Ontslag van instantie

Dismissal from the instance is a form of dismissal in civil procedure under which the court declares the claimant inadmissible or rejects the claim on grounds of insufficient substantiation or procedural deficiencies. The claimant retains the right to bring the same matter before the court again in fresh proceedings.

Such a judgment does not carry the force of res judicata and prevents a claim from being finally lost by reason of a curable procedural defect. It is appropriate where the court considers the case not yet ready for a determination on the merits.

In practice, dismissal from the instance is frequently granted where the claimant has failed to substantiate the pleaded facts or where a remediable formal irregularity has occurred.