nietige

Nietige is a Dutch legal term describing something that has no legal effect. The adjective is used to denote voidness or invalidity from the outset (nullity). In Dutch law, acts, decisions, or agreements can be considered nietig if they fail to meet essential legal requirements, such as lack of valid consent, excess of authority, illegality, or contravention of public order. A key distinction is that nietigheid is generally attributed to defects that prevent an act from ever creating rights or obligations; in some cases acts can be declared void by a court through a nietigverklaring. Unlike mere rescission, a nietige act is treated as never having existed for legal purposes.

Common examples include an agreement concluded by a person lacking capacity, an act performed without required form or authority, or a contract with an unlawful purpose. In family law or inheritance, certain dispositions may be void if they violate mandatory rules. Administrative acts can be nietig if the issuing authority lacked jurisdiction or acted beyond its legal competence.

Effects: parties must revert to their pre-contractual positions, no rights flow from the act, and prescription or time limits may be interrupted. Some forms of nietigheid can be cured by ratification only if the act is not inherently void. Distinctions exist between nietige and vernietigbare or ontbonden acts, which can become valid later.

Etymology: nietig derives from niet, with the suffix -ig. See also nietigheid, nietigverklaring, vernietiging, voidness.