Corporate Fraud and Criminal Law

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 - To coincide with the opening of the Netherlands Commercial Court, Matthijs Kuijpers of Stibbe Amsterdam has released a book setting out all relevant information concerning this new international court and what it may offer parties to future international commercial litigation.

Short Reads - Op 1 januari 2019 zijn op basis van de Wet Netherlands Commercial Court het Netherlands Commercial Court (NCC) en het Netherlands Commercial Court of Appeal (NCCA) van start gegaan. Bij het NCC kunnen internationale handelsgeschillen voor een gespecialiseerde overheidsrechter worden beslecht. Het NCC biedt procespartijen de mogelijkheid om in het Engels te procederen.

Articles - The Belgian chapter in the sixth edition of The Asset Tracing and Recovery Review was authored by Hans Van Bavel and Tobe Inghelbrecht.

Short Reads - A Brexit without a deal, or with a deal that does not cover all relevant aspects, is still a potential scenario. We have highlighted a number of unexpected legal consequences of Brexit in such a no deal or incomplete deal scenario.

Short Reads - If a person buys a car from a car dealer and fails to pay the purchase price on the agreed date, that person has to pay not only the purchase price but also statutory interest (Clause 6:119 DCC), unless otherwise agreed. If a car dealer buys the same car from an importer and fails to pay the purchase price on the agreed date, that car dealer has to pay commercial interest, which is a much higher rate, instead of the normal statutory interest (Clause 6:119a DCC).

Short Reads - On 12 December, a draft legislative proposal ("proposal") was published containing a special regulation on franchise agreements. Until now, there have been no special regulations regarding franchise agreements. The Explanatory Memorandum mentions that franchisees believe that franchisors have a more dominant position within their relationship.

Short Reads - Members of Stibbe’s Commercial Litigation practice group have participated in the public consultation of a draft bill to modernise and simplify the law of evidence in civil procedure.