Going Dutch - Holland as an international legal centre

HOLLAND is famous for its canals, windmills, wooden shoes and tulips. Furthermore, people also identify Holland with smart traders who speak many languages and are sometimes too direct, and perhaps also with dredgers and bridge?builders who export their knowledge worldwide. But lawyers know Holland as an international legal centre. The Hague hosts the International Court of Justice, the highest supranational court in the world, and several international penal tribunals, along with The Hague Conference for International Private law.

Holland has a good legal system for the resolution of commercial disputes, particularly in the field of transportation. Because of its huge ports with their strategic positioning, there is much know?how on all aspects of ships and cargoes. Dutch law also offers some interesting opportunities to secure the collection of claims, and to create jurisdiction for the resolution of disputes. For example:-

• The arrest of property, whether it be ships, bunkers, cargo, or sums of money, can be achieved in a matter of hours.
• Arrest creates substantive jurisdiction, as does, for instance, the fact that goods carried under a bill of lading are discharged in a Dutch port (unless a valid jurisdiction clause applies).
• Ambiguous carrier clauses are considered invalid under Dutch law and can therefore be disregarded.
• By giving instructions to a Dutch entity to collect a claim, equally substantive jurisdiction can be created.

These are just a few of the reasons why disputes might be brought before the Dutch courts.

Holland is a party to the New York Convention on the recognition of arbitral awards, and has entered into conventions on the recognition of judgements in commercial disputes with almost all countries within Europe, and a number of others outside it. Most maritime conventions have been adopted. Holland also has a competent corps of lawyers and judges specialising in maritime matters, with a special maritime and transport arbitration institute offering expertise in these fields.

AKD Prinsen Van Wijmen, is a law firm with over 200 attorneys and civil law notaries, and a specialist department dealing with maritime, transport and related insurance matters. The department is located in the Rotterdam office and is manned by eight attorneys, qualified to advise on the possibilities to deal with dispute resolution or securitisation of claims in The Netherlands.