Government measures in key jurisdictions 5th edition - Flipbook - Page 144
The Netherlands
Insolvency
Has the
government made
any changes
to insolvency
legislation?
Contractual
Issues
The Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security published a bill on 8 April 2020 on temporary
provisions in the area of the Ministry of Justice and Security in connection with the
coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak (the "Emergency Act") and an accompanying Explanatory
Memorandum.
The Emergency Act provides for, among other things:
•
The facilitation of electronic decision making by temporary derogation from the legal
and statutory provisions concerning holding physical meetings of legal entities;
•
a temporary limitation on the ‘presumptions of proof’ for directors’ liability in case of
bankruptcy if filing the annual accounts is delayed as a result of Covid-19;
•
the extension of the period for preparing annual accounts by the management board
instead of by the general meeting.
The Emergency Act entered into force on 24 April 2020. All the rules apply retroactively
from 16 March 2020, except the regulation on presumptions of proof when annual
accounts are filed late. The regulation on presumptions of proof in the event of late filing of
annual accounts expires on 1 September 2023, as a directors’ liability in bankruptcy
can be invoked for up to three years. More information can be found here.
•
There has been no expressive Government intervention into the workings of contracts
in the Netherlands and the normal rules apply.
•
Delays in production, supply and transportation may result in delay or failure to
perform a contract. Therefore, particular attention has been given to existing force
majeure clauses within contracts. Contracts usually include a list of force majeure
events, including events such as natural disasters, wars, government acts, etc.
Whether a ‘pandemic’ such as the coronavirus and the resulting
government measures, is deemed to fall within the scope of the ‘force majeure’
clause will have to be examined on a case-by-case basis.
•
Absent contractual clauses to this effect, Dutch law allows a contracting party to
invoke ‘force majeure’ by relying on various grounds under the statutory provisions
of the Dutch Civil Code in case of absence of fault, by virtue of law, a juridical act, or
based on common opinion.
What measures
have been taken
to reinforce
contracts?
Property
Have any changes
been made to
the laws around
property, rent and
enforcement?
144
Tenants
•
The Dutch Government has come to an agreement with housing corporations
and associations that the eviction of tenants will avoided during the Covid-19 crisis.
For tenants who are unable to pay the monthly rent despite these measures,
landlords will endeavour to provide custom solutions. The number of evictions
decreased by more than half in the first half of 2020.
Government measures in key jurisdictions
