Legal glossary

This glossary explains the terms that come up most often in Dutch legal practice. Each entry gives a short definition, the statutory basis, how the rule works in practice and where things typically go wrong. The entries are written for clients and their advisers, not for specialists, and every term is also available in Dutch on our Dutch-language site.

The glossary covers ten practice areas with twenty terms each: corporate law, employment law, family law, civil law, immigration law, energy law, real estate law, criminal law, IT law and administrative law.

Corporate law

See also our page on corporate law.

• Actio Pauliana — The actio pauliana allows a trustee or a creditor to annul voluntary acts that prejudiced the general body of the creditors as a whole.
• Annual accounts and filing — A BV must prepare, adopt and file annual accounts with the trade register; late filing counts against directors in insolvency.
• Articles of association (statuten) — The constitutional document of a Dutch company, executed by notarial deed, setting out its name, seat, objects and organisation.
• Asset deal — In an asset deal the individual assets and liabilities of the business are transferred rather than the shares in the company itself.
• Bankruptcy — Bankruptcy is a general attachment of the assets of a debtor who has ceased to pay, declared on petition by the district court.
• Commercial agency agreement — A commercial agent negotiates contracts for a principal against commission and is entitled to a goodwill indemnity when the agency ends.
• Conflict of interest (tegenstrijdig belang) — A director with a personal conflicting interest may not take part in the deliberation or the decision, on pain of voidability.
• Depositary receipts for shares — Depositary receipts separate voting control from economic interest: a foundation holds the shares and issues receipts to the beneficiaries.
• Directors’ liability (bestuurdersaansprakelijkheid) — The personal liability of a director towards the company, the estate in bankruptcy or third parties, which requires a serious personal reproach.
• Dissolution and liquidation (ontbinding en vereffening) — The winding up of a Dutch legal entity: a resolution to dissolve, followed by liquidation of the assets and distribution of any surplus.
• Dividend distribution — A BV may only distribute dividend once the board has confirmed, through a distribution test, that it can continue to pay its debts.
• Drag along and tag along — Drag along obliges minority shareholders to sell along with the majority; tag along gives them the right to join on the same terms.
• Due diligence (boekenonderzoek) — The buyer’s own investigation of a target company before a transaction, and the counterweight to the seller’s duty to disclose.
• Earn-out — An earn-out is part of the purchase price paid only after completion, its amount depending on the results the business achieves.
• Franchise agreement — The Dutch Franchise Act imposes mandatory rules on pre-contractual information, changes to the formula and post-term non-compete clauses.
• General meeting of shareholders (algemene vergadering) — The body in which shareholders exercise their rights; it adopts the annual accounts, appoints and dismisses directors and decides on distributions.
• General partnership (vof) — A vof is a partnership without legal personality in which each of the partners is jointly and severally liable for its debts.
• Inquiry proceedings (Enterprise Chamber) — Inquiry proceedings before the Enterprise Chamber allow an investigation into a company’s policy, with immediate provisional measures available.
• Legal merger and demerger — In a legal merger or demerger assets and liabilities pass by universal succession, without separate transfer of each individual item.
• Management and Supervision of Legal Entities Act — Since 1 July 2021 this Act aligns the rules on management and supervision for associations and foundations with those for the BV and NV.
• Private limited company (besloten vennootschap, B.V.) — The standard Dutch company form: a legal entity with shares that are not freely transferable, incorporated by notarial deed with no minimum capital.
• Share transfer — A share transfer in a Dutch BV must be effected by notarial deed; without it the shares do not pass, even if the price has been paid.
• Shareholders’ agreement (aandeelhoudersovereenkomst) — A contract between shareholders governing control, transfer of shares, exit and deadlock, alongside the articles of association.
• Supervisory board — A supervisory board oversees the management board of a company and advises it, with statutory duties and liability of its own.
• Trade register (handelsregister, KVK) — The public register of Dutch businesses kept by the Chamber of Commerce, on whose contents third parties may in principle rely.
• Turbo liquidation (turboliquidatie) — Dissolution of a company without any assets, where the board must file accountability documents and inform the known creditors.
• UBO register — The UBO register records the ultimate beneficial owners of legal entities; registration is mandatory and public access was invalidated in 2022.
• WHOA restructuring plan — The WHOA allows a business to impose a restructuring plan on dissenting creditors outside bankruptcy, confirmed by the court.

Employment law

See also our page on Dutch employment law.

• Chain rule for fixed-term contracts (ketenregeling) — The rule that a succession of fixed-term contracts converts into a contract of indefinite duration after three contracts or thirty-six months.
• Collective labour agreement (CAO) — A CAO is the collective agreement between employers and trade unions on terms of employment, which overrides conflicting individual clauses.
• Collective redundancy (WMCO) — An employer dismissing twenty or more employees in one region within three months must notify the UWV and consult the trade unions.
• Employer liability for accidents at work — An employer is liable for the loss an employee suffers at work unless it proves that it met its statutory duty of care in full.
• Fair compensation (billijke vergoeding) — Additional compensation awarded on top of the transition payment where the employer has acted in a seriously culpable manner.
• False self-employment — False self-employment arises where a contractor is formally self-employed but in fact works under authority, so that an employment contract exists.
• Fixed-term employment contract — A fixed-term contract ends by operation of law on the agreed date, with a written notification duty one month before that date.
• Gatekeeper Improvement Act — The Gatekeeper Improvement Act prescribes the reintegration steps employer and employee must take during the first two years of illness.
• Holiday entitlement — Statutory holiday lapses six months after the year in which it accrued; contractual holiday is only time-barred after five years.
• Non-compete clause (concurrentiebeding) — A contractual restriction on working for a competitor after the contract ends; it must be in writing and, if temporary, reasoned.
• Non-solicitation clause (relatiebeding) — A clause barring a departing employee from approaching the employer’s own clients; a narrower form of the non-compete clause.
• Notice period (opzegtermijn) — The period to be observed on termination: one month for the employee and one to four months for the employer, by length of service.
• On-call contract — Under an on-call contract the hours are not fixed; the employer must give four days’ notice and after twelve months offer a fixed number of hours.
• Parental and birth leave — Parents are entitled to birth leave, additional birth leave and twenty-six weeks of parental leave, nine of them partly paid.
• Payrolling — In payrolling the employee is formally employed by a payroll company but works exclusively for the client, with a right to the same terms as its own staff.
• Probationary period (proeftijd) — A short initial period in which either party may end the employment immediately; valid only in writing and only for contracts longer than six months.
• Prohibition on dismissal during illness — During the first two years of illness the employer may not give notice, subject only to a limited number of statutory exceptions.
• Settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst) — A written agreement in which employer and employee end the employment by mutual consent, subject to a statutory two-week cooling-off period.
• Sick pay obligation — During illness the employer must continue to pay at least seventy per cent of salary for two years, with the minimum wage as a floor in the first year.
• Study costs clause — Since 2022 the cost of compulsory training may not be recovered from the employee; other courses are subject to strict conditions.
• Summary dismissal (ontslag op staande voet) — Immediate termination for an urgent cause, valid only if the dismissal is given without delay and the reason is stated at once.
• Termination by the subdistrict court — Termination by the subdistrict court is the route for dismissal on personal grounds, on one of the statutory grounds listed in the Civil Code.
• Transfer of undertaking — On a transfer of undertaking the employees pass automatically to the transferee, keeping all of their existing terms and conditions.
• Transition payment (transitievergoeding) — The statutory severance an employee is owed when the employer ends the employment: one third of a month of salary per year of service, from the first day.
• Unilateral variation clause — A unilateral variation clause lets an employer change terms of employment, but only where a substantial interest outweighs the employee’s.
• UWV dismissal procedure — The route for dismissal on business-economic grounds or after two years of illness, where the UWV must give permission first.
• WIA disability benefit — After two years of illness the UWV assesses entitlement to disability benefit; the threshold is a 35 per cent loss of earning capacity.
• Works council — A works council is compulsory from fifty employees and holds advisory rights on organisational decisions and consent rights on social arrangements.

Immigration law

See also our page on immigration law.

• Asylum residence permit — A fixed-term asylum residence permit is granted to those in need of protection; it is valid for five years and has its own procedural rules.
• Chavez-Vilchez residence right — A parent of a Dutch child may hold a derived residence right where the child would otherwise be forced to leave the Union entirely.
• Civic integration — Newcomers subject to the integration requirement must pass the examination within three years, with the municipality directing it.
• Dublin procedure — The Dublin Regulation determines which Member State examines an asylum claim; if that is another state, transfer follows without a decision on the merits.
• Entry ban (inreisverbod) — A decision barring a foreign national from the Netherlands and the Schengen area for a set period, usually imposed together with an obligation to leave.
• EU Blue Card (Europese blauwe kaart) — An EU-wide permit for highly qualified employment, requiring a higher education degree and a salary threshold, with mobility rights in other member states.
• Family reunification (gezinshereniging) — Admission of a partner or child to join a sponsor living in the Netherlands, subject to an income and accommodation requirement.
• Family reunification for refugees (nareis) — Nareis is family reunification for the relatives of an asylum status holder, on lighter conditions if applied for within three months.
• Highly skilled migrant (kennismigrant) — A foreign employee admitted on the basis of a salary criterion rather than a labour market test, working for a recognised sponsor.
• Humanitarian residence — A humanitarian residence permit can be granted in compelling circumstances, on medical grounds or after domestic violence at home.
• Immigration detention — Immigration detention is deprivation of liberty with a view to removal; it is permitted only where a less intrusive measure will not suffice.
• Naturalisation (naturalisatie) — Naturalisation is acquiring Dutch nationality by application after a period of lawful residence and the civic integration exam.
• Objection and appeal in immigration cases — Ordinary IND decisions are challenged by objection, asylum decisions by direct appeal, with short deadlines and often no suspensive effect.
• Orientation year (zoekjaar) — A one-year residence permit letting recent graduates and researchers look for work here, with free access to the labour market.
• Permanent residence permit — After five years of lawful residence a permanent permit can be applied for, subject to the integration and income requirements.
• Provisional residence permit (mvv) — The entry visa required before a stay of more than ninety days, usually applied for together with the residence permit in one combined procedure.
• Recognised sponsor (erkend referent) — An employer or institution in the IND register, which can apply for permits under a fast procedure and carries duties of care.
• Residence permit (verblijfsvergunning regulier) — The permit allowing a non-EU national to live in the Netherlands for a defined purpose, granted for a set period and renewable.
• Residence rights of EU citizens — Union citizens have a directly effective right of residence in the Netherlands; after five years a permanent right of residence arises.
• Return decision — A return decision requires a foreign national without lawful residence to leave the Netherlands, usually within four weeks’ time.
• Schengen visa — A Schengen visa allows a stay of up to ninety days within any period of one hundred and eighty days anywhere in the Schengen area.
• Single permit (GVVA) — One permit combining residence and work for employment outside the highly skilled migrant route, granted after a labour market test.
• Start-up visa — The start-up permit gives an entrepreneur one year to build an innovative business with guidance from a recognised facilitator.
• Student residence permit — The student permit is applied for by the educational institution as recognised sponsor; the student must make sufficient academic progress.
• Withdrawal of a residence permit — A residence permit may be withdrawn for incorrect information, for no longer meeting the conditions, or on public order grounds.
• Work permit (TWV) — A work permit is required to employ a foreign national without free access to the labour market; the employer applies to the UWV.

Family law

See also our page on family law.

• Acknowledgement of a child (erkenning) — The legal act by which a person becomes the parent of a child they did not bear; since 2023 it also creates joint parental authority.
• Adoption — Adoption severs the legal family tie with the original parents and creates a new one with the adoptive parents; only a court can grant it.
• Change of a child’s surname — A child’s surname can be changed by application to the Crown, subject to its own conditions and to prescribed periods of care.
• Child maintenance (kinderalimentatie) — The contribution a parent pays towards the cost of a child’s care and upbringing, calculated from the child’s needs and each parent’s capacity to pay.
• Co-parenting — Co-parenting is a roughly equal sharing of care after separation; it is not a statutory term but does have financial consequences.
• Cohabitation agreement — A cohabitation agreement records arrangements between unmarried partners; Dutch law provides them with almost no rights by default.
• Community of property (gemeenschap van goederen) — The statutory matrimonial property regime; since 2018 it is limited, so pre-marital assets, gifts and inheritances stay private.
• Contact arrangement (omgangsregeling) — The agreed or court-ordered arrangement for contact between a child and the parent with whom that child does not actually live.
• Divorce covenant — A divorce covenant records the parties’ arrangements on property, maintenance and pension, and is attached to the court order.
• Divorce mediation — In divorce mediation a neutral mediator guides both partners towards arrangements that are then recorded in a divorce covenant.
• Divorce proceedings — A divorce runs by petition to the district court, with mandatory representation by a lawyer and registration in the civil status registers.
• Family supervision order — A family supervision order appoints a family guardian to supervise a minor, while the parents themselves retain parental authority.
• Guardianship — Guardianship is authority over a minor exercised by someone other than a parent, for instance after death or termination of parental authority.
• International child abduction — The wrongful removal or retention of a child across a border, with return proceedings brought before the district court in The Hague.
• Joint divorce petition (echtscheiding op gemeenschappelijk verzoek) — A divorce applied for by both spouses together through one lawyer, on the ground that the marriage has irretrievably broken down.
• Judicial determination of paternity — Where a father does not acknowledge the child, the court can determine paternity, with retroactive effect to the date of birth.
• Parental authority (ouderlijk gezag) — The legal responsibility for a minor child’s upbringing, property and representation; acknowledgement now also creates joint authority.
• Parenting plan (ouderschapsplan) — The written agreement on care, information exchange and child maintenance that divorcing parents of minor children must file with their petition.
• Pension equalisation — On divorce the former partner is entitled to half the retirement pension built up during the marriage, provided the provider is notified within two years.
• Prenuptial agreement (huwelijkse voorwaarden) — A notarial agreement in which spouses depart from the statutory matrimonial property regime, made before or during the marriage.
• Protective administration — Protective administration is the measure by which the subdistrict court entrusts management of a person’s assets to an administrator.
• Registered partnership — A registered partnership closely resembles marriage, but can be ended without going to court where there are no minor children.
• Relocation with a child — Parents with joint authority need each other’s consent to move house with a child; where consent is refused, the court decides.
• Spousal maintenance (partneralimentatie) — Maintenance paid to a former spouse who cannot provide for themselves; since 2020 the duration is normally half the marriage, capped at five years.
• Termination of parental authority — The court can terminate parental authority where the child’s development is seriously threatened and the parent cannot resume responsibility.
• Variation of maintenance — Maintenance can be varied where circumstances change or where the original order rested on incorrect or incomplete information.

Energy law

See also our page on energy law.

• ACM supervision in the energy sector — The Authority for Consumers and Markets regulates grid tariffs, adopts the codes and resolves disputes between connected parties and grid operators.
• Charging infrastructure — Charging points are subject to their own rules on grid connection, siting in public space, transparent pricing and user rights.
• Collective heat supply (Wet collectieve warmte) — The Collective Heat Act lets municipalities designate heat areas and moves district heating tariffs to a cost-based footing instead.
• Congestion management — Congestion management is the set of measures by which a grid operator allocates scarce transport capacity and frees up additional room on the grid.
• Connection and transport agreement (aansluit- en transportovereenkomst) — The connection and transport agreement governs, between connected party and grid operator, the connection and the contracted capacity.
• Connection capacity — Connection capacity is the capacity for which a connection was built; it determines the tariff and is separate from contracted transport capacity.
• Consumer energy contract — Consumers are entitled to clear contract terms, a model contract and protection on termination and on the supplier’s insolvency.
• Disconnection rules — A small consumer cannot simply be disconnected: warning periods, an offer of debt assistance and a winter moratorium all apply first.
• Emissions trading (ETS) — The EU emissions trading system caps greenhouse gas emissions; participating operators must surrender allowances for their emissions each year.
• Energy Act (Energiewet) — The Energy Act entered into force on 1 January 2026 and replaced the Electricity Act 1998 and the Gas Act as the market framework.
• Energy community — An energy community is a body of citizens or businesses that generates, shares, stores or supplies energy with a social purpose.
• Energy label — The energy label records a building’s energy performance; office buildings have been required to hold at least label C since 2023.
• Energy saving obligation — Businesses with substantial energy use must take every measure that pays for itself within five years and report on it periodically.
• Energy storage — Energy storage such as batteries has its own position on the grid; connection, tariffs and the role as market participant require separate arrangements.
• Feed-in charges for solar power — Suppliers may charge feed-in costs to households with solar panels, provided the charges reflect actual costs and can be explained.
• Grid congestion (netcongestie) — Grid congestion arises where demand for transport capacity exceeds what the network can safely carry, so new requests are refused.
• Grid operator (netbeheerder) — A grid operator is the statutorily appointed operator of an electricity or gas network, separated by law from production and supply.
• Guarantee of origin (garantie van oorsprong) — A guarantee of origin certifies that one megawatt hour came from a renewable source and is tradable separately from the electricity.
• Hydrogen regulation — The European hydrogen and gas decarbonisation package builds a regulated hydrogen market, with designated network operators and unbundling.
• Net metering scheme (salderingsregeling) — Net metering lets owners of solar panels offset the electricity they feed in against what they take out; it ends on 1 January 2027.
• Permits for solar and wind farms — A solar or wind farm needs an environmental permit, often an environmental impact assessment, and a grid connection that is scarce in congestion areas.
• Power purchase agreement (PPA) — A power purchase agreement is a long-term contract under which a buyer takes the output of one installation at an agreed price.
• Programme responsibility — Programme responsibility is the duty to forecast electricity supply and demand in advance and to settle deviations financially.
• SDE++ subsidy — The SDE++ covers the unprofitable component of renewable energy and carbon reduction projects, awarded per round by cost effectiveness.
• Smart meter — The grid operator offers every small consumer a smart meter; the customer may refuse it or have the remote reading switched off.
• Supply licence (leveringsvergunning) — A supply licence from the ACM is required to supply electricity or gas to small consumers and sets demands on the organisation.

Real estate law

See also our page on real estate law.

• Acquisitive prescription — Long possession of land can lead to ownership by prescription; the original owner may then claim compensation in kind from the possessor.
• Age clause — An age clause limits the seller’s liability for defects that are associated with the age of the property that is being sold on.
• Apartment right and owners association (appartementsrecht en VvE) — An apartment right gives a share in a divided building with exclusive use of one unit and membership of the owners association.
• Building Quality Assurance Act — Since 2024 an independent quality assurer checks new build in consequence class 1, and the contractor’s liability after completion is wider.
• Chain clause and qualitative obligation — A chain clause obliges a buyer to pass the obligation on to successors; a qualitative obligation runs with the property automatically.
• Construction contract — Under a construction contract the contractor undertakes to build and deliver a work; completion is the pivot for liability and risk.
• Easement (erfdienstbaarheid) — An easement is a charge on one property for the benefit of another, such as a right of way, and passes with the land on transfer.
• Environment plan — The environment plan replaces the zoning plan and contains all the municipal rules on the physical living environment in the municipality.
• Environmental permit (omgevingsvergunning) — The environmental permit is the single permission the Environment and Planning Act requires for building, demolition and use changes.
• Eviction — Evicting leased premises requires a court judgment; only once that judgment is obtained may a bailiff actually clear the property.
• Financing condition (financieringsvoorbehoud) — A financing condition lets the buyer dissolve the purchase without penalty on showing, in time and with documents, that no mortgage came.
• Ground lease (erfpacht) — Erfpacht is the real right to hold and use another’s land against a periodic ground rent; the deed of grant sets the conditions.
• Housing valuation system — The housing valuation system awards points to a rented home and sets the maximum rent; since 2024 it also covers the mid-market segment.
• Mortgage right — A mortgage is a limited right over registered property giving the creditor priority and the power to sell without a court order.
• Neighbour law — Neighbour law governs relations between owners of adjoining plots, from boundaries and overhanging branches to views and nuisance.
• Non-conformity in a house purchase — A house is non-conforming where it lacks the qualities the buyer was entitled to expect, with normal use as the usual yardstick.
• Other business premises (230a) — Offices, storage and consulting rooms fall under Article 7:230a and enjoy only eviction protection, not any security of tenure.
• Purchase agreement for real estate (koopovereenkomst onroerende zaak) — A purchase agreement for a home bought by a consumer must be in writing and usually contains a deposit and a ten per cent penalty clause.
• Rent increase — Regulated housing is subject to statutory maximum annual rent increases; in the liberalised sector the contract governs, within limits.
• Rent review for business premises — Tenant and landlord of retail business premises may seek a new rent after five years, based on comparable premises in the locality.
• Residential rent protection (huurbescherming woonruimte) — Residential tenants are strongly protected: termination is possible only on statutory grounds and rents up to a threshold are capped.
• Retail business premises lease (290-bedrijfsruimte) — Leases of retail and hospitality premises fall under article 7:290, giving the tenant five plus five years and termination protection.
• Right of superficies — A right of superficies breaks accession: the holder owns the buildings, works or plantings situated on another person’s land.
• Service charges — Service charges are the payments for supplies and services alongside the bare rent; the landlord must account for them each year.
• Soil contamination — Soil contamination affects the value and usability of land; since the Environment and Planning Act the rules sit in environmental law.
• Statutory cooling-off period (wettelijke bedenktijd) — The statutory cooling-off period gives a consumer buying a home three days to dissolve the purchase without giving any reasons.
• Substitution of tenant — Substitution allows the court to authorise a tenant of business premises to put a third party in their place when the business is sold.
• Transfer of title (juridische levering) — Transfer of title to immovable property requires a notarial deed and registration in the public land registers before ownership passes.

Criminal law

See also our page on criminal law.

• Appeal in criminal cases — A district court judgment can be appealed to the court of appeal within fourteen days, and that court rehears the whole case.
• Certificate of good conduct (VOG) — A VOG certifies that judicial records pose no obstacle to a role; the screening authority looks back over a period that varies by function.
• Community service order (taakstraf) — A community service order requires unpaid work of up to two hundred and forty hours; if it is not completed, detention follows.
• Compensation after acquittal — After an acquittal or a dismissal you can claim compensation for time spent in custody and for the costs of your lawyer, within three months.
• Confiscation of criminal proceeds (ontneming) — A confiscation order requires the convicted person to pay the estimated advantage obtained through crime, in separate proceedings.
• Dismissal of a case (sepot) — A dismissal is a decision by the public prosecutor not to prosecute, either for want of evidence or on grounds of policy alone.
• Driving under the influence — Driving with more than the permitted level of alcohol or drugs is an offence carrying a fine, a driving ban and a licence measure from the CBR.
• Economic criminal law — Economic criminal law covers breaches of regulatory legislation by businesses, from environment to working conditions and financial supervision.
• Evidence in criminal cases — A conviction requires lawful and convincing evidence from at least two sources; a single witness or confession is not enough.
• Forgery — Forgery is falsifying or falsely drawing up a document intended to serve as evidence, with the intention of using it as genuine.
• Injured party in criminal proceedings — A victim may join the criminal proceedings as an injured party in order to claim his compensation directly from the defendant.
• Lawyer at the police interview — Every suspect is entitled to a lawyer before and during the police interview; that right can only be waived knowingly and freely.
• Money laundering — Money laundering is concealing or using objects derived from crime; suspicion often arises from unexplained wealth or cash flows.
• Opium Act and drug offences — The Opium Act splits drugs into List I and List II; possession, dealing and cultivation are punishable, with tolerance only within narrow limits.
• Penal order (strafbeschikking) — A penal order is a sanction imposed by the prosecutor without a trial; the only remedy against it is opposition within fourteen days.
• Police custody (inverzekeringstelling) — Police custody allows a suspect to be held for up to three days in the interest of the investigation, with review by a magistrate.
• Pre-trial detention (voorlopige hechtenis) — Pre-trial detention is detention ordered by a court before judgment, on the statutory grounds and for strictly limited periods.
• Procedural defects — A procedural defect is an irreparable flaw in the pre-trial investigation; the court may respond with a sentence reduction or exclusion of evidence.
• Reporting a crime — A report is notification of a criminal offence to the police or prosecution service; the prosecutor then decides independently whether to prosecute.
• Right to silence and caution (zwijgrecht en cautie) — A suspect need not answer questions and must be told so before questioning; without that caution a statement is largely unusable.
• Seizure of evidence — Seizure is taking custody of objects for the investigation or for confiscation; return can be sought by filing a formal complaint.
• Summons (dagvaarding) — A summons brings the defendant before the criminal court; the charge it contains defines the scope of the trial and of a conviction.
• Suspect (verdachte) — A suspect is someone against whom facts give rise to a reasonable suspicion; from that moment the right to silence and to a lawyer apply.
• Suspended sentence and probation period (voorwaardelijke straf en proeftijd) — A suspended sentence is not carried out provided the convicted person complies with the conditions during the probation period.
• TBS order — A TBS order is a measure for defendants with a mental disorder who committed a serious offence and still pose a danger to others.
• Temporary domestic exclusion order — The mayor can bar someone from their own home for ten days, extendable to twenty-eight, where housemates face an immediate risk of harm.

Civil law

See also our page on civil law.

• Appeal in civil cases — An appeal is a full rehearing of a civil case by the court of appeal, to be lodged within three months of the date of judgment.
• Assignment of claims — Assignment transfers a claim to another creditor; disclosed assignment requires notice to the debtor, undisclosed assignment a registered deed.
• Breach of contract (wanprestatie) — A failure to perform a contractual obligation that is attributable to the debtor, giving the other party a claim for damages.
• Burden of proof — The party relying on the legal consequences of facts bears the burden of proving them, unless a special rule or fairness requires otherwise.
• Damages — Damages are intended to put the injured party in the position they would have been in had the damaging event not taken place.
• Debt collection costs — An unpaid money claim attracts a statutory scale of collection costs; against consumers a fourteen-day reminder is compulsory.
• Default (verzuim) — The state a debtor enters after a valid notice of default or a missed fixed deadline; it is the precondition for damages and rescission.
• Duty to complain — A party who discovers a defect in performance must protest within a reasonable time; complaining too late forfeits all rights.
• Error (dwaling) — A contract entered into on a mistaken assumption caused by the other party’s statement or silence can be annulled, or adjusted by the court.
• Executory attachment — With an enforceable title a creditor can attach the debtor’s assets and have them sold by a bailiff to satisfy his claim in full.
• Exoneration clause — An exoneration clause limits or excludes liability; it is set aside where reliance on it would be unacceptable by standards of reasonableness and fairness.
• Force majeure — Force majeure exists where a failure cannot be attributed to the debtor; no damages are then payable, though rescission remains open.
• General terms and conditions (algemene voorwaarden) — Standard clauses drafted for repeated use; they bind the other party only if they were made available before or at the moment of contracting.
• Joint and several liability — Under joint and several liability the creditor may claim the whole debt from any one debtor, with recourse between them afterwards.
• Limitation period (verjaring) — The period after which a claim can no longer be enforced; five years for most contractual and damages claims, twenty years as the outer limit.
• Notice of default (ingebrekestelling) — A written demand giving a debtor a final reasonable period to perform, and the step that puts the debtor in default under Dutch law.
• Penalty clause — A penalty clause requires payment of a fixed sum on breach; the court may reduce it where applying it would produce a manifestly excessive result.
• Penalty payment (dwangsom) — A sum a court orders a party to pay for each breach of, or day of non-compliance with, a judgment; it cannot be attached to an obligation to pay money.
• Prejudgment attachment (conservatoir beslag) — Attachment of assets before judgment, with the court’s leave, to secure recovery; proceedings on the merits must follow within a set period.
• Preliminary relief proceedings (kort geding) — Fast civil proceedings before the provisional relief judge for an urgent, provisional order; a judgment usually follows within weeks.
• Rescission of a contract (ontbinding) — Termination of a contract because the other party has failed to perform; it can be done by written declaration and undoes the obligations for the future.
• Retention of title — Under retention of title the seller remains the owner of the goods delivered until the buyer has paid the agreed price in full.
• Right of retention — The right of retention allows a creditor to withhold delivery of goods in his possession until his claim has been paid in full.
• Right of suspension — The right of suspension allows a debtor to postpone his own performance for as long as the other party fails to perform its part.
• Set-off — Set-off allows two parties who owe each other money to cancel their debts against each other up to the amount of the smaller one.
• Suretyship — Under a suretyship a third party undertakes to perform another’s obligation; private sureties enjoy extra statutory protection.
• Tort — A tort is an infringement of a right, a breach of a statutory duty or conduct contrary to social standards of care, giving rise to a duty to pay damages.
• Writ of summons proceedings — Writ of summons proceedings are the ordinary civil action, begun by a bailiff’s writ setting out the claim and the grounds for it.

IT law

See also our page on IT law.

• AI Act — The AI Act regulates artificial intelligence by risk level, with prohibited practices, requirements for high-risk systems and transparency obligations.
• Automated decision-making — You may not be subjected to a purely automated decision with significant effects, unless an exception applies and safeguards are in place.
• Cookie consent — Cookie consent is the prior, freely given and unambiguous consent required before non-essential cookies are placed on a visitor’s device.
• Copyright in software — Software is protected by copyright as a work; protection covers the source code and preparatory material, not the underlying ideas and functionality.
• Data Act — The Data Act gives users access to the data from their connected products and makes switching between cloud providers easier.
• Data processing agreement — A data processing agreement is the mandatory written contract setting out the terms on which a processor handles personal data on behalf of a controller.
• Data protection impact assessment — A DPIA is the assessment carried out before processing that is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals.
• Data protection officer — The data protection officer supervises GDPR compliance internally and is mandatory for public bodies and for large-scale processing.
• Data subject rights — The GDPR gives individuals rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability and objection, with a one-month response deadline.
• Database right — The database right protects the producer who has made a substantial investment in obtaining, verifying or presenting the contents of a database.
• Digital Services Act — The Digital Services Act imposes duties on online intermediaries on notices, transparency and advertising, heavier for large platforms.
• Direct marketing and the spam rules — Commercial email and telemarketing require prior consent; only a narrow exception applies to existing customers for similar products.
• Distance selling — In distance selling the consumer has fourteen days to withdraw and the seller is subject to extensive duties to inform beforehand.
• Domain name dispute — A domain name dispute can be resolved quickly through the .nl dispute procedure or the UDRP, rather than through the civil courts.
• Dutch Cybersecurity Act (NIS2) — The Dutch Cybersecurity Act requires essential and important entities to take risk management measures and to report incidents.
• Electronic signature — The eIDAS Regulation distinguishes simple, advanced and qualified electronic signatures; only the last is equated with a handwritten signature.
• International data transfers — Transfers outside the European Economic Area require an adequacy decision, standard contractual clauses or another appropriate safeguard.
• IT project dispute — A failed IT project turns on who was responsible for what, and on how far the supplier actually met its duty to warn the client.
• Licence agreement — A licence gives another party permission to use your IP right; scope, exclusivity and duration determine what the licensee may actually do.
• Monitoring of employees — Monitoring staff requires a legitimate interest, a proportionality test and, as a rule, the consent of the works council beforehand.
• Notice and takedown — Notice and takedown is the procedure for reporting unlawful content to a hosting service and having that content taken offline.
• Personal data breach — A personal data breach is a security incident causing loss of or unauthorised access to personal data, notifiable within 72 hours.
• Retention periods — Personal data may be kept no longer than necessary; the seven-year tax retention duty is the best known of the fixed statutory periods.
• SaaS agreement — A SaaS agreement gives the customer online access to software running at the supplier’s end, without any copy being delivered.
• Source code escrow — Source code escrow is an arrangement under which an independent agent holds the source code and releases it to the user if the supplier fails.
• Trade mark law — A trade mark protects a sign that distinguishes your goods or services; the right arises only on registration with BOIP or the EUIPO.
• Trade name law — A trade name right arises through use rather than registration; a later name that causes confusion with an earlier one can be prohibited.

Administrative law

See also our page on administrative law.

• Administrative decision — An administrative decision is a written decision of a public body containing an act under public law; only a decision can be challenged.
• Administrative fine — An administrative fine is a punitive sanction imposed by the body itself, with safeguards such as silence and the presumption of innocence.
• Administrative loop — The administrative loop lets the court give the body an opportunity to repair a defect in the decision during the proceedings.
• Appeal to the administrative court — An appeal to the administrative court is the application to the district court after the decision on objection, to be lodged within six weeks.
• Bibob Act — Under the Bibob Act an authority can refuse or withdraw a permit where there is serious danger it will be misused for criminal purposes.
• Compensation for lawful government action — This is compensation for disproportionate loss caused by lawful government action, with its own regime in the Awb since 2024.
• Costs order in administrative proceedings — A party who succeeds in objection or appeal can receive a fixed-scale contribution towards the cost of professional assistance.
• Damages for an unlawful decision — Once a decision is quashed or withdrawn you can claim your loss, by petition to the administrative court or before the civil court.
• Duty to cooperate with supervision — Everyone must cooperate with an inspector acting within reasonable limits, but the right to silence applies once a fine is in prospect.
• Duty to give reasons — A decision must rest on sound reasoning stated when it is notified; without that reasoning the decision will not survive review.
• Interested party — An interested party is a person whose interest is directly affected by a decision; only an interested party may object and appeal.
• Interim relief in administrative proceedings — Interim relief is the urgent measure by which the administrative court can suspend a decision while an objection or appeal is pending.
• Mandate and delegation — Under a mandate another person decides in the body’s own name; under delegation the power itself passes to a different public body.
• Missing a deadline — Objection and appeal must be lodged within six weeks; being late means inadmissibility, unless the delay can be excused on good grounds.
• Notice of objection — A notice of objection asks the administrative body itself to reconsider its decision and must be filed within six weeks of publication.
• Open Government Act (Woo) — The Dutch Open Government Act gives anyone the right to request public information from administrative bodies, with a four-week decision period.
• Order for administrative enforcement — With administrative enforcement the authority ends the breach itself and recovers the costs from the offender, after a period to comply.
• Order subject to a penalty — An order subject to a penalty is a remedial sanction under which the offender forfeits a sum if the breach is not ended within the compliance period.
• Penalty for late decision — If an administrative body decides late, it forfeits a penalty of up to 1,442 euros over a maximum of 42 days after being given notice of default.
• Policy rule — A policy rule records how an administrative body exercises its power; departure is required where consequences would be disproportionate.
• Principle of legitimate expectations — The principle protects those who justifiably relied on a government assurance; since 2019 the courts apply a three-step test.
• Principle of proportionality — The principle of proportionality requires that the adverse consequences of a decision are not disproportionate to the aim pursued.
• Request for enforcement — A request for enforcement compels an administrative body to take a formal decision on acting against a breach of the applicable rules.
• Subsidy determination — The subsidy determination fixes the final amount of the grant; a lower determination can lead to recovery of sums already paid.
• Tolerance decision — Tolerating a breach means deliberately not enforcing; it is exceptional, should be temporary, and gives the tolerated party little security.
• Uniform public preparatory procedure — Under this procedure a draft decision is published for views first, after which appeal lies directly, without an objection stage.
• Withdrawal of a permit — A permit can be withdrawn for incorrect information, non-use or breach of conditions, but only after the competing interests are weighed.