DOMBO BEHEER B.V. v. THE NETHERLANDS JUDGMENT JOINT DISSENTING OPINION OF JUDGES BERNHARDT AND PEKKANEN 22 JOINT DISSENTING OPINION OF JUDGES BERNHARDT AND PEKKANEN We have voted against the violation of Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1) in the present case. In our opinion, equality of arms in civil proceedings requires the equality of chances and possibilities to submit the relevant material to the court concerned. In proceedings with a legal person as a party, any individual representing that person may be identified under national procedural law with the legal person and therefore excluded from the formal status of a witness. In our opinion, what is decisive is that the parties enjoy in fact and in law equality of arms before the national court. We are convinced that Dombo Beheer, the applicant in this case, enjoyed this equality of arms. In this respect we refer to paragraph 5 of the dissenting opinion of Judge Martens.