สัญญาทางการค้าภายใต้กฎหมายดัตช์: ข้อกำหนดใดบ้างที่ตัดสินความเสี่ยงของคุณ?

In a Dutch commercial contract, your risk is decided by a handful of clauses: the general terms, the liability cap, the penalty clause, the termination clause and the choice of law and forum. Dutch law gives businesses wide freedom to agree these terms, but mandatory rules and the standard of reasonableness and fairness (Articles 6:2 and 6:248 of the Dutch Civil Code, BW) can still set a clause aside.

This article explains which clauses carry the risk, what the Civil Code does with them and where mandatory law takes over. For the different types of agreement themselves, see our article on the ประเภทของข้อตกลงทางการค้าภายใต้กฎหมายดัตช์.

How is a commercial contract formed under Dutch law?

A contract is formed by offer and acceptance, and in most cases no signature or written document is needed. An exchange of emails, a purchase order that is carried out or an oral agreement confirmed by conduct can all create a binding contract.

Form requirements apply only in specific cases. A transfer of shares in a private limited company (besloten vennootschap, BV) and a transfer of real estate need a notarial deed. Everything else depends on what the parties can prove, so the party relying on a term has to show it was agreed.

Dutch courts do not read a contract word by word in isolation. Under the Haviltex standard they ask what the parties could reasonably expect from each other in the circumstances. Between professional parties with a detailed contract, the wording weighs heavily; in an informal deal, the surrounding facts weigh more.

Negotiations also have rules. Breaking off talks can, in limited cases, oblige a party to pay the other side’s costs. Our article on ยุติการเจรจาในเนเธอร์แลนด์ อธิบายว่าเส้นทางนั้นทอดยาวไปที่ไหน

เงื่อนไขและข้อกำหนดทั่วไปของคุณมีผลบังคับใช้เมื่อใด?

Your general terms (algemene voorwaarden) apply only if you declared them applicable before or when the contract was concluded, and gave the other party a reasonable opportunity to read them. In practice this means sending them with the quotation or offer, not printing them on the back of an invoice after delivery.

If you did not give that opportunity, the other party can annul individual clauses under Articles 6:233 and 6:234 BW. Under Article 6:235 BW, larger parties cannot invoke this protection: companies that published their annual accounts, and parties with fifty or more people working for them. Smaller businesses are therefore in a stronger position.

Which terms win in a battle of forms?

Under Article 6:225(3) BW, the first reference to general terms prevails. A second reference has no effect unless it expressly rejects the first party’s terms. So refer to your own terms in every quotation and order confirmation, expressly reject the other side’s terms, and keep a dated record. Our guide to การร่างข้อกำหนดและเงื่อนไขทั่วไป covers the rollout.

คุณสามารถจำกัดความรับผิดของคุณได้มากน้อยแค่ไหน?

Between businesses, a limitation or exclusion of liability is valid in principle, and a cap expressed as a multiple of the contract fee is common. You cannot rely on it where intent or deliberate recklessness by you or your management caused the damage.

A court can also set the clause aside under Article 6:248(2) BW if relying on it would be unacceptable by standards of reasonableness and fairness. Courts weigh the seriousness of the breach, the type of damage, the ratio between the cap and the fee, and whether the risk was insured. A cap in line with the contract value and your insurance holds up better than a token amount.

Be careful with “indirect and consequential loss”. Dutch law does not use those categories; Article 6:98 BW compensates loss that can be attributed to the event. Name the excluded heads of loss instead, such as loss of profit, loss of production and third-party claims.

How do penalty clauses and late payment work?

A penalty clause (boetebeding) is useful where loss is hard to prove, for example for confidentiality or non-solicitation. Unless the contract says otherwise, the penalty replaces statutory damages, so state expressly if you want to claim your actual loss on top of it.

Under Article 6:94(1) BW, the court may reduce a penalty if fairness clearly requires it, but never below the statutory damages. A tiered penalty, with an amount per breach, an amount per day for continuing breaches and an overall cap, is less likely to be reduced than one large round figure.

For late payment, Article 6:119a BW gives the creditor the statutory commercial interest from the day after the agreed payment date. Reasonable extrajudicial collection costs can be claimed as well under Article 6:96(2) BW. Between businesses you can agree different terms, so check what your contract says.

Retention of title is the cheapest security a supplier has. Extend it to all claims under the relationship and add a right of access to repossess the goods, because a retention of title you cannot exercise is of little use in an insolvency.

What should you arrange on IP, confidentiality and personal data?

Intellectual property created under a contract does not pass to the paying party automatically. A transfer of copyright requires a written deed under the Dutch Copyright Act (Auteurswet), so a supplier who did not assign the rights keeps them. Decide whether the client gets ownership or a licence, and define its scope. Our article on การเป็นเจ้าของทรัพย์สินทางปัญญาในประเทศเนเธอร์แลนด์ sets out the default rules.

Under the Trade Secrets Protection Act (Wet bescherming bedrijfsgeheimen), information is only protected if the holder took reasonable measures to keep it secret. A confidentiality clause is part of those measures. Our คู่มือข้อตกลงการไม่เปิดเผยข้อมูล ครอบคลุมถึงการร่างเอกสาร

Where one party processes personal data on the other’s instructions, Article 28 of the GDPR requires a separate data processing agreement. Transfers outside the European Economic Area need a transfer mechanism such as the standard contractual clauses. See our article on the ข้อตกลงการประมวลผลข้อมูลในประเทศเนเธอร์แลนด์.

Which law and which court apply in a cross-border deal?

Parties may choose the governing law freely under the Rome I Regulation. Without a choice, a sale is governed by the law of the seller’s country and a service contract by the law of the service provider’s country. Overriding mandatory rules, such as competition law and sanctions, apply whatever you choose.

Within the EU, the Brussels I bis Regulation governs jurisdiction, and a judgment from one member state is enforced in the others without an extra procedure. State expressly whether your choice of court is exclusive. The Hague Judgments Convention of 2019 has applied between the EU and the United Kingdom since 1 July 2025, which makes enforcing a Dutch judgment in the UK more predictable.

Arbitration is the alternative: awards are enforceable in the states party to the New York Convention of 1958, and proceedings are not public. Name the institution, the seat, the number of arbitrators and the language. Our article on การระงับข้อพิพาทและการอนุญาโตตุลาการระหว่างประเทศ เปรียบเทียบเส้นทาง

Does the CISG apply to your sale of goods?

The UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) applies by default to sales between businesses in different contracting states, and the Netherlands is one. Choosing Dutch law does not exclude it. If you want the domestic sales rules of Book 7 BW instead, exclude the CISG expressly. Our article on ข้อผิดพลาดที่พบบ่อยที่สุดในสัญญาการค้าระหว่างประเทศ อธิบายถึงผลที่ตามมา

How can a commercial contract be ended?

A fixed-term contract ends when the term expires, and automatic renewal is valid between businesses. A contract for an indefinite period can in principle be terminated, but Dutch case law requires a reasonable notice period. After a long relationship with large investments, a court may require a longer period or compensation.

Some contracts carry mandatory rules. Commercial agency (Book 7 BW) has statutory minimum notice periods and, on termination, a goodwill indemnity (klantenvergoeding) for the agent of up to one year’s average remuneration. Franchising has been regulated by the Franchise Act since 1 January 2021. Distribution has no statutory regime, so the contract and case law do the work.

คุณจะทำอย่างไรหากอีกฝ่ายไม่ปฏิบัติตามข้อตกลง?

Usually you first send a written notice of default (ingebrekestelling) giving a reasonable period to perform, under Article 6:82(1) BW. Only after that period ends do damages and the right to terminate arise. Under Article 6:83 BW, default occurs without notice if a strict deadline was missed or the debtor said it will not perform.

You may then demand performance, suspend your own obligations, terminate the contract by written declaration under Article 6:267 BW and claim damages. For fast relief, summary proceedings before the preliminary relief judge (voorzieningenrechter) usually produce an order within weeks. A prejudgment attachment (conservatoir beslag) freezes the other side’s assets while the claim is decided.

Watch the limitation period. A claim for performance or damages generally becomes time-barred five years after you became aware of the claim and the debtor. A written notice that clearly reserves your right to performance interrupts that period.

ในฐานะผู้จำหน่าย คุณควรตรวจสอบอะไรบ้าง?

• Your general terms are sent with every quotation, and the customer’s terms are expressly rejected (Article 6:225(3) BW).
• Your liability cap is linked to the contract value and to your insurance cover.
• The excluded heads of loss are named, not described as “indirect damage”.
• Retention of title covers all claims under the relationship, with a right to repossess.
• The contract states whether intellectual property is assigned or licensed.

ในฐานะลูกค้า คุณควรตรวจสอบอะไรบ้าง?

• Whether the supplier’s general terms were actually handed to you before the contract was concluded.
• Whether the liability cap is high enough to cover a realistic failure, and what is excluded.
• Which deadlines are strict, so default arises without a notice (Article 6:83 BW).
• Whether you receive the rights to the results by written deed, or only a licence.
• มีข้อตกลงการประมวลผลข้อมูลภายใต้มาตรา 28 ของ GDPR หรือไม่
• The notice period and the exit arrangements: return of data, transition assistance.

Before signing, our article on สิ่งที่ควรตรวจสอบก่อนเซ็นสัญญา gives a practical checklist.

What can we do for you with commercial contracts?

Our ทนายความธุรกิจ และ ทนายความสัญญา work in English and Dutch, alongside colleagues in กฎหมายบริษัท, การซื้อกิจการ และ การจ้าง.

• We review your draft contract and mark the clauses that move the risk.
• We draft supply, services, software, distribution and agency agreements under Dutch law.
• We prepare your general terms and set up how they are sent, so they are validly incorporated.
• We advise on governing law, choice of court, arbitration and the CISG in cross-border deals.
• We draft the notice of default and the termination letter when the other party does not perform.
• We apply for a prejudgment attachment or start summary proceedings when speed matters.

สรุป

• A Dutch commercial contract needs no particular form; the general terms and key clauses decide your risk.
• General terms only apply if the other party could read them in time; the first reference wins unless expressly rejected.
• Liability caps and penalty clauses are valid between businesses but can be limited by reasonableness and fairness and Article 6:94 BW.
• In cross-border deals, choose the law, the court or arbitration and decide on the CISG expressly.
• If the other side does not perform, a written notice of default is usually the first step.

คำถามที่พบบ่อย