdiction challenge. The court refuses the claimants' requests for four hours of speaking time and a full three-judge bench.
Cheat sheet
- Both Gates and the claimants wanted to argue orally, so the court ordered a hearing.
- The claimants had asked for four hours of speaking time and a full bench; the court refused both.
- Each party gets at most 30 minutes; about one and a half hours is set aside in total.
- The court says the claimants' own efficiency argument clashes with asking for a long joint hearing.
- Any new documents must reach the court and the other side at least ten days before the hearing.
Key passages · underlined
The court sees no grounds for deviating from the standard duration of the hearing. Nor does the court see any grounds for deviating from the principle of a single-judge hearing as set out in Article 15(1) of the Code of Civil Procedure.
This position is incompatible with the request for a very extensive joint hearing on the question of jurisdiction.
Notes may be used for this purpose; speaking time is limited to a maximum of 30 minutes per party. Extensive oral and written submissions will not be permitted.
Every defendant denies the claims, and the court has not ruled on them. Allegations are the claimants' pleaded positions, quoted as theirs. This is analysis and commentary, not legal advice. Interest of Justice is not a party to the case.