As mentioned in our earlier blog, the Dutch legislator has prepared a bill – the Act on confirmation of private restructuring plans (Wet homologatie onderhands akkoord) – introducing a framework that allows debtors to restructure their debts outside formal insolvency proceedings (the “Dutch Scheme“). We expect this highly-anticipated bill to enter into force by this summer. The Dutch Scheme combines features … Read more
The proposed text for a Directive on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers has radically changed – again. In April 2018, the European Commission launched its New Deal for Consumers, aimed at strengthening the enforcement of consumer law throughout the European Union. Part of this legislative programme was a proposal for a Directive on representative … Read more
The Court of Appeal of Arnhem – Leeuwarden recently applied the competition law notion of an ‘undertaking’ in a civil damages suit between TenneT and an entity belonging to the Alstom group of companies. The Court of Appeal ruled that Cogelex formed a single undertaking with its 48% shareholder Alstom. Cogelex could therefore be held liable under civil law for the competition … Read more
The Research and Documentation Centre of the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security (WODC) has recently published the report “Blockchain and the law”. The August 2019 report is fairly critical towards blockchain technology, and questions whether the potential benefits of blockchain (mainly efficiency gains) are proportional in relation to the potential disadvantages. The report also analyses the benefits and disadvantages … Read more
The Dutch Supreme Court recently ruled on a case concerning liability of an audit firm towards its client for non-performance of an assignment to provide what is termed a ‘contribution statement’ (ECLI:NL:HR:2019:1447). The outcome was determined by the specific circumstances of the case, and the Supreme Court did not see cause to answer legal questions in view of the uniformity … Read more
In a recent decision (ECLI:NL:HR:2019:1409), the Supreme Court has decided that the Dutch national police force is liable for damage suffered by victims of a shooting which took place in a shopping centre in 2011; an event that shocked the Netherlands. The Supreme Court held that the police had unlawfully granted a permit for the firearms used in the shooting. … Read more
Introduction Imagine having been blocked from expanding your business in 1975, litigating a claim for lost opportunities for all those years, winning that proceedings on the merits, and then having to start separate legal proceedings to determine the amount of damages to be awarded (schadestaat procedure). How does one value, in 2019, a business opportunity lost in 1975? Background to … Read more
On 5 July 2019 the Minister of Justice submitted a bill to parliament that will add a new powerful tool to the Dutch restructuring toolbox. The bill on the “Act on the Confirmation of a Private Restructuring Plan” is expected to introduce a serious competitor to the UK’s Scheme of Arrangement and the USA’s Chapter 11. The introduction of the … Read more
Introduction On 2 July 2019, the Hague Conference of Private International Law (HCCH) adopted the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (Judgments Convention; see full text of the convention here). The Judgments Convention aims to provide an efficient system for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil or commercial matters. … Read more
The rise of big data poses all kinds of legal challenges for society. The Dutch government and Parliament are currently exploring whether or not the Dutch collective redress mechanism suffices for claiming damages following violations of data protection law. Recent reports commissioned by the Dutch government have proposed changes to this collective redress mechanism; in this blog, we set out … Read more