On 29 September 2026, the Appeals Court in The Hague rendered its judgment in case filed by a group of Iranian men against Melchemie (currently: Otjiaha), and (the heirs of) its CEO, the late Hans Melchers (hereinafter: Melchemie et al.). The Appeals Court unfortunately rejected the claims of our clients, and held i.a.:
"Since, as will become apparent below, the principal appeal fails, the Court will not come to address the arguments advanced by Otjiaha et al. in the conditional incidental appeal, that the rule of Iranian law under which, in principle, no statute of limitations applies, is contrary to the Dutch public order. This does not, however, absolve the Court of its obligation, also proprio motu, to ensure that the parties receive a fair trial. In this context, the Court takes into account that the claims at issue in these proceedings relate to events that took place in the first half of the 1980's, and as such more than 40 years ago. It stands to reason that this passage of time makes it more difficult to establish precisely what occurred or could have occurred during that period, or what knowledge a company such as Otjiaha could reasonably be deemed to have possessed at the time. Accordingly, when evaluating the evidence, the Court will, where appropriate, remain mindful of the fact that Otjiaha et al. may have been prejudiced in their defense by the passage of time." [freely translated from Dutch, emphasis added] (ECLI:NL:GHDHA:2026:2903, par. 6.2)
This brings the proceedings concerning the case on a factual level, to a close.
The clients are represented in this case by lawyers Liesbeth Zegveld, Brechtje Vossenberg and Thomas van der Sommen.
Previously