Arbitrage in de vroegmoderne Nederlanden

Arbitration has always been used to conclude conflicts outside of court. The Low Countries were no exception. Although based on an agreement between parties, there were rules to be followed; and the condition that an arbitral decision should be fair and equitable always made it possible to bring the case on these grounds before the competent court. A problem was the enforcement of an arbitral decision. In Flanders a solution was found: the voluntary condemnation, imposed upon request by the competent court on parties. This remedy was followed widely in the Northern Netherlands (and for all kinds of agreements), but appears to have been replaced in the Southern Netherlands by confirmation of the arbitral decision upon request by the competent court. This practice was probably taken over from France.