This GT Alert provides an update on employment and pension law in the Netherlands for 2019. Topics covered include diversity in boards of larger companies; the Balanced Labour Market Act (Wab), effective 1 January 2020; amendments to restructuring rules applied by the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV), effective 1 October 2019; Dutch pension system reforms; and … Continue Reading
Introduction Effective 1 October 2019, the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure (DCCP) will partly be revised. This revision is related to the failed digitalization of the Dutch judicial system: Program Quality and Innovation of Justice (in Dutch: Programma Kwaliteit en Innovatie Rechtspraak (KEI)). Only the district courts of Gelderland and Midden-Nederland have switched to the … Continue Reading
The municipalities of Amsterdam and Haarlemmermeer (home to Schiphol Amsterdam Airport) have announced a temporary halt of the realization of new data centers in their region. According to these municipalities, data centers take up too much space and consume too much energy. Amsterdam and Schiphol are logical locations for data centers for various reasons (e.g., … Continue Reading
Introduction Starting 1 July 2019, the scope of the Dutch Heating Supply Act (Warmtewet) (the Act) will be revised. The revision will have significant consequences for landlords of residential units or business space (including office and retail) who supply heat to their tenants. As of July 1, landlords will be exempted from the Act.[1] This … Continue Reading
As reported in our November 2018 GT Amsterdam Law blog post, use of an office building without a minimum energy label C (an energy index of 1.3 or better) will be prohibited as of 1 January 2023. In view of this prohibition in the Dutch Buildings Decree, the ROZ (Dutch Real Estate Council) has established … Continue Reading
Radboud Ribbert from Greenberg Traurig LLP’s Amsterdam office was recently quoted in a Law360 Intellectual Property article. The article focuses on a recent amendment to the Dutch Patents Act (Rijksoctrooiwet) to include a limitation of the exclusive right of the holder of a patent on a medicine, the Pharmacist’s Exemption. The full article can be … Continue Reading
Legal scholars have been debating the method by which contractual provisions should be interpreted in the Netherlands since 1981, when the Dutch Supreme Court rendered its landmark Haviltex decision on the interpretation of contracts. Even though numerous relevant Dutch court decisions on contract interpretation have followed, the debate remains quite alive. Irrespective of the applicable … Continue Reading
AMSTERDAM – Feb. 19, 2019 – Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP advised Amundi Real Estate on the acquisition of INK Hotel Amsterdam, located in the heart of Amsterdam. INK Hotel Amsterdam, MGallery by Sofitel, which Principal purchased in 2012 in a sale-and-leaseback agreement with Accor Hotel, it was sold to Amundi Real Estate’s OPCI … Continue Reading
On 11 December 2018 the Dutch Senate approved the bill for the establishment of the Netherlands Commercial Court (NCC). The NCC is a separate chamber of the District Court of Amsterdam, specializing in complex international commercial disputes. Proceedings before the NCC will be conducted in English, and judgments will be rendered in English. The NCC … Continue Reading
In August 2018 we published a blog about a case before the Court of Justice of the European Union (the CJEU) concerning the possibility of copyright on taste of a food product. The special advisor of the CJEU, the Advocate General, advised that taste should not be protected by copyright. The main reason for this … Continue Reading
Introduction Beginning January 2023, energy labels of the major part of office buildings in the Netherlands will have to be at least in category C, because of an amendment to the Dutch Buildings Decree 2012 (Bouwbesluit 2012), published 2 November 2018. This generally means that owners of office buildings with energy labels from D to … Continue Reading
In certain lease agreements we see a right of first refusal to purchase the leased property (voorkeursrecht tot koop van het gehuurde object), to the benefit of the tenant. Disputes may arise between the tenant and the landlord if it is unclear whether a transaction triggers the provision. Such a dispute occurred between a famous … Continue Reading
Op 27 juli 2018 heeft de Geschillencommissie Auteurscontractenrecht (“Geschillencommissie”) voor het eerst een uitspraak gedaan over de bestseller bepaling. Op grond van deze bepaling in de Auteurswet hebben makers, zoals de schrijver van een film of boek, een regisseur, acteur, journalist of een ontwerper, recht op een hogere vergoeding indien de oorspronkelijk overeengekomen vergoeding niet … Continue Reading
Een verhuurder van horecaruimte kan een huurovereenkomst tegen het einde van een termijn (bij een overeenkomst voor bepaalde tijd) of tussentijds (bij een overeenkomst voor onbepaalde tijd) opzeggen indien hij aannemelijk maakt dat hij de horecaruimte dringend nodig heeft voor eigen gebruik. Met ‘aannemelijk maken’ wordt bedoeld dat de rechter niet gebonden is aan de … Continue Reading
Under EU competition law, it is allowed in most vertical agreements to grant distributors exclusivity for a territory or customer group. Selective distribution is the well-known exception, where no geographic restrictions may be imposed on any level in the selective network. The EU’s Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) allows suppliers to restrict active sales by … Continue Reading
Announcement by Dutch DPA The Dutch Data Protection Authority (Dutch DPA) announced on 21 August 2018 that it has audited 91 hospitals and 33 health care insurers regarding the obligation of these organizations to appoint a data protection officer. This ‘new’ requirement follows from the General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679) (GDPR), which came into force … Continue Reading
The Dutch government is working on a major overhaul of the statutory environmental framework in the Netherlands. In this context, four key environmental decrees (AMvBs) (the Decrees) were adopted and published in the Dutch Government Gazette on Aug. 31, 2018. The publication of the Decrees is part of a major and fundamental revision of practically … Continue Reading
As part of global and European initiatives against tax avoidance, all EU member states are required to incorporate the EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD) into domestic tax law no later than 1 January 2019. ATAD contains a number of rules in the areas of interest deduction, exit taxation, general anti-abuse, and controlled foreign companies. A … Continue Reading
Ook de verplichte verzekering van motorvoertuigen is een uitvloeisel van Europese regelgeving. Daarom is de volgende beslissing van het Europese Hof ook van belang voor bijvoorbeeld verzamelaars van nog rijklare auto’s. Wat gebeurde er. Een Portugese dame, die om medische redenen geen gebruik meer maakte van haar auto, had deze thuis gestald maar niet uit … Continue Reading
Background Amsterdam and the conurbation are suffering a housing shortage (as is common in many larger cities). The municipality therefore seeks to limit new developments of short stay accommodations in most parts of the city. A “short stay” is defined by the Amsterdam municipality as at least four days and at most six months continuously. … Continue Reading
On 20 June 2018, the Administrative Law Division of the Dutch Council of State (the highest Dutch administrative court) (ALD) issued a judgement that again demonstrates the considerable burden of proof with respect to private law impediments. Background A municipal council cannot adopt a zoning plan if a “private law impediment” exists that would block … Continue Reading
Een natuurlijk persoon heeft de goedkeuring nodig van zijn of haar echtgenoot, onder meer indien deze persoon zich borg stelt voor de nakoming van verplichtingen van een derde partij. Dit wordt in de praktijk soms over het hoofd gezien. In het arrest van 13 juli 2018, ECLI:NL:HR:2018:1220, heeft de Hoge Raad geprobeerd meer duidelijkheid te … Continue Reading
Enterprises in a wide range of markets and industries have long used commercial agents to solicit business, collect payments, and take care of local matters. Such agents are hired for their local or market expertise and to deal with issues that exporting or importing enterprises cannot easily handle from their headquarters. Economically and legally, they … Continue Reading
In addition to existing global, European, and national initiatives against tax avoidance, the Dutch Ministry of Finance earlier this year announced the introduction of two additional substance requirements in a policy letter on tackling tax avoidance and tax evasion. The additional substance requirements would apply to Dutch resident entities to obtain an advance tax ruling … Continue Reading
