7 DOMBO BEHEER B.V. v. THE NETHERLANDS JUDGMENT commercial register from which it appeared that another person had been appointed managing director of Dombo on 10 December 1984. 16. The Bank objected to Mr van Reijendam being heard. It based this objection on the rule that a party to the proceedings could not himself be heard as a witness (see paragraphs 23 and 25-26 below). It claimed that Mr van Reijendam’s dismissal did not reflect the true state of affairs but had been effected only to enable him to testify. In a judgment of 12 February 1985 Judge Van E. upheld this objection and refused to hear Mr van Reijendam. He had become convinced that both Mr van Reijendam’s dismissal as managing director of Dombo and the appointment in his place of another person were shams (schijnhandelingen) which served no other purpose than to enable Mr van Reijendam to testify in the instant proceedings. He pointed out that Mr van Reijendam had been present at the oral pleadings before the Court of Appeal on 30 October 1984 and had not protested when Dombo’s lawyer referred to him as Dombo’s managing director. He added that in his view the motives alleged for the dismissal were implausible. The other six witnesses produced by Dombo were heard on 13 and 20 February 1985. One of them, Mr C.U., was heard on both dates. This witness had been Dombo’s financial affairs manager from the middle of 1977 until May 1980 and had since retained links with Dombo as an external adviser. During November and December 1980 he had "been very closely involved" with the running of Dombo and this had led to his appointment as statutory managing director after the suspension of Mr van Reijendam on 4 February 1981 (see paragraph 11, sub-paragraph (c), above). On 13 February Mr C.U. stated, inter alia, that he had been present at several meetings of the parties between November 1980 and 28 January 1981 and that, although he could not recall the exact words used, he had heard Mr van W. say something like, "Then for the time being we will take a credit of NLG 1,600,000 as a starting-point". When examined for the second time at Dombo’s request, he corrected his statement to the extent that besides the original credit facility of NLG 500,000 a new facility had been agreed to the amount of NLG 1,600,000 in connection with takeovers (mainly of the activities of the O. company, a small part being intended for the takeover of the T. company). There had been several discussions, in which this witness had taken part, about the amount to which the credit was to be extended. 17. In the exercise of its right to have its own witnesses heard in reply (contra-enquête), the Bank called two of its employees, one of whom was the manager of its Nijmegen branch office, Mr van W. Dombo objected to the hearing of Mr van W., stating the view that at all stages of the credit relationship, and also in the instant proceedings, he had been and remained the formal representative of the Bank; to hear him as a