Court prohibits appeal against interlocutory verdict of 1 February 2017 re: 'De Punt'; case will move forward

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Today, the District Court of The Hague decided that it will not allow an appeal against its interlocutory verdict of 1 February 2017 in the case concerning the Moluccan Train Hijacking at De Punt (1977). Previously, it had held that the claims filed by the surviving relatives of hijackers Hansina Uktolseja and Max Papilaja were not time-barred, and had ordered i.a. that marines who had entered the hijacked train be heard as witnesses. The State of the Netherlands opposes this interlocutory verdict; on 7 March 2017 it requested leave to file interlocutory appeal.

As a rule, it is not possible to file an appeal against an interlocutory verdict. An exception can only be made if there are special, procedural reasons to do so. The District Court held that there are no such reasons in this case.

Among other things, this means that the marines whose testimony has been ordered by the court will indeed be heard as witnesses. The surviving relatives are being represented by lawyers Liesbeth Zegveld and Brechtje Vossenberg.

The interlocutory verdict is available here (in Dutch)

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Prakken d'Oliveira, formerly known as Böhler, is a law firm with expertise and experience in asylum and immigration law, European law, administrative law, international criminal law and human rights. Our lawyers provide advice and conduct procedures before the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND), the Dutch Review Committee on the Intelligence and Security Services (CTIVD), the District- and Appeals courts, the Administrative Law Division of the Dutch Council of State, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ), the Human Rights Treaty Bodies of the United Nations (UN), the International Criminal Court (ICC), and other international tribunals.