Climate Change and Emissions Trading

Articles - De zogenoemde herziene Aandeelhoudersrechtenrichtlijn (Richtlijn (EU) 2017/828; “Richtlijn”) moest door de wetgever op 10 juni 2019 in Nederlandse wetgeving zijn geïmplementeerd. Dat is niet gelukt.

Inside Stibbe - The District Court Midden-Nederland ruled in favour of Westermeerwind B.V. on 19 June, in a case brought by organisations acting for the 'Westermeerwind Group'. The group had claimed that the 32 members of that group had the right to participate in the Windpark Westermeerwind at a much lower price than other participants, and with a different corporate structure.

Short Reads - In two recent decisions, the Dutch Supreme Court has clarified the evidentiary power of signed documents. If the signatory unambiguously denies that the signature on the document is his or hers or claims that another party has tampered with the signature (for instance, through forgery or copying a signature from one document and pasting it in another), it is up to the party invoking the signed document to prove the signature's authenticity (ECLI:NL:HR:2019:572).

Short Reads - When does a reason given for termination of an agreement qualify as a compelling ground? That was the central question in the Dutch Supreme Court's decision of 29 March 2019 (ECLI:NL:HR:2019:446). Depending on the nature of the agreement and the circumstances of the case, termination may only take place under certain conditions, e.g. only on compelling grounds. 

Articles - ‘Accountant is angsthaas geworden’, zo kopte de voorpagina van het FD van 26 augustus 2016, om vervolgens op de vervolgpagina’s te benadrukken dat er bij controleplichtige ondernemingen heimwee zou bestaan naar de accountant als ‘sparringpartner’. 

Masterclass - Stibbe will host a masterclass entitled 'Alcohol and drug testing in the workplace' on 6 June in Amsterdam. During this masterclass, employment law expert Johan Zwemmer and privacy experts Frederiek Fernhout and Judica Krikke will discuss the Dutch Data Protection Authority's general prohibition of these tests and discuss whether and how employers should implement.

Short Reads - The first year of the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") is over. Although early noises predicted an entirely new data protection regime, the European legal framework did not change substantially, the major changes being an expansion of the territorial scope to non-EU countries and stronger powers of enforcement. In spite of fears and rumours of immediate enforcement and huge fines, most regulators focused on helping companies achieve compliance, or they enforced without directly imposing fines.

Seminar - On Tuesday April 30th, Stibbe organizes a seminar on climate goals and energy targets. Climate change has incited different international and supranational institutions to issue climate goals and renewable energy targets. Both the UN and the EU have led this movement with various legal instruments.