Interim measures at the Enterprise Chamber: court fees, official charges and what drives the cost
You are here because you are weighing whether to ask the Ondernemingskamer (Enterprise Chamber) for interim measures, alongside or ahead of an inquiry request, and you need the cost picture before you commit. This page sets out the court fee, the official charges and the factors that move the total. It does not price our advice.
Where interim measures sit
Onmiddellijke voorzieningen (interim measures) are provisional orders the Enterprise Chamber can grant while an inquiry request is pending, or together with one. Within corporate law and governance work, this is the fastest lever available against a board that will not move: suspending a director, appointing an outside director, or suspending a shareholder resolution, all before the underlying inquiry is decided. The Enterprise Chamber is a Dutch court, part of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, and it treats interim measures as urgent business.
The route to interim measures, step by step
| Step | What happens | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Filing the verzoekschrift (request) | Filed with the Enterprise Chamber, together with or after an inquiry request | Applicant, through Dutch-qualified counsel of record |
| 2. Registry processing | The registry confirms receipt and opens the file | Registry of the Enterprise Chamber |
| 3. Service on respondents | Respondents are served and given an opportunity to respond | Registry, with the applicant's counsel |
| 4. Hearing scheduled | The Chamber sets a hearing date driven by the urgency argued, not a fixed calendar slot | Enterprise Chamber |
| 5. Hearing | Both sides argue urgency, proportionality and the measures sought | Applicant and respondent, each conducted with Dutch-qualified counsel of record |
| 6. Order | The Chamber grants, refuses or modifies the measures requested | Enterprise Chamber |
| 7. Effect | Measures take effect on the terms ordered, subject to appeal | Applicant, respondent, court |
This differs from full inquiry proceedings on cost and speed: interim measures can be requested at almost any stage, and the Chamber moves faster than in a standard civil claim precisely because urgency is the point being argued.
The deadlines you actually work to
| Moment | What governs the timing | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Filing to hearing | Set by the Chamber based on urgency argued | No fixed statutory number of days applies to this step |
| Service to response | Set by the Chamber's own directions on the file | Shorter than standard civil proceedings, under the applicable Dutch rules |
| Order to appeal | A statutory period applies | Under the applicable Dutch rules; confirm the exact period before relying on it |
| Order to enforcement | Immediate on the terms ordered, unless the Chamber directs otherwise | Enforcement can run in parallel with an appeal |
Where this table does not state a number of days, no confirmed figure is published for that step. Treat the gap as a reason to ask, not as an assumption you can build a filing calendar on.
What drives the cost
| Cost driver | What increases it | What keeps it down |
|---|---|---|
| Court fee (griffierecht) | Set under the applicable Dutch fee schedule by category of applicant | Fixed by category, not by the size of the underlying dispute |
| Official charges | Service abroad, translations, registry extracts | Domestic service on a single respondent |
| Number of respondents | Each additional respondent adds a service step and a service cost | A single respondent |
| Number of jurisdictions | Cross-border service or enforcement adds official charges and time | All parties and assets inside the Netherlands |
| Urgency of the filing | Faster evidence-gathering to support urgency, not the court fee itself | Evidence already assembled before filing |
The court fee itself does not move with the value of the dispute; the official charges around it do, and they move with how many parties, jurisdictions and languages are actually in play.
What we would need to see before advising
- The corporate documents showing who currently holds board and shareholder positions.
- The specific conduct you say justifies interim measures, with dates.
- Whether an inquiry request is already filed, pending, or not yet started.
- The location of the respondents, to assess service and translation exposure.
- Any prior correspondence in which you asked the board to act and it did not.
The decisions that stay with you
You decide whether to seek interim measures at all, and whether to combine them with an inquiry request or hold them in reserve. You decide which measure to ask for: suspension of a director, an outside appointment, or suspension of a resolution, since each carries a different burden of proof. You decide whether to accept a narrower order than requested if the Chamber signals that at the hearing.
What can go wrong
The Chamber can refuse the measures for lack of urgency, leaving the underlying inquiry to run its normal course. A respondent can appeal a granted order, which does not automatically suspend it but creates a second track of cost and time. Measures granted on an interim basis can be modified or lifted once the inquiry itself progresses, so an early win is not a final one.
What this does not cover
- Full inquiry proceedings on the merits, including the appointment and cost of an investigator.
- Damages claims arising from the same facts.
- Emergency injunctive relief outside the Enterprise Chamber, such as kort geding proceedings before the ordinary courts.
- Any price for our advice or for Dutch-qualified counsel of record.
- Enforcement in a jurisdiction outside the Netherlands once an order is obtained.
Questions
Does the court fee depend on how much money is at stake?
No. The court fee for a request to the Enterprise Chamber is set under the applicable Dutch fee schedule by category of applicant, not by the value of the underlying dispute. What moves the total bill is the number of respondents, whether service runs abroad, and whether documents need translation, not the size of the claim behind the request.
Can we ask for interim measures before filing the inquiry request itself?
Interim measures can be requested together with an inquiry request or, in some circumstances, in anticipation of one. The exact sequencing depends on the facts of your matter and is not something this page can settle in the abstract. Bring your documents to a scoping call before you file anything.
How fast does the Enterprise Chamber actually move?
Faster than standard civil proceedings, because urgency is the argument being made, but there is no fixed statutory number of days for the step from filing to hearing. The Chamber sets its own timetable based on what you show it. Treat any specific day count you see elsewhere as unconfirmed until checked against the current rules.
What happens if the other side appeals the order?
An appeal does not automatically suspend a granted measure, but it opens a second procedural track with its own cost and timing. Whether to defend the appeal, and how, is a decision you make once the order and the grounds of appeal are in front of you.
Do we need a Dutch address to file this request?
The request itself does not require a Dutch address for the applicant, but service on respondents inside the Netherlands is simpler and cheaper than service abroad. Where a respondent sits outside the Netherlands, expect additional official charges for service and, where needed, translation.
Sanne de Wit
Sanne de Wit advises on structures, holding and tax matters affecting Dutch entities, including the corporate documentation an interim measures request depends on. This page is written from that responsibility zone; the procedural conduct before the Enterprise Chamber itself runs through Dutch-qualified counsel of record.
What happens next
Book a 30-minute scoping call and bring the corporate documents, the dated conduct you rely on, and the current status of any inquiry request. You will leave with a view on whether interim measures fit your facts and what the filing sequence looks like. Where the underlying question is about ownership or control rather than conduct, a structure report answers that separately and does not require a court filing.
What this does not cover: the price of Dutch-qualified counsel of record, and any conclusion about your specific matter. Confirm current court fees and statutory periods against the primary source before relying on them.
Related reading: issuing shares and pre-emption rights: costs and fees and directors' and officers' insurance sit inside the same corporate law and governance practice. For cross-border exposure, see the cross-border effect of a foreign subsidies notification and, on the personal-exposure side, director and officer records in the United Arab Emirates.
Last legal review: 2026-09-21