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The Netherlands

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In brief On 24 May 2022, the Dutch Supreme Court passed judgment between, on one hand, the Royal Dutch Shell PLC and 15 of Shell’s in-house lawyers (“Shell”), and on the other hand, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service.[1] The Supreme Court held that both Shell’s and the Public Prosecution Service’s complaints were inadmissible because the decision of the court of first instance should be considered as an ‘interim decision’ (in Dutch: ‘tussenbeschikking’), and interim decisions are not…

Replacement of the Brussels Recast Regulation In brief The mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters between the UK and the Netherlands used to be governed by the Brussels Recast Regulation. Today, post-Brexit, it is not an easy task to determine which rules apply. The key issue is whether the Convention between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland providing for the Reciprocal…

This article discusses the judgment of the Amsterdam District Court issued on 29 December 2021 that clarifies certain admissibility requirements for representatives claiming damages under the Settling of Large-scale Losses or Damage (Class Actions) Act (WAMCA). Introduction On 29 December 2020, the Amsterdam District Court handed down a judgment providing new insights on admissibility requirements for representatives claiming damages under the Settling of Large-scale Losses or Damage (Class Actions) Act (Wet Afwikkeling Massaschade in Collectieve…

This article discusses the judgment of the Dutch Supreme Court issued on 19 February 2021 that answers the question whether the initiation of a mediation in cross-border disputes interrupts the statutory limitation period for civil claims. Introduction Lately, the doctrine of the statute of limitation has been concretized in the Netherlands by means of various judgments of the Supreme Court.[1] In a recent ruling dated 19 February 2021, the Supreme Court issued a judgment in…

This article discusses the unprecedented Supreme Court judgment rendered on 17 July 2020 that answers the question whether an act of interruption of a limitation period against a general partnership also constitutes the interruption of a limitation period towards its individual partners. Introduction In a recent ruling dated 17 July 2020, the Supreme Court rendered an unprecedented judgment on the application of the statute of limitation on claims against a Dutch general partnership (“vennootschap onder…

This article discusses the amendments of the dispute resolution proceedings as included in the Dutch legislative proposal for the “Act on the adjustment of the dispute resolution proceedings and clarification of admissibility requirements for inquiry proceedings”. Introduction Shareholder disputes are, unfortunately, not uncommon in the Netherlands. A solution to deal with these disputes can sometimes be found amicably. If not, Dutch statutory law provides for the more formal measures, such as the so-called inquiry proceedings…

Although the imposition of fines is a significant – and, perhaps, the most obvious – risk for parties involved in a competition law violation, it is not the only risk associated therewith. Even if no fine – or a fine of EUR 0 – is imposed on a party, it may still wish to bring actions against the infringement decision to mitigate other potentially adverse consequences. The Dutch Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (College van…

The global outbreak of the Corona virus (Covid-19) is having a disruptive effect on businesses, individuals and the society at large. The outbreak also effects the ability of many businesses to (continue to) perform their obligations under commercial contracts. In this publication, we discuss the legal implications of the Corona virus outbreak on performance under commercial contracts which are governed by Dutch law. Specifically, we distinguish between commercial contracts that contain specific provisions on which…

The Netherlands is a popular jurisdiction for competition litigation, and recent developments may also attract collective claimants to bring their claim in the Netherlands on behalf of a group of ‘victims’ of an infringement of competition law. Since 1 January 2020, the ‘Act on a Collective Action for Damages’ is in force. The EU Regulation on Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (No. 1215/2012) applies in The Netherlands.…