In a world in which country borders are decreasingly a threshold for doing business, international contracting can lead to complex legal conflicts. Debt collection can be difficult in case of cross-border situations. It requires knowledge of the applicable law and of the legal system of the country in which the claim could be recovered. Pellicaan Advocaten specializes – amongst other things – in debt collection in The Netherlands. In a series of short articles, to be published on the Marcalliance Corporate Linkedin page in the next few weeks, Pellicaan’s litigation expert Sonia Beedie will explain the various means to collect claims for your client in The Netherlands.
The desire for debt collection usually results from contract default. Your client may for example be confronted with a customer that refuses to pay for rendered services, or a supplier that has not delivered according to contract. What if the defaulting party has a bank account in The Netherlands, or other assets which could be used for recovery of the claim? The question arises how to collect your clients’ claim in the best possible way.
First of all, you will have to determine whether Dutch law is applicable and/or whether the Dutch court is competent. Usually such commercial contracts include a jurisdiction clause. If that is not the case, international conflict rules will determine whether or not the case can be brought before the Dutch courts or not. In Sonia’s first contribution, she will address the situation in which the Dutch courts are not competent, and the claimant has already obtained a foreign enforceable title. She will explain whether and if yes, how you can use this foreign title for recovery in The Netherlands. In the consequent articles, Sonia will address the situation in which the Dutch courts are competent and your client does not yet have an enforceable verdict. Various types of procedures will be visited, including protective measures such as prejudgement seizure and interim relief injunction proceedings.
Pellicaan Advocaten hopes this series of articles will help you more in advising your client about debt collection in The Netherlands, and Sonia is of course happy to assist in any related matters.
Sonia Beedie
sonia.beedie@pellicaan.nl