Civil Law and Civil Procedure
Core concepts
The Dutch civil law exam tests the systematic structure of the Burgerlijk Wetboek (BW): Book 3 (patrimonial law in general: legal acts, representation, nullity, prescription), Book 5 (property), Book 6 (obligations, including breach, damages, force majeure, and the reasonableness-and-fairness standard of art. 6:248 BW), Book 7 (specific contracts, notably sale, lease, employment, and consumer protection), and Book 1 (persons, family, succession in Book 4). Know the civil procedure chain under the Wetboek van Burgerlijke Rechtsvordering (Rv): jurisdiction and venue, the dagvaarding (summons), the conclusie van antwoord, the comparitie, evidence law (bewijslast, bewijsvermoeden, and the art. 150 Rv burden rule), appeal, and cassation at the Hoge Raad.
Traps
Questions frequently hinge on the difference between voidability (vernietigbaar, e.g. error, duress, art. 3:44 BW) and nullity (nietig, e.g. public order). Another trap is confusing the redelijkheid en billijkheid as a corrective tool with a separate ground of liability. Watch the interaction between specific statutory regimes and general contract law: a consumer sale rule overrides general provisions. Prescription periods (five years for periodic claims, twenty years for others, art. 3:306 ff. BW) are often tested with a factual timeline.
Worked rule of thumb
When a party claims damages for breach, run a checklist: valid obligation, attributable breach (art. 6:74 BW), causation, and damage. Then check whether force majeure (art. 6:75 BW) or a contractual limitation clause applies, and whether art. 6:248 BW modifies the outcome.
Key points
- Distinguish vernietigbaar from nietig and identify the correct ground.
- Always identify the applicable specific contract regime before general provisions.
- Track prescription periods against the facts.
- Use a fixed checklist for breach-based damages.