Amsterdam - Dutch nationals seeking quick and affordable conflict resolution and avoid years of expensive litigation can now take their grievances online - in a virtual court. A so-called e-Court, effectively a private foundation, claims to resolve civil law conflicts within 8 to a maximum 12 weeks, at low cost, during an on-line procedure.
"We resolve disputes quicker and substantially cheaper than traditional courts," says e-Court founder Henriette Nakad, a former lawyer with the prestigious NautaDutilh law firm, in an interview with the German Press Agency dpa.
Her private foundation says it is "probably" the first virtual court in the world. E-Court claims its 20 freelance judges comply with the same strict standards also used by government courts.
Almost as strict, as its website reveals: to become a judge at e-Court, one can either be a traditional judge, or an attorney or notary who has - contrary to government courts' demands - less than seven years of work experience in his or her respective profession.
Nakad says her virtual court delivers fully enforceable rulings; all terminology used also equals that of a traditional court.
But contrary to expensive "regular" litigation, a procedure at the e-Court of first instance varies between 446 and 1,563 euros (659 to 2,276 dollars) including VAT. An appellate court procedure costs between 743 to 1.653 euros, also including VAT.
"Many disputes never go to court because litigation is too expensive," says Nakad. "E-Court is accessible for people to resolve their disputes."
The procedure is simple: a lawyer registers at the website and invites the respondent party. Both parties then agree to put the ruling in writing in a notarized document.
Then the procedure starts with claims and counterclaims, observing strict weekly deadlines throughout.
All correspondence takes place by e-mail. If the conflict involves a claim worth more than 40,000 euros, a "regular" hearing is set for week 5, taking place in one of e-Court's 31 locations in the country.
In week 8, e-Court sends both lawyers the ruling, notarized. Demanding that both sides first agree to a notarized ruling is fundamental to the online procedure.
"Dutch law determines all notarized documents are legally enforceable," explains Nakad.
The former lawyer does not fear an internet procedure might compromise legal quality.
"Quite the contrary. Internet guarantees transparency. This is an advantage for all lawyers who usually prefer to focus on the content rather than the paperwork," Nakad argues.
Meanwhile the Justice Ministry and Justice Council, the umbr
