Our experienced lawyers can draft contracts tailored to your preferences and review existing contracts to ensure compliance with Dutch law.

Well-drafted contract clauses eliminate all the uncertainty about the rights and responsibilities of each party while accurately reflecting the interests and intentions of the parties to the best of its abilities. An agreement must exclude ambiguity in language, overly complex language, incomplete terms or insufficient definitions. This is exactly what a contract lawyer can ensure for you.

Various principles under Dutch contract law play a role in the drafting of agreements between parties. For example, the terms of the contract must be constructed in such a way that the parties treat each other reasonably and fairly, by the principles of reasonableness and fairness. Additionally, the parties need to adhere to the principle of good faith with the terms set out in the contract. This implies that the parties and the contractual provisions must follow acceptable commercial norms of fair dealing. This may include generally accepted legal concepts, any related social interests, and the overall core notions of Dutch law.

Furthermore, contracts usually take the form of very lengthy, laborious documents with complex, formal language. It is thus possible that, regardless of who you are and what your profession is, you do not have the time or expertise to review the provisions of an agreement properly. Still, having the contract checked before signing can help you avoid many legal and financial problems, and we can take care of this for you.

We can investigate possible grounds to effectively dissolve a contract and defend your rights if the counterparty unlawfully terminates a contract with you.

Under Dutch law, there are various grounds for legally terminating an agreement. For example, this includes a situation where one party has violated its contractual obligations or failed to perform according to the contract’s terms, consequently allowing the other party to terminate the agreement.

We can also help you deal with instances of force majeure or unforeseen circumstances when it comes to termination of an agreement. If one of the instances prevents a party to an agreement to perform a contractual duty, then that party shall not be obliged to perform until it is possible again. In such cases, we can also help terminate or renegotiate the contract terms, considering both parties’ interests and losses.

It is important to note that, in most cases involving non-performance or poor performance, the agreement might only be terminated after a letter demanding performance has been sent to that defaulting party, and they still fail to perform accordingly. This is something we can also handle for you.

We can help with the wording of the notice of default and ensure that it accurately explains the breach and what the defaulting party needs to do.

A notice of default is a written statement or notification that demands the defaulting party fulfill an obligation within a reasonable time limit. If the debtor fails to comply, default occurs when this deadline passes. This can be used to terminate a contract or request compensation for damages.

An example template of this notice can be found on our website under ‘Blog’. If a party to your contract has not performed accordingly, we are happy to assist you in the whole process of notice of default, from drafting the letter to sending it out to the faulty party.

Our attorneys are prepared to help in resolving disputes through negotiations, mediation, arbitration, or legal proceedings, should a disagreement emerge.

It is always advisable for the parties to first consider resolving disputes outside of court. This may include methods like negotiation, mediation or arbitration, helping to avoid costly litigation procedures. Negotiation gives parties greater control over the resolution of a disagreement, but it also necessitates cooperation from all sides. Mediation involves a neutral third party to reach a settlement. Lastly, arbitration entails an arbitrator rendering a binding decision on the parties, which a court may set aside in some instances.

However, we are also happy to represent your interests in court if other settlement resolutions do not reach your preferred outcome.

To protect your interests and guarantee favorable entitlements, we can help with contract terms negotiations. These terms may include the responsibilities of the parties, price for or quality of goods/services to be delivered, performance, guarantees, and payment matters.

With the dynamic market and social conditions constantly changing, existing contracts may become outdated and thus, in need of adjustments to reflect these changes. When the terms of a contract are being negotiated, each party looks for terms that will provide them favorable rights and conditions. It is the task of a contract lawyer to secure these provisions for the client, but also negotiate them to be acceptable by the other party, hence maintaining a fair outcome for both.