Netherlands: Legal Environment

Business Contract

General Observation: You must state precisely the obligations of the vendor and the methods of quality control.
Law Applicable to the Contract: You do not have to be particularly vigilant about the law applicable to the contract and the methods of conflict resolution. Indeed, the Netherlands is a signatory to the Vienna Convention on International Contracts.
Advisable Incoterms: Choose FOB or CIF, or more. Avoid EXW if you do not want to be involved in organizing domestic transport in the Netherlands, as this is quite a complex operation.
Language of Domestic Contract: Dutch, English
Other Laws Which Can Be Used in Domestic Contracts: The laws and courts of America, England and Switzerland provide fair justice and are understandable in English, which is likely to be accepted by your Dutch supplier.

National Organisations: The NL Agency is the agency for companies in the Netherlands
Regional Organisations: Industrial Property Office, Copyright Office
International Membership: Member of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)
Signatory to the Paris Convention For the Protection of Intellectual Property
Membership to the TRIPS agreement - Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

Type of property and law	Validity	International Agreements Signed
Patent Patents Act of the Kingdom 1995	10 years, renewable for further 10-year periods	Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Trademark Office of Harmonisation for the Internal Market	10 years, renewable for further 10-year periods	Trademark Law Treaty Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
Design Office of Harmonisation for the Internal Market	It initially has a life of five years from the filing date and can be renewed in blocks of five years up to a maximum of 25 years, whereas the UCD grants a right of three years from the date of the first disclosure that must take place within EU territory.
Copyright Auteursrecht	70 years, but varies a lot depending on the type of product	Berne convention For the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms Rome ConventionFor the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations WIPO Copyright Treaty WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty
Industrial Models Industrial Property	A minimum of 5 and a maximum of 25

Equal Treatment of Nationals and Foreigners: Foreigners can expect an impartial trial from the country’s judicial system.
The Language of Justice: Dutch and Frisian.
Recourse to an Interpreter: Yes, but no guidelines exist to ensure effective communication between judges, lawyers, and non Dutch / Frisian speaking defendants.
Legal Similarities: Based on the civil law system incorporating French penal theory. The Netherlands accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction but with reservations. Holland being a member of the European Union, the national law in the country has needs to comply with the conditions of the Community legislation.

Civil Law (including family law, inheritance law, contract law and commercial law)	Het Burgelijk Wetboek
Criminal Law	Het Wetboek van Strafrecht
Constitutional Law (including laws on the structure of the state)	Constitution of the Netherlands
Administrative Law	Algemene Wet Bestuursrecht

The Supreme Court	Merely views whether the (Dutch) law has been applied properly
The Council for the Judiciary	The Council’s tasks relate to operational matters, budgetary matters and the qualitative aspects of the administration of justice.
The Central Appeals Tribunal	Is a board of appeal which is mainly active in legal areas pertaining to social security and the civil service. In these areas it is the highest judicial authority.
Five Courts of Appeal	The justices of the Court of Appeal only deal with cases where an appeal has been lodged against the judgment passed by the district court. In addition to criminal and civil cases, the Court of Appeal also deals with all appeals against tax assessments, in its capacity as administrative court.
Nineteen District Courts	Made up of a maximum of five sectors: the administrative sector, civil sector, criminal sector and sub-district sector.

The Netherlands Bar Association (BAR): Netherlands Bar Association (the Bar) is the public-law professional body for all advocates in the Netherlands.

Arbitration: Recognized under Dutch law as a legitimate method for settling disputes.
Arbitration Law: Can be found on the website Nederlands Arbitrage Instituut (in Dutch).
Conformity to International Commercial Arbitration Rules: Party to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
Party to the Geneva Protocol on Arbitration Clauses.
Party to the Geneva Convention of the Execution of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
Appointment of Arbitrators: One (or three) arbitrators are assigned, the compensation depends on the type of case (what industry / amount etc.)
Arbitration Procedure: The prosecutor file is demanded in written and the defendant replies to it. A second is optional. After that a hearing is organized where both parties have the ability to clarify their side of the story. After that the arbitrators make a decision and put it on appear and send it to the persecutor and the defendant.

The result is binding in most cases. In some cases an appeal can be made at another arbitrage comity. Another option is to go to court and ask them to undo the made decision.
Permanent Arbitration Bodies: Committee of Arbitrage (Sectors Covered: General)
The Netherlands Institute for Arbitrage (Sectors Covered: General)
TMC Asser Institute (Sectors Covered: General)

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