Verzetdagvaarding

The opposition summons is the formal instrument under Dutch civil procedure for challenging a default judgment. Through this summons, the defendant calls upon the plaintiff to appear before the court in fresh proceedings in which the default judgment may be set aside or varied.

This procedure is relevant because a default judgment is rendered without any contradictory proceedings. Opposition affords the defendant the opportunity to advance a substantive defence and prevents an incorrect judgment from becoming final and unappealable.

In practice, the opposition summons is frequently used where the defendant was unaware of the original summons or was unable to appear for other reasons. The opposition period generally runs for four weeks from service of the default judgment.