Dutch Law in English

1 COMMON LAW VERSUS CIVIL LAW / 1
1.1 Civil law and common law, introduction / 1
1.2 Civil law: history / 2
1.3 History of common law: The establishment of a centralised administration of justice / 3
1.4 No codification / 4
1.5 Sources of law in common law / 5
1.5.1 Common law and equity / 5
1.5.2 Statute law and common law / 6
1.5.3 The legal profession / 7
1.6 This book / 7
Exercises chapter 1 / 9

2 FAMILY LAW / 17
2.1 Law of parentage / 17
2.1.1 The creation of legal family ties / 18
2.1.2 The establishment of legal parenthood: by operation of law / 18
2.1.3 The establishment of parenthood: not by operation of law / 19
2.2 A child’s name / 20
2.3 Parental responsibility and minority / 21
2.4 Legal capacity / 23
2.5 Obligation to provide maintenance / 23
2.6 Majority and protective intervention orders / 24
Exercises chapter 2 / 26

3 MARRIAGE, COHABITATION AND REGISTERED PARTNERSHIP / 29
3.1 Cohabitation contracts / 29
3.2 Registered partnership / 29
3.3 Patrimonial family law and mutual spousal obligations / 30
3.4 Spouses and third parties / 31
3.5 Family assets and liabilities / 33
3.5.1 End of the family assets and liabilities / 34
3.6 Marriage contract / 34
3.7 End of the marriage, including divorce / 35
3.8 Consequences of divorce / 36
Exercises chapter 3 / 37

4 LAW OF OBLIGATIONS I: JURIDICAL ACTS AND CONTRACTS / 41
4.1 The juridical act: general remarks / 41
4.1.1 The creation of the juridical act: legal capacity to act, disqualification and the declaration of intent / 41
4.1.2 The moment of creation of the juridical act / 42
4.1.3 Void and voidable juridical acts / 43
4.2 The contract / 44
4.2.1 The formation of a contract / 45
4.3 Error: void and voidable contracts / 47
4.4 The contents of the contract / 49
4.4.1 Interpretation and legal consequences of a contract / 50
4.4.2 Relationship of the parties prior to the conclusion of the contract / 51
4.5 Performance of the contract or non-performance / 52
4.5.1 Rights to suspend performance / 52
4.6 Non-performance / 53
4.5.2 Imputable non-performance / 53
4.7 Non-performance which cannot be imputed: force majeure / 55
Exercises chapter 4 / 59

5 LAW OF OBLIGATIONS II: TORT AND COMPENSATION / 71
5.1 Tort: Requirements / 71
5.1.1 Attribution / 73
5.1.2 Causality and damage / 74
5.1.3 Protective norm / 74
5.2 Claims based on tort / 74
5.3 Qualitative liability and strict liability / 75
5.3.1 Liability for children / 75
5.3.2 Liability for subordinates (article 6:170 DCC) / 76
5.3.3 Liability for objects / 76
5.3.4 Product liability / 78
5.4 Compensation / 80
5.4.1 Damage and causality / 80
5.4.2 The compensation of ‘other prejudice’ / 83
Exercises chapter 5 / 84

6 LAW OF PROPERTY / 93
6.1 General characteristics of the law of property / 93
6.2 Limited rights and qualitative rights and duties / 96
6.3 Ownership, detention and possession / 97
6.4 Acquisition of ownership / 98
6.4.1 The acquisition of ownership of choses by transfer / 99
6.4.2 Third party protection for movable choses / 102
6.4.3 Third party protection for immovable property / 103
Exercises chapter 6 / 105

7 SALE / 111
7.1 Conclusion of the purchase contract / 112
7.2 The seller’s obligations / 113
7.3 Defects and conformity with the contract / 114
7.4 Reversal of the onus of proof and guarantees / 117
7.5 Non-performance by the seller and duty to complain of the buyer / 118
7.6 Compensation and a special type of non-conformity with consumer sale: the safety defect / 121
7.7 Buyer’s obligations / 122
7.8 Non-compliance by the buyer / 123
7.9 The right to reclaim / 124
Exercises chapter 7 / 125

8 LABOUR LAW / 131
8.1 Features of employment contracts / 131
8.2 Alternative contracts regarding work / 132
8.3 The creation of the employment contract / 134
8.4 Special provisions in employment contracts / 136
8.5 The employee’s duties / 137
8.6 Employer’s sanctions in the event of non-compliance by the employee / 138
8.7 The employer’s duties / 139
8.8 Employee sanctions / 140
8.9 No labour, no wages. Exceptions / 140
8.10 Law on termination / 141
8.10.1 Ending an employment contract by giving notice / 142
8.10.2 Is the permit to give notice always required? Dismissal bans / 143
8.10.3 Term of notice / 143
8.10.4 Dismissals and compensation / 143
8.10.5 Termination for a substantial reason / 144
8.10.6 Termination of an employment contract before the court / 145
8.10.7 Termination of an employment contract by operation of law / 145
8.10.8 Termination of an employment contract by mutual consent (termination contracts) / 146
Exercises chapter 8 / 148

9 COMMERCIAL LAW I: GENERAL ASPECTS / 153
9.1 Representation and procuration / 153
9.2 Commercial register / 156
9.3 The duty to keep accounting records and the law on annual accounts / 157
9.4 Bankruptcy / 158
9.4.1 The estate in bankruptcy / 159
9.4.2 The estate and contracts / 161
9.4.3 End of the bankruptcy / 162
9.4.4 Act on the Approval of a Private Deed Concerning a Composition / 162
Exercises chapter 9 / 164

10 COMMERCIAL LAW II: JURIDICAL PERSONS / 167
10.1 To carry out business activities or a profession without juridical personality / 167
10.1.1 Sole proprietorship / 167
10.2.2 Personal partnerships / 168
10.1.3 Partnerships / 168
10.1.4 Partnership under a common firm / 170
10.1.5 Limited partnership / 172
10.2 Juridical persons / 172
10.2.1 Limited liability companies and private limited liability companies / 173
10.2.2 Formation and capital / 174
10.2.3 Shares / 176
10.2.4 The company’s organs / 177
10.2.5 Association, co-operative society, mutual insurance association / 180
10.2.6 Co-operative society and mutual insurance association / 181
10.2.7 Foundation / 182
10.3 Resolutions of juridical persons / 183
Exercises chapter 10 / 185

11 ADMINISTRATIVE LAW AND SOME ASPECTS OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW / 191
11.1 The Netherlands and the rule of law / 192
11.2 Attribution, delegation and mandate / 193
11.3 Public bodies, offices, and administrative bodies / 194
11.4 The decentralised unitary state / 195
11.4.1 Organisation of municipalities / 196
11.4.2 Organisation of the provinces / 198
11.4.3 Water boards and other public bodies / 200
11.5 Orders / 201
11.5.1 Decisions / 202
11.6 Public law or private law? / 204
11.7 Enforcement and sanctions / 204
11.8 General principles of proper administration / 206
11.9 Remedies / 208
Exercises chapter 11 / 211

12 CRIMINAL LAW / 215
12.1 Offences / 215
12.2 Perpetratorship / 216
12.3 Intent / 217
12.4 Culpa / 219
12.5 Defences / 220
12.6 Criminal attempt / 223
12.7 Criminal participation / 225
12.7.1 Co-perpetration / 226
12.7.2 Incitement / 227
12.7.3 Complicity / 228
12.8 Public Prosecution Service / 228
12.9 The investigation / 229
12.10 The trial / 232
12.11 The preliminary questions of article 348 Dutch Code of Criminal Procedure / 233
12.12 Sanctions / 235
12.12.1 Principal punishments and additional punishments / 235
12.12.2 Non-punitive measures / 236
Exercises chapter 12 / 238

KEY / 245
DEFINITIONS / 279
INDEX / 293
WOORDENBOEK / 299