CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016...

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CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 January 2020

Transcript of CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016...

Page 1: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

CRYSTAL BALL GAZING2020

January 2020

INDEX CRYSTAL BALLGAZING2020

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4

5

INTRODUCTION 2020 introduces a new decade one which already promises to be an exciting one for our clients the legal sector and society in general In this special newsletter we gaze into our crystal ball and highlight some of the more important trends and developments which could very well affect or even change the way you do business in the next 12 months We want to make sure you are well-informed and ready for this year and beyond Clients tell us that they regularly face increasingly complex challenges that go to the core of their business which also have an impact on society We know that off-the-shelf legal solutions are no longer enough to meet these challenges Teams of experts with a broad vision in-depth expertise and a keen eye to responsibly identify and address societyrsquos needs must be part of the discussion Now more than ever We are very proud of the people at De Brauw who combine their skills to deliver sustainable solutions for the benefit and long term success of our clients We very much look forward to collaborating and facing the challenges with you and your teams in the upcoming year Marnix LeijtenAnja MutsaersDorothee van Vredenburch

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Corporate GovernanceCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN 2020 ISSUES FOR BOARDS TO ADDRESS

REMUNERATIONIn 2020 Dutch NVs and BVs listed on an EU-regulated market will have to ensure that their remuneration policy complies with Dutch legislation implementing the revised European Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) Companies that do not currently follow the new rules must include a revised policy as an agenda item for the upcoming AGM for approval by the general meeting Companies will also need to prepare a remuneration report in accordance with the new legislation and submit this to the general meetingrsquos advisory vote

When preparing the new remuneration policy companies are expected to seek the view of stakeholders to ensure a sound basis for their proposals This approach is also advocated by Eumedion the Dutch corporate governance platform for institutional investors in its 2020 Focus Letter

DIVERSITYIn 2020 boards at listed companies will have to include diversity in their dialogue with the companyrsquos stakeholders as a means of improving gender diversity within the company

Remuneration diversity and long-term value creation are some of the key corporate governance topics that boards at Dutch listed companies will have to account for in 2020 The new rules on remuneration ndash effective 1 December 2019 ndash will be at the centre of discus-sion at 2020 AGMs The same applies to board diversity which will be a recur-ring topic at AGMs as listed companies are being pressed by the government as well as by proxy advisors and institu-tional investors to increase gender diversity not only in the boardroom but also at senior management level A bill introducing a statutory 250-day response time enables boards at listed companies to identify and weigh the interests of the company and its stake-holders when confronted with a takeover or shareholder-initiated proposal for changes in the boardrsquos composition

6

EXPERTS

On 1 January 2020 the statutory 30 representation target for both men and women on boards at large NVs and BVs expired

In September 2019 the Dutch Social and Economic Council (SER) issued an advisory report (English summary) on cultural and gender diversity in the boardroom Regarding gender diversity the SER called forbull the introduction of a mandatory 30 quota for both women

and men on supervisory boards at Dutch listed companiesbull a requirement for large NVs and BVs to set ambitious

targets at both board and senior management level with a comply or explain character for the company

In December 2019 a majority in parliament supported two motions calling on the government to implement the SERrsquos advice A government proposal along these lines can be expected by the end of 2020

Gender diversity is also on the agendas of Eumedion and proxy advisors such as ISS and Glass Lewis In a gender diversity letter Eumedion calls for companies to adopt and publicly disclose a diversity policy including ldquoa commitment to increase gender diversity throughout the talent pipeline and to set an ambitious gender diversity target (of at least 30) especially at management board and committee levelrdquo Boards will be expected at the 2020 AGM to report on progress made and concrete measures taken in this respect ISS will recommend voting against the appointment or reappointment of the nomination committeersquos chair if a company has no female board directors although mitigating factors may apply Also some institutional investors seem to be introducing policies to vote against the appointment or reappointment of male directors at companies with no or few female board members

LONG-TERM VALUE CREATIONCompanies are being increasingly urged to take a longer-term approach The focus on long-term value creation is one of the core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code In pursuing this companies must carefully weigh up

the relevant interests of stakeholders In other countries the debate around long-term value creation and the corporate purpose is also unfolding In the US the Business Roundtable released a new statement on corporate purpose in August 2019 This was signed by 181 CEOs at major US firms committing to leading their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders Long-term value is also promoted by Larry Fink CEO of the US investment management company BlackRock in his CEO Letter of 14 January 2020 mentioning climate change as a defining factor in companiesrsquo long-term prospects In April 2019 the French parliament adopted a law enabling companies to state their purpose in corporate bylaws

The range of instruments available to boards at Dutch listed companies to achieve long-term value creation may be widened by a new statutory 250-day response time A bill (in Dutch) on this topic was submitted to parliament on 19 December 2019 Introducing a statutory response time has been criticised by some parties as boards already have the possibility to invoke a shorter180-day response time under the Dutch Corporate Governance Code The Explanatory Memorandum (in Dutch) clarifies that it is up to the parties concerned to decide if and how this best practice provision needs to be reconsidered

An NV or BV qualifies as large when at least two of the following three criteria are met (i) the value of the assets according to the balance sheet with explanatory notes exceeds EUR 20000000 (ii) the net turnover for the financial year exceeds EUR 40000000 (iii) there are on average 250 or more employees at the company during the financial year

For guidance on corporate governance in 2020 and beyond we published an update of our handbook Corporate Governance in Nederland

7

Mergers amp AcquisitionsFields of expertise

8

MampA WHAT

TO WATCH FOR IN 2020

The WampI insurance market has been softening for some time and now seems set to harden in the near future In this Crystal Ball Gazing edition we discuss the potential timing and implications of this development We also highlight an increased regulatory impact on MampA transactions making it necessary for parties and their advisors to prioritise regulatory compliance on deals particularly where the target is in a regulated or sensitive industry And finally the Netherlands was the stage for various cross-border high-value public deals in 2019 Many of these deals included innovative structures and we discuss the impact of this on the public MampA market

WHERE TO NOW FOR WampI INSURANCEThe last decade has seen Warranty amp Indemnity (WampI) insurance develop from a niche product into a mainstay of private MampA over half of the private MampA transactions that we advised on in 2019 involved WampI insurance The product is now sufficiently sophisticated

EXPERTS

9and affordable that sellers frequently achieve a ldquoclean exitrdquo in the Dutch market So for how long can we expect the ldquogood timesrdquo in WampI insurance to last

WampI insurance as a product is here to stay In that sense the good times will continue While available coverage and pricing may fluctuate we expect the product itself to develop new features and to become increasingly sophisticated

That said WampI insurance is almost certainly in the ldquosoftrdquo stage of the insurance cycle which will not last indefinitely In recent years coverage and pricing has continued to improve as new players and capital have entered the market But at some point insurers will start to expect or actually experience underwriting losses and will reduce or cease coverage or increase prices However it is difficult to assess whether this hardening of the market will happen in one year or three as we have been witnessing the market soften for the first time in parallel with the development of the product itself What is an indicator that the market may be about to turn and what is simply a further improvement in the product It is difficult to be certain

In addition if the private MampA market moves in a buyer-friendly direction demand for WampI insurance could fall as buyers seek more recourse directly from sellers This could cause the WampI insurance market to soften further and potentially accelerate the hardening of the market

We will need to wait and see how the WampI insurance market develops Buyers and sellers should both keep an eye on

developments as any material change in the available terms of WampI insurance is likely to impact negotiations on SPA liability regimes and there may be a period of adjustment until market participants settle on the new normal

REGULATORS INCREASING THEIR IMPACTThe EUR 1245 million fine on Altice in 2018 let the MampA world know that the European Commission (EC) is watching Since then we have seen various regulators increasingly exert their influence in ways that can impact MampA transactions We expect this to continue in 2020

The Altice fine related to gun-jumping (implementing a transaction before the required merger clearance is obtained) The gun-jumping rules restrict the behaviour of MampA parties between signing and merger clearance This is a focus area for antitrust regulators and subsequent cases ndash most notably the ECJrsquos KPMG Denmark EY decision ndash have continued to clarify the activities that can qualify as gun-jumping

Regulatory action is also impacting the timing and structure of MampA transactions Foreign investment review regimes are appearing in increasingly more jurisdictions Last year in another gun-jumping decision the EC fined Canon for using a two-step ldquowarehousingrdquo structure Financial regulators are more willing to hold up change in control approval to address conduct issues we have recently seen an approval delayed for a target whose core business is not even in financial services so non-compliance with AML screening rules could be remedied

Mergers amp AcquisitionsFields of expertise

10

Regulatory matters are often now key due diligence items given the growing size of regulatory fines and the fact that in many cases they will not be covered by WampI insurance The size of antitrust fines has been steadily increasing for several years In the last two years the European banking industry has seen substantial fines imposed in a regulatory crackdown on AML non-compliance With the GBP 1834 million fine recently imposed on British Airways this trend looks set to extend to GDPR non-compliance

In light of these developments MampA parties and their advisors need to have regulatory compliance at the front of their minds in any transaction particularly where the target is in a regulated or sensitive industry Matters that may have seemed immaterial even 12 months ago can now if not anticipated and properly addressed have a major impact on a transaction

CROSS-BORDER DEALS DRIVE INNOVATION IN PUBLIC MampA The Netherlands has seen a rise in public MampA in 2019 Neither economic headwinds (such as trade wars and signals about a looming recession) nor political uncertainty (such as the Middle East or Brexit) have shaken the confidence of MampA markets Although no one knows how long the good times will last we donrsquot expect the liquidity of the market ndash which has largely been stored on company balance sheets ndash to dry up any time soon As companies put their cash to work we expect the strong MampA market to endure in 2020 resulting in a steady flow of public deals

In 2019 the Netherlands was the stage for various cross-border high-value deals both inbound and outbound Some examples include the USD 22 billion combination of Pfizerrsquos Upjohn business with Mylan Digital Realtyrsquos USD 84 billion acquisition of InterXion

EssilorLuxotticarsquos EUR 55 billion acquisition of GrandVision the USD 50 billion cross-border merger between the Peugeot Group and Fiat Chrysler and Takeawaycomrsquos EUR 72 billion public offer for Just Eat Many of these international transactions included innovative deal structures from a Dutch perspective on topics like deal certainty ensuring 100 ownership and governance

The FiatPeugeot combination the largest Dutch transaction in 2019 in terms of value cemented the rarely used inbound cross-border legal merger as a legitimate and feasible deal structure and underlined the strong position of the Dutch NV as international holding company We expect more parties in the EU to follow suit in the future

The PfizerMylan transaction concerned a typical US spin-off combined with a complex Dutch asset sale structure facilitating a USDutch combination and ensuring maximum deal certainty Enhanced deal certainty is also the result of the innovative back-end structure agreed between Digital Realty and InterXion Given the mutually beneficial aspects for both targets and bidders we trust that these structures will keep being applied and further developed during 2020 and

What 2020 will bring for Dutch public MampA remains to be seen but we expect cross-border deals driving innovation to continue These are certainly interesting times for all involved in public MampA

subsequent years in other cross-border transactions

The TakeawaycomJust Eat transaction underlines that bidders face fierce competition in globally consolidating markets and should therefore carefully consider the relationship between transaction structure and deal certainty After the Dutch company Takeawaycom and the UK company Just Eat had agreed to combine their companies the Dutch technology company Prosus launched an unsolicited cash offer for Just Eat setting off a bidding war In response Takeawaycom and Just Eat changed the structure of their proposal from a UK scheme of arrangement to an exchange offer essentially making it easier to get the required shareholder support This move and the subsequent increase of the offer price seem to have paid off Takeaway has recently come out on top as it has become clear that a large majority of Just Eat shareholders have tendered their shares to Takeawaycomrsquos offer

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

11

COMPETITION AUTHORITIES ON THE HEELS OF DIGITAL ECONOMY

In 2019 competition authorities were busy thinking ldquoout of the boxrdquo about how best to police and enforce competition law in the digital economy Numerous reports were published (for example for the European Commission in the UK and in Germany) One of the key takeaways from these reports is that competition authorities find it difficult through retrospective enforcement to keep up with the seemingly incessant development of the digital economy To address this issue authorities are calling for additional and faster enforcement tools

Against this backdrop the great debate for 2020 will be whether new powers ndash and if introduced the use of those powers ndash are strictly necessary and proportionate to the concerns being addressed The European Commission has taken several major decisions in the digital sector in recent years most notably against Google But despite huge fines complaints of ldquotoo little too laterdquo continue to put pressure on authorities to do more including taking bolder pre-emptive action It should also be remembered that enforcement taken against the likes of Google reflects its unique stronghold in Search but these actions are irrelevant when considering the realities faced by most other digital businesses In a world where Facebook and Instagram continue to lose market share to the likes of the Chinese phenomenon TikTok identifying entrenched

dominance in digital markets let alone finding a practical and timely way of policing it is a real challenge

Companies that operate in the digital economy vary immensely and have to deal with different competitive environments The behaviour of many companies can be accurately charted against realities in the offline world such as consumer lethargy which prevents switching between suppliers in energy and banking markets the placement of sponsored and own-label retail products in key positions in supermarkets and department stores and variable pricing for taxi rides Regulators must decide why it is necessary to create additional regulation or enforcement priorities and how these can be tailored to tackle truly unique ndash and non-transient - concerns that are emerging Whether consensus is reached on these topics or not 2020 will bring further proposals to regulate the digital economy and to carry out enforcement actions addressing specific behaviour by data-driven companies

In relation to the use of data with the convergence of enforcement among

competition consumer and data protection authorities we expect a more inclusive discussion and collaboration between authorities and the companies themselves After all the educational journey for authorities should ndash at all costs ndash avoid debate and decision-making in a theoretical vacuum

Examples of this convergence abound Some competition authorities have demonstrated their willingness to use all the tools in their toolbox to ensure the best outcome for consumers The Dutch competition authority has set its agenda for 2020 focusing on protecting online consumers by enforcing Dutch consumer laws against misleading online practices Similarly the UK competition regulator has taken action against online hotel booking sites and the Italian authority has done the same against online web shops ndash both on the basis of their national consumer laws

Letrsquos hope that any specific and innovative action by authorities in 2020 is taken for the right reasons addressing concerns which are unique to digital and which the market itself is unlikely to correct

IS OVER-REGULATION NEXT

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD AGAINST UNFAIR COMPETITION FROM OUTSIDE EU A LOOK AHEAD AT 2020

Against the background of existing tensions in global trade an open economy like the EUrsquos internal market can be vulnerable to unfair competition by companies operating in countries outside the EU that tend to have a more protectionist industrial policy Although the WTO system aims to prevent barriers to trade and to eliminate discriminatory treatment in international commerce the European Commission has nevertheless announced that it will develop its own level playing field rules as a back-up plan against harmful competition by companies which are owned by third countries or are heavily state-subsidised These companies may undermine the level playing field in Europe where they use the subsidies or monopoly profits to artificially undercut prices when selling in the EU - while European businesses are generally restricted from receiving state aid or abusing their dominant position

NO WORDLWIDE STATE AID RULES The European Commission has put the development of this back-up plan on its action list for the new term The first result has been made at WTO level The EU recently agreed with the US and Japan to extend the list of prohibited subsidies The list includes (i) subsidies with unlimited guarantees (ii) subsidies to either insolvent or ailing companies without credible

restructuring plans or to companies which are unable to attract market investments or financing and (iv) certain direct forgiveness of debt EU state aid rules also prohibited more than only direct subsidies While this extension more closely resembles EU state aid rules it does not lead to harmonisation of state aid rules on a worldwide level It appears that more instruments are needed to prevent harmful competition by third country state owned or are state-subsidised companies

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTRUMENTThe Commissionrsquos plans if adopted

will result in the creation of a new level playing field instrument in the EU There seem to be many ideas as to what this instrument should look like but with the sense of growing urgency EU bodies and members states are looking to make changes The Dutch government has recently called on the Commission to introduce a level playing field instrument at the EU level It advocates preventing unfair competition by state-owned companies or by companies established in third countries but benefiting from a ldquohome staterdquo That is markets which shield these companies from competition and from state aid rules similar to those in

12

the EU Companies may for example use their subsidies and monopoly profits to set lower prices in the EU as compared to a company operating in a regular competitive market environment In the short term this could lead to lower prices for EU consumers but in the long run it leads to less competition and weakens industries within the EU

The level playing field instrument proposed by the Dutch government is not based on dominance or state aid Instead it is based on the lack of market regulation in the home state similar to EU competition rules If home

state market regulation is proven deficient the European Commission can impose behavioural remedies The Dutch government has suggested that it could require the third-country company to maintain a separate and transparent administrative system to monitor its activities in the EU By doing so it would be possible to prevent cross-subsidies from state aidmonopoly profits received in its home-state market to keep the prices in the EU low

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTSA level playing field instrument would complement existing rules on the

control of foreign direct investments (FDI) In 2019 EU member states (see also our Best Friendrsquos summary and guide) adopted a regulation establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments Member states have to start enforcing that regulation as of 11 October 2020 While the regulation only provides for minimum harmonisation member states are expected to include additional measures in their national legislation For example the Dutch government has announced an additional notification and screening system of takeovers where these concern vital infrastructure or technology affecting national security It has also proposed review measures concerning takeovers in the telecom sector with the possibility to prohibit a takeover should national security or public order be jeopardised Some larger European economies have recently tightened FDI screening rules France in mid-2019 Germany at the end of 2018 and the UK in mid-2018

These developments are the result of broader trade tensions between countries especially the US and China An in-depth interview with Marlies Heemskerk ndash de Waard Maikel van Wissen Yi Duan and James Wang about these developments can be found on page 10-11 (click previous page)

13

EXPERTS

Mergers amp AcquisitionsInternational TradeCompetition amp RegulationFields of expertise

foreign investments and export controls curbing the transfer of sensitive technology to protect its national security This legislation is principally triggered by the rise of China as an economic world power China in response is preparing to introduce its own export control law which is entering the final stages of the legislative process In the EU we have also seen a shift to a harder stance by EU Member States towards foreign investments by non-EU parties

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE RELATIONSWe expect an increasing number of technologies to become subject to export licence requirements In addition licence applications for exports to destinations like China will be scrutinised or even denied The difference with export controls as we know them is that many of the relevant technologies are omnipresent nowadays meaning that restrictions to their export will have serious implications for international trade including for industries that were not previously affected by such restrictions This may have a significant impact on our clientsrsquo international production and worldwide supply chains

14

SECURITY CONCERNS AND STRATEGIC INTERESTS

Interstate strategic competition has led the US and the EU to be increasingly protective of their national security and strategic economic interests and this has a growing effect on international business Ample reason to ask our team of experts to gaze into their crystal ball and tell our clients how this may impact them in the years to come

WHAT IS INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND WHY IS IT SO RELEVANTInterstate strategic competition is about major world powers striving to consolidate and strengthen their position and their influence over other states The reason they do this is to protect their military and security interests as well as their economic and technological edge Over the past few years this competition has intensified As of late this is resulting in concrete legislative action directly affecting our clients

It should come as no surprise but the most pressing example is the trade war between the US and China which goes well beyond tariffs The US has already enacted and is currently further developing legislation imposing additional controls on

GROWING IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MampA

EXPERTS

The US is preparing to subject a whole range of ldquoemerging technologiesrdquo to licence requirements where it concerns export to certain destinations notably China Relevant technologies range from biotechnology to robotics and from artificial intelligence to microprocessor technology and beyond They really cover a broad range of high-tech industries The effect of the export control restrictions is not limited to US parties they also apply to other parties incorporating a certain percentage of US-controlled content in their own products

In the EU the discussion about subjecting these technologies to export controls is less advanced However the US will likely pressure the EU and other jurisdictions to adopt similar restrictions In fact the US is already pressuring the Netherlands to be much more reticent in granting licences for the export of certain technology to China

WHAT IS THE EFFECT ON INTERNATIONAL MampA TRANSACTIONSForeign investment controls may pose substantial restrictions to international MampA quite similar to classic merger control Increasingly clients may be required to file notifications with foreign investment review authorities which may impose mitigating conditions if a transaction is found to impact national security interests Unlike merger control filings where parties can perform detailed substantive analyses in advance foreign investment control filings are sometimes more challenging due to the broad rules and secrecy relating to national security concerns of the host countries

In the US foreign investment controls are already well established However the US is now substantially broadening the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) They will now be able to also review transactions resulting in a non-controlling stake and involving certain critical technology or infrastructure or sensitive data of US citizens

HOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND HOW IT MAY AFFECT YOUR BUSINESSWe are planning a dedicated master class on the topic on May 28 and 29 of this year We will cover both export and foreign investment controls and their effect on international trade and MampA including US and EU as well as Chinese law developments And naturally clients who want to discuss the topic are most welcome to contact us

Foreign investment controls are gaining traction in the EU as well After the prohibition of the SiemensAlstom merger Germany and France have publicly called upon the Commission to overhaul its merger control policies to take into account unfair competition from state backed companies from China and other non-EU countries In March 2019 the EU introduced the Foreign Investment Framework Regulation The regulation primarily provides for certain procedural safeguards but it remains for the member states to design and operate their substantive foreign investment controls In many member states these are still developing The Netherlands for example has no overarching legal framework regulating foreign investments but a bill to prevent undesirable control over our telecommunications sector is pending

Some of the US legislation we referred to notably regarding foreign investment controls is set to go into effect this year As to export controls this may take a bit longer but clients would be well advised to closely monitor the developments before they take effect EU developments are more steady but the trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

15

The trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

NEW DECADE BRINGS CHANGES TO PATENT AND COPYRIGHT REGIMES AT EUROPEAN LEVELALL EYES ON UNIFIED PATENT COURT CHANGING FRAND LANDSCAPE AND COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

2020 will see us inching closer to the launch (or end) of the Unified Patent Court and the creation of a new unitary patents system In addition we might have more clarity on how member states interpret the 2015 European Court of Justice ruling on standard essential patents Finally EU member states will need to start paying serious attention to how they will implement the new European rules for adapting their national copyright law systems to the digital world

UPC FINALLY READY TO LAUNCHProponents of a new unified patent system will need to be patient a little longer but it seems that the wheels will finally be set in motion (again) in 2020 The goal Having an operational system in 2021

Judging by press coverage the biggest hurdle to the UKrsquos ratification of the system in 2016 seemed to be the Brexit vote in June but the real game changer turned out to be Germany In 2017 Germany suspended its ratification process as it waited for the Federal Constitutional Court to decide whether German UPC legislation is compatible with the German Constitution While the case was meant to be decided in 2018 and then 2019 this did not happen In November 2019 however the rapporteur in the case made an unofficial statement in an interview that he intends to issue a decision in early 2020

If the court accepts incompatibility a further delay or ndash dare we say it ndash the end of the new system is inevitable If incompatibility is rejected the UPC launch will depend on how the German government responds and of course on Brexit

16

EXPERTS

What is the UPCThe Unified Patent Court (UPC UPC system) will be a supranational court specialised in patent litigation cases Subject to exceptions during a transitional period it will exclusively hear cases involving European patents and European patents with unitary effect (unitary patents are to take effect in all UPC member states) The system will come into effect four months after the Unified Patent Court Agreement is signed and ratified by several EU member states including Germany and the UK (their ratification is a prerequisite)

The future of the UPC system is in the hands of the UK and Germany

Should the German government give the green light the head of the UPC Preparatory Committee predicts that the UPC system will enter into effect shortly after A provisional application phase will then start within a short timeframe to ensure a smooth transition into the operational phase before the actual launch of the UPC a couple of months later Although the future of the new system is still uncertain we do know that its impact would be huge Interested parties especially patentees should continue preparing for the UPCrsquos arrival This means considering any future patent filing strategies ndash unitary patents European bundle patents andor national patents ndash and paying attention to the opt-out route

FRANDIf one or more patents claim technology involved with the standard ndash known as a standard essential patent (SEP) - the patent holder may have a dominant position on the market and may breach competition rules by enforcing its patents by requesting an injunction or recall SEP holders must therefore commit themselves to being prepared to licence their essential patents to other market players on fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms

Since the ECJrsquos landmark 2015 decision in HuaweiZTE - providing guidance on the enforcement of essential patents and competition law - litigation on the licensing of SEPs has increased in Europe and is expected to continue to be a hot topic in 2020 It will be interesting to see how the interpretation of the ECJrsquos ruling plays out in different EU member states

While case law on FRAND is being created at a frenetic pace throughout various European jurisdictions it is currently too sparse to reveal any conclusive jurisdictional trends What is clear is that member states vary in what they emphasise about FRAND commitment This could mean that it is merely a matter of time before the ECJ is asked to elaborate on its position With several rulings lined up for 2020 it is bound to be an exciting year

What is an SEPA patent can be marked as an SEP if it relates to technical specificati-on adopted by a recognised standardisation body for repeated or continuous application with which compliance is not compulso-ry Standardisation is a pheno-menon mostly seen in the fast-de-veloping telecommunications sector In order to promote interoperability of devices ndash such as smartphones laptops tablets but also cars ndash those should ideally use the same standards for certain technologies and functionalities Examples are the 3G (UMTS) 4G (LTE) 5G WiFi and USB standards

What is the provisional application phasePart of this phase is the ldquosunrise periodrdquo for opting out European patents before the UPC starts operating Patentees will be able to exclude their existing European patents and applications from the UPCrsquos exclusive jurisdiction For more information about the sunrise period and opting out your patents click here

17

Position of the UKThe UK has already completed ratification marking its intention to be a party to the UPC system Recently the European Parliament Think Tank published an in-depth analysis on possible UPC scenarios in the case of Brexit with or without a proper withdrawal agreement It concluded that - some legal challenges aside mainly that the UPC will apply EU law and be bound by ECJ decisions - the UK can be part of the UPC system even if it leaves the EU In a UK press release this month however the UK Prime Minister made clear that ldquoany future partnership must not involve any kind of alignment or ECJ jurisdictionrdquo which might indicate their intention to not be party to the UPC system after allrdquo

Different FRAND regimes across Europe might require ECJ guidance

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

All eyes are on the UK Supreme Courtrsquos imminent ruling in Unwired PlanetHuawei which concerns a global licence In the earlier decision the court of appeal confirmed that the UK courts could determine the terms of a global FRAND licence and grant an injunction for the UK subject to the implementer not accepting such terms Huawei challenged the imposition of a global licence on terms set by a national court The eagerly awaited Supreme Court ruling is bound to turn heads and shed some light on the competency of national courts in global licence disputes

Other cases to watch are the enforcement campaigns of Philips against a number of parties implementing patents from Philipsrsquo 3G 4G patent portfolio Philips is enforcing its portfolio at different courts across Europe and this may provide insight into how different jurisdictions interpret the ECJrsquos 2015 landmark decision Philips for example obtained a number of injunctions (against Asus in May and December 2019 against Wiko in July and December 2019) at the Court of Appeal of The Hague against Wiko and Asus in the Netherlands emphasising the responsibility of implementers of SEPs to be a ldquowilling licenseerdquo Both Wiko and Asus took these cases to the Dutch Supreme Court so this year we may also expect a first decision on FRAND at that level If a ruling should be made wersquoll find out if it agrees with the court of appealrsquos approach In PhilipsWiko a parallel case in Germany the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe was much stricter to Philips as an SEP holder and denied an injunction Recognising that the decision deviates from the Higher Regional Court of Duumlsseldorf ruling it allowed an appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice This is especially interesting since another German court the Mannheim Regional Court in the meantime granted Sisvel an injunction against Wiko thereby following a similar approach as the Dutch courts with respect to FRAND

For the same reasons the Sisvel cases are ones to watch Like Philips Sisvel is involved in a number of cases against multiple parties across Europe regarding its portfolio of essential patents for mobile technologies The cases will shed more light on the extent to which SEPs can be enforced in preliminary injunction proceedings An oral hearing about this question at The Court of Appeal of The Hague is scheduled for February 2020

DSM IMPACT EXPECTEDWith an implementation deadline of 7 June 2021 2020 is likely to be dominated ndash at least from a soft IP community perspective - by the implementation of the directive on copyright in the digital single market (DSM)

As the directive introduces quite a few controversial measures it will be interesting to see how member states will wriggle their way into implementing those in their national regimes The most controversial measures are commonly referred to as the ldquoupload filterrdquo and the ldquolink taxrdquo For more information about these controversial measures click here There is a risk that because the member states hold different views on certain topics ndash including after adoption of the directive ndash there will be diverging implementation at the national levels

In May 2019 Poland brought an action before the ECJ asking the court to annul part of the directiversquos article 17 on the much-debated ldquoupload filterrdquo or even annul the entire article Poland argues that the article infringes the right to freedom of expression and information Other pending cases at the ECJ level are Youtube and Elsevier where the German Federal Court of Justice has requested preliminary rulings The ECJ has joined the cases which centre on the position of internet video platform operators and shared hosting service operators who make content protected by copyright publicly accessible The answers by the ECJ will undoubtedly impact the existing framework under the new directive as the ECJ has requested the parties to address the directiversquos upload filter wording In addition the Dutch Supreme Court has referred questions on the position of a Usenet provider (offering a platform for news groups on which users can post messages and are able to upload content) to the ECJ in BREINNSE

Why a DSM DirectiveThis directive aims to update copyright rules for the 21st century Most copyright rules pre-date the internet and are not well-suited to deal with todayrsquos issues This directive improves protection for copyright holders by creating instruments to monetise their work used by information society service providers and to consequently stimulate the creative industry It also safeguards the use of copyright-protected works for private and scientific or educational purposes For more information on the directiversquos impact click here

Adoption of controversial directive does not end the heated debate on the position of information society

service providers

Regulatory amp Criminal EnforcementInvestment ManagementFinancial InstitutionsCorporate AdvisoryCapital MarketsFields of expertise

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2020 LEGAL ENTITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TO BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT

EXPERTS

UBO REGISTER ndash WHAT WILL LEGAL ENTITIES HAVE TO DOThe UBO register is expected to take effect in the Netherlands in early spring 2020 Listed companies are exempt from registering their UBO in the register as are direct or indirect 100 subsidiaries of listed companies To take advantage of this exemption it may be necessary to file an application with the Dutch Trade Register

Existing legal entities must register their UBO within 18 months after introduction of the UBO register Newly incorporated legal entities must register their UBO when they first apply to the Dutch Trade Register for registration of their business

As from the date of implementation of the UBO register all AML institutions ndash to include banks and lawyers ndash must report any inconsistencies between their CDD records and the data included in the UBO registration to the Dutch Trade Register

REGISTRATION FOR UBOS OF TRUSTS AND FUNDS FOR JOINT ACCOUNT In 2020 a new bill will be introduced to create a UBO register for trusts and ldquofunds for joint accountrdquo Although the concept of ldquoa trustrdquo as a legal entity is not recognised in Dutch law if the trust is the legal owner of real estate in the Netherlands or if the trustee is a Dutch legal entity registration might still be necessary

NEW EUROPEAN AML DIREC-TIVESThe AML Act 2020 will implement the terms of the 5th AML Directives by introducing a registration requirement for the providers of virtual currencies The act may also include stricter rules on AML-related penalties for natural persons and extend the liability of legal persons as set out in the 6th AML Directive

PLANS FOR AML-RELATED EX-CHANGE OF INFORMATION The Dutch government is proposing that ldquoAML Institutionsrdquo exchange information with similar institutions ndash for example banks with banks ndash in relation to enhanced client due diligence and the reporting of unusual transactions The proposals would also enable AML institutions to outsource transaction monitoring to third parties if these arrangements are based on a written agreement

GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONSThere are plans to introduce a publication requirement for donations of EUR 15000 or above (in cash or in kind) made to social organisations foundations associations church organisations and foreign equivalents if they have long-term activities in the Netherlands The objective is to make donations to these social organisations more transparent and to prevent any undesirable influence from abroad via these types of cash-flows

If these proposals become law the social organisation will have to publish an annual overview of donations received including the name and address of the donor and the amount of the donation on its website

19

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 2: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

INDEX CRYSTAL BALLGAZING2020

2

4

5

INTRODUCTION 2020 introduces a new decade one which already promises to be an exciting one for our clients the legal sector and society in general In this special newsletter we gaze into our crystal ball and highlight some of the more important trends and developments which could very well affect or even change the way you do business in the next 12 months We want to make sure you are well-informed and ready for this year and beyond Clients tell us that they regularly face increasingly complex challenges that go to the core of their business which also have an impact on society We know that off-the-shelf legal solutions are no longer enough to meet these challenges Teams of experts with a broad vision in-depth expertise and a keen eye to responsibly identify and address societyrsquos needs must be part of the discussion Now more than ever We are very proud of the people at De Brauw who combine their skills to deliver sustainable solutions for the benefit and long term success of our clients We very much look forward to collaborating and facing the challenges with you and your teams in the upcoming year Marnix LeijtenAnja MutsaersDorothee van Vredenburch

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Corporate GovernanceCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN 2020 ISSUES FOR BOARDS TO ADDRESS

REMUNERATIONIn 2020 Dutch NVs and BVs listed on an EU-regulated market will have to ensure that their remuneration policy complies with Dutch legislation implementing the revised European Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) Companies that do not currently follow the new rules must include a revised policy as an agenda item for the upcoming AGM for approval by the general meeting Companies will also need to prepare a remuneration report in accordance with the new legislation and submit this to the general meetingrsquos advisory vote

When preparing the new remuneration policy companies are expected to seek the view of stakeholders to ensure a sound basis for their proposals This approach is also advocated by Eumedion the Dutch corporate governance platform for institutional investors in its 2020 Focus Letter

DIVERSITYIn 2020 boards at listed companies will have to include diversity in their dialogue with the companyrsquos stakeholders as a means of improving gender diversity within the company

Remuneration diversity and long-term value creation are some of the key corporate governance topics that boards at Dutch listed companies will have to account for in 2020 The new rules on remuneration ndash effective 1 December 2019 ndash will be at the centre of discus-sion at 2020 AGMs The same applies to board diversity which will be a recur-ring topic at AGMs as listed companies are being pressed by the government as well as by proxy advisors and institu-tional investors to increase gender diversity not only in the boardroom but also at senior management level A bill introducing a statutory 250-day response time enables boards at listed companies to identify and weigh the interests of the company and its stake-holders when confronted with a takeover or shareholder-initiated proposal for changes in the boardrsquos composition

6

EXPERTS

On 1 January 2020 the statutory 30 representation target for both men and women on boards at large NVs and BVs expired

In September 2019 the Dutch Social and Economic Council (SER) issued an advisory report (English summary) on cultural and gender diversity in the boardroom Regarding gender diversity the SER called forbull the introduction of a mandatory 30 quota for both women

and men on supervisory boards at Dutch listed companiesbull a requirement for large NVs and BVs to set ambitious

targets at both board and senior management level with a comply or explain character for the company

In December 2019 a majority in parliament supported two motions calling on the government to implement the SERrsquos advice A government proposal along these lines can be expected by the end of 2020

Gender diversity is also on the agendas of Eumedion and proxy advisors such as ISS and Glass Lewis In a gender diversity letter Eumedion calls for companies to adopt and publicly disclose a diversity policy including ldquoa commitment to increase gender diversity throughout the talent pipeline and to set an ambitious gender diversity target (of at least 30) especially at management board and committee levelrdquo Boards will be expected at the 2020 AGM to report on progress made and concrete measures taken in this respect ISS will recommend voting against the appointment or reappointment of the nomination committeersquos chair if a company has no female board directors although mitigating factors may apply Also some institutional investors seem to be introducing policies to vote against the appointment or reappointment of male directors at companies with no or few female board members

LONG-TERM VALUE CREATIONCompanies are being increasingly urged to take a longer-term approach The focus on long-term value creation is one of the core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code In pursuing this companies must carefully weigh up

the relevant interests of stakeholders In other countries the debate around long-term value creation and the corporate purpose is also unfolding In the US the Business Roundtable released a new statement on corporate purpose in August 2019 This was signed by 181 CEOs at major US firms committing to leading their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders Long-term value is also promoted by Larry Fink CEO of the US investment management company BlackRock in his CEO Letter of 14 January 2020 mentioning climate change as a defining factor in companiesrsquo long-term prospects In April 2019 the French parliament adopted a law enabling companies to state their purpose in corporate bylaws

The range of instruments available to boards at Dutch listed companies to achieve long-term value creation may be widened by a new statutory 250-day response time A bill (in Dutch) on this topic was submitted to parliament on 19 December 2019 Introducing a statutory response time has been criticised by some parties as boards already have the possibility to invoke a shorter180-day response time under the Dutch Corporate Governance Code The Explanatory Memorandum (in Dutch) clarifies that it is up to the parties concerned to decide if and how this best practice provision needs to be reconsidered

An NV or BV qualifies as large when at least two of the following three criteria are met (i) the value of the assets according to the balance sheet with explanatory notes exceeds EUR 20000000 (ii) the net turnover for the financial year exceeds EUR 40000000 (iii) there are on average 250 or more employees at the company during the financial year

For guidance on corporate governance in 2020 and beyond we published an update of our handbook Corporate Governance in Nederland

7

Mergers amp AcquisitionsFields of expertise

8

MampA WHAT

TO WATCH FOR IN 2020

The WampI insurance market has been softening for some time and now seems set to harden in the near future In this Crystal Ball Gazing edition we discuss the potential timing and implications of this development We also highlight an increased regulatory impact on MampA transactions making it necessary for parties and their advisors to prioritise regulatory compliance on deals particularly where the target is in a regulated or sensitive industry And finally the Netherlands was the stage for various cross-border high-value public deals in 2019 Many of these deals included innovative structures and we discuss the impact of this on the public MampA market

WHERE TO NOW FOR WampI INSURANCEThe last decade has seen Warranty amp Indemnity (WampI) insurance develop from a niche product into a mainstay of private MampA over half of the private MampA transactions that we advised on in 2019 involved WampI insurance The product is now sufficiently sophisticated

EXPERTS

9and affordable that sellers frequently achieve a ldquoclean exitrdquo in the Dutch market So for how long can we expect the ldquogood timesrdquo in WampI insurance to last

WampI insurance as a product is here to stay In that sense the good times will continue While available coverage and pricing may fluctuate we expect the product itself to develop new features and to become increasingly sophisticated

That said WampI insurance is almost certainly in the ldquosoftrdquo stage of the insurance cycle which will not last indefinitely In recent years coverage and pricing has continued to improve as new players and capital have entered the market But at some point insurers will start to expect or actually experience underwriting losses and will reduce or cease coverage or increase prices However it is difficult to assess whether this hardening of the market will happen in one year or three as we have been witnessing the market soften for the first time in parallel with the development of the product itself What is an indicator that the market may be about to turn and what is simply a further improvement in the product It is difficult to be certain

In addition if the private MampA market moves in a buyer-friendly direction demand for WampI insurance could fall as buyers seek more recourse directly from sellers This could cause the WampI insurance market to soften further and potentially accelerate the hardening of the market

We will need to wait and see how the WampI insurance market develops Buyers and sellers should both keep an eye on

developments as any material change in the available terms of WampI insurance is likely to impact negotiations on SPA liability regimes and there may be a period of adjustment until market participants settle on the new normal

REGULATORS INCREASING THEIR IMPACTThe EUR 1245 million fine on Altice in 2018 let the MampA world know that the European Commission (EC) is watching Since then we have seen various regulators increasingly exert their influence in ways that can impact MampA transactions We expect this to continue in 2020

The Altice fine related to gun-jumping (implementing a transaction before the required merger clearance is obtained) The gun-jumping rules restrict the behaviour of MampA parties between signing and merger clearance This is a focus area for antitrust regulators and subsequent cases ndash most notably the ECJrsquos KPMG Denmark EY decision ndash have continued to clarify the activities that can qualify as gun-jumping

Regulatory action is also impacting the timing and structure of MampA transactions Foreign investment review regimes are appearing in increasingly more jurisdictions Last year in another gun-jumping decision the EC fined Canon for using a two-step ldquowarehousingrdquo structure Financial regulators are more willing to hold up change in control approval to address conduct issues we have recently seen an approval delayed for a target whose core business is not even in financial services so non-compliance with AML screening rules could be remedied

Mergers amp AcquisitionsFields of expertise

10

Regulatory matters are often now key due diligence items given the growing size of regulatory fines and the fact that in many cases they will not be covered by WampI insurance The size of antitrust fines has been steadily increasing for several years In the last two years the European banking industry has seen substantial fines imposed in a regulatory crackdown on AML non-compliance With the GBP 1834 million fine recently imposed on British Airways this trend looks set to extend to GDPR non-compliance

In light of these developments MampA parties and their advisors need to have regulatory compliance at the front of their minds in any transaction particularly where the target is in a regulated or sensitive industry Matters that may have seemed immaterial even 12 months ago can now if not anticipated and properly addressed have a major impact on a transaction

CROSS-BORDER DEALS DRIVE INNOVATION IN PUBLIC MampA The Netherlands has seen a rise in public MampA in 2019 Neither economic headwinds (such as trade wars and signals about a looming recession) nor political uncertainty (such as the Middle East or Brexit) have shaken the confidence of MampA markets Although no one knows how long the good times will last we donrsquot expect the liquidity of the market ndash which has largely been stored on company balance sheets ndash to dry up any time soon As companies put their cash to work we expect the strong MampA market to endure in 2020 resulting in a steady flow of public deals

In 2019 the Netherlands was the stage for various cross-border high-value deals both inbound and outbound Some examples include the USD 22 billion combination of Pfizerrsquos Upjohn business with Mylan Digital Realtyrsquos USD 84 billion acquisition of InterXion

EssilorLuxotticarsquos EUR 55 billion acquisition of GrandVision the USD 50 billion cross-border merger between the Peugeot Group and Fiat Chrysler and Takeawaycomrsquos EUR 72 billion public offer for Just Eat Many of these international transactions included innovative deal structures from a Dutch perspective on topics like deal certainty ensuring 100 ownership and governance

The FiatPeugeot combination the largest Dutch transaction in 2019 in terms of value cemented the rarely used inbound cross-border legal merger as a legitimate and feasible deal structure and underlined the strong position of the Dutch NV as international holding company We expect more parties in the EU to follow suit in the future

The PfizerMylan transaction concerned a typical US spin-off combined with a complex Dutch asset sale structure facilitating a USDutch combination and ensuring maximum deal certainty Enhanced deal certainty is also the result of the innovative back-end structure agreed between Digital Realty and InterXion Given the mutually beneficial aspects for both targets and bidders we trust that these structures will keep being applied and further developed during 2020 and

What 2020 will bring for Dutch public MampA remains to be seen but we expect cross-border deals driving innovation to continue These are certainly interesting times for all involved in public MampA

subsequent years in other cross-border transactions

The TakeawaycomJust Eat transaction underlines that bidders face fierce competition in globally consolidating markets and should therefore carefully consider the relationship between transaction structure and deal certainty After the Dutch company Takeawaycom and the UK company Just Eat had agreed to combine their companies the Dutch technology company Prosus launched an unsolicited cash offer for Just Eat setting off a bidding war In response Takeawaycom and Just Eat changed the structure of their proposal from a UK scheme of arrangement to an exchange offer essentially making it easier to get the required shareholder support This move and the subsequent increase of the offer price seem to have paid off Takeaway has recently come out on top as it has become clear that a large majority of Just Eat shareholders have tendered their shares to Takeawaycomrsquos offer

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

11

COMPETITION AUTHORITIES ON THE HEELS OF DIGITAL ECONOMY

In 2019 competition authorities were busy thinking ldquoout of the boxrdquo about how best to police and enforce competition law in the digital economy Numerous reports were published (for example for the European Commission in the UK and in Germany) One of the key takeaways from these reports is that competition authorities find it difficult through retrospective enforcement to keep up with the seemingly incessant development of the digital economy To address this issue authorities are calling for additional and faster enforcement tools

Against this backdrop the great debate for 2020 will be whether new powers ndash and if introduced the use of those powers ndash are strictly necessary and proportionate to the concerns being addressed The European Commission has taken several major decisions in the digital sector in recent years most notably against Google But despite huge fines complaints of ldquotoo little too laterdquo continue to put pressure on authorities to do more including taking bolder pre-emptive action It should also be remembered that enforcement taken against the likes of Google reflects its unique stronghold in Search but these actions are irrelevant when considering the realities faced by most other digital businesses In a world where Facebook and Instagram continue to lose market share to the likes of the Chinese phenomenon TikTok identifying entrenched

dominance in digital markets let alone finding a practical and timely way of policing it is a real challenge

Companies that operate in the digital economy vary immensely and have to deal with different competitive environments The behaviour of many companies can be accurately charted against realities in the offline world such as consumer lethargy which prevents switching between suppliers in energy and banking markets the placement of sponsored and own-label retail products in key positions in supermarkets and department stores and variable pricing for taxi rides Regulators must decide why it is necessary to create additional regulation or enforcement priorities and how these can be tailored to tackle truly unique ndash and non-transient - concerns that are emerging Whether consensus is reached on these topics or not 2020 will bring further proposals to regulate the digital economy and to carry out enforcement actions addressing specific behaviour by data-driven companies

In relation to the use of data with the convergence of enforcement among

competition consumer and data protection authorities we expect a more inclusive discussion and collaboration between authorities and the companies themselves After all the educational journey for authorities should ndash at all costs ndash avoid debate and decision-making in a theoretical vacuum

Examples of this convergence abound Some competition authorities have demonstrated their willingness to use all the tools in their toolbox to ensure the best outcome for consumers The Dutch competition authority has set its agenda for 2020 focusing on protecting online consumers by enforcing Dutch consumer laws against misleading online practices Similarly the UK competition regulator has taken action against online hotel booking sites and the Italian authority has done the same against online web shops ndash both on the basis of their national consumer laws

Letrsquos hope that any specific and innovative action by authorities in 2020 is taken for the right reasons addressing concerns which are unique to digital and which the market itself is unlikely to correct

IS OVER-REGULATION NEXT

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD AGAINST UNFAIR COMPETITION FROM OUTSIDE EU A LOOK AHEAD AT 2020

Against the background of existing tensions in global trade an open economy like the EUrsquos internal market can be vulnerable to unfair competition by companies operating in countries outside the EU that tend to have a more protectionist industrial policy Although the WTO system aims to prevent barriers to trade and to eliminate discriminatory treatment in international commerce the European Commission has nevertheless announced that it will develop its own level playing field rules as a back-up plan against harmful competition by companies which are owned by third countries or are heavily state-subsidised These companies may undermine the level playing field in Europe where they use the subsidies or monopoly profits to artificially undercut prices when selling in the EU - while European businesses are generally restricted from receiving state aid or abusing their dominant position

NO WORDLWIDE STATE AID RULES The European Commission has put the development of this back-up plan on its action list for the new term The first result has been made at WTO level The EU recently agreed with the US and Japan to extend the list of prohibited subsidies The list includes (i) subsidies with unlimited guarantees (ii) subsidies to either insolvent or ailing companies without credible

restructuring plans or to companies which are unable to attract market investments or financing and (iv) certain direct forgiveness of debt EU state aid rules also prohibited more than only direct subsidies While this extension more closely resembles EU state aid rules it does not lead to harmonisation of state aid rules on a worldwide level It appears that more instruments are needed to prevent harmful competition by third country state owned or are state-subsidised companies

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTRUMENTThe Commissionrsquos plans if adopted

will result in the creation of a new level playing field instrument in the EU There seem to be many ideas as to what this instrument should look like but with the sense of growing urgency EU bodies and members states are looking to make changes The Dutch government has recently called on the Commission to introduce a level playing field instrument at the EU level It advocates preventing unfair competition by state-owned companies or by companies established in third countries but benefiting from a ldquohome staterdquo That is markets which shield these companies from competition and from state aid rules similar to those in

12

the EU Companies may for example use their subsidies and monopoly profits to set lower prices in the EU as compared to a company operating in a regular competitive market environment In the short term this could lead to lower prices for EU consumers but in the long run it leads to less competition and weakens industries within the EU

The level playing field instrument proposed by the Dutch government is not based on dominance or state aid Instead it is based on the lack of market regulation in the home state similar to EU competition rules If home

state market regulation is proven deficient the European Commission can impose behavioural remedies The Dutch government has suggested that it could require the third-country company to maintain a separate and transparent administrative system to monitor its activities in the EU By doing so it would be possible to prevent cross-subsidies from state aidmonopoly profits received in its home-state market to keep the prices in the EU low

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTSA level playing field instrument would complement existing rules on the

control of foreign direct investments (FDI) In 2019 EU member states (see also our Best Friendrsquos summary and guide) adopted a regulation establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments Member states have to start enforcing that regulation as of 11 October 2020 While the regulation only provides for minimum harmonisation member states are expected to include additional measures in their national legislation For example the Dutch government has announced an additional notification and screening system of takeovers where these concern vital infrastructure or technology affecting national security It has also proposed review measures concerning takeovers in the telecom sector with the possibility to prohibit a takeover should national security or public order be jeopardised Some larger European economies have recently tightened FDI screening rules France in mid-2019 Germany at the end of 2018 and the UK in mid-2018

These developments are the result of broader trade tensions between countries especially the US and China An in-depth interview with Marlies Heemskerk ndash de Waard Maikel van Wissen Yi Duan and James Wang about these developments can be found on page 10-11 (click previous page)

13

EXPERTS

Mergers amp AcquisitionsInternational TradeCompetition amp RegulationFields of expertise

foreign investments and export controls curbing the transfer of sensitive technology to protect its national security This legislation is principally triggered by the rise of China as an economic world power China in response is preparing to introduce its own export control law which is entering the final stages of the legislative process In the EU we have also seen a shift to a harder stance by EU Member States towards foreign investments by non-EU parties

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE RELATIONSWe expect an increasing number of technologies to become subject to export licence requirements In addition licence applications for exports to destinations like China will be scrutinised or even denied The difference with export controls as we know them is that many of the relevant technologies are omnipresent nowadays meaning that restrictions to their export will have serious implications for international trade including for industries that were not previously affected by such restrictions This may have a significant impact on our clientsrsquo international production and worldwide supply chains

14

SECURITY CONCERNS AND STRATEGIC INTERESTS

Interstate strategic competition has led the US and the EU to be increasingly protective of their national security and strategic economic interests and this has a growing effect on international business Ample reason to ask our team of experts to gaze into their crystal ball and tell our clients how this may impact them in the years to come

WHAT IS INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND WHY IS IT SO RELEVANTInterstate strategic competition is about major world powers striving to consolidate and strengthen their position and their influence over other states The reason they do this is to protect their military and security interests as well as their economic and technological edge Over the past few years this competition has intensified As of late this is resulting in concrete legislative action directly affecting our clients

It should come as no surprise but the most pressing example is the trade war between the US and China which goes well beyond tariffs The US has already enacted and is currently further developing legislation imposing additional controls on

GROWING IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MampA

EXPERTS

The US is preparing to subject a whole range of ldquoemerging technologiesrdquo to licence requirements where it concerns export to certain destinations notably China Relevant technologies range from biotechnology to robotics and from artificial intelligence to microprocessor technology and beyond They really cover a broad range of high-tech industries The effect of the export control restrictions is not limited to US parties they also apply to other parties incorporating a certain percentage of US-controlled content in their own products

In the EU the discussion about subjecting these technologies to export controls is less advanced However the US will likely pressure the EU and other jurisdictions to adopt similar restrictions In fact the US is already pressuring the Netherlands to be much more reticent in granting licences for the export of certain technology to China

WHAT IS THE EFFECT ON INTERNATIONAL MampA TRANSACTIONSForeign investment controls may pose substantial restrictions to international MampA quite similar to classic merger control Increasingly clients may be required to file notifications with foreign investment review authorities which may impose mitigating conditions if a transaction is found to impact national security interests Unlike merger control filings where parties can perform detailed substantive analyses in advance foreign investment control filings are sometimes more challenging due to the broad rules and secrecy relating to national security concerns of the host countries

In the US foreign investment controls are already well established However the US is now substantially broadening the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) They will now be able to also review transactions resulting in a non-controlling stake and involving certain critical technology or infrastructure or sensitive data of US citizens

HOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND HOW IT MAY AFFECT YOUR BUSINESSWe are planning a dedicated master class on the topic on May 28 and 29 of this year We will cover both export and foreign investment controls and their effect on international trade and MampA including US and EU as well as Chinese law developments And naturally clients who want to discuss the topic are most welcome to contact us

Foreign investment controls are gaining traction in the EU as well After the prohibition of the SiemensAlstom merger Germany and France have publicly called upon the Commission to overhaul its merger control policies to take into account unfair competition from state backed companies from China and other non-EU countries In March 2019 the EU introduced the Foreign Investment Framework Regulation The regulation primarily provides for certain procedural safeguards but it remains for the member states to design and operate their substantive foreign investment controls In many member states these are still developing The Netherlands for example has no overarching legal framework regulating foreign investments but a bill to prevent undesirable control over our telecommunications sector is pending

Some of the US legislation we referred to notably regarding foreign investment controls is set to go into effect this year As to export controls this may take a bit longer but clients would be well advised to closely monitor the developments before they take effect EU developments are more steady but the trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

15

The trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

NEW DECADE BRINGS CHANGES TO PATENT AND COPYRIGHT REGIMES AT EUROPEAN LEVELALL EYES ON UNIFIED PATENT COURT CHANGING FRAND LANDSCAPE AND COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

2020 will see us inching closer to the launch (or end) of the Unified Patent Court and the creation of a new unitary patents system In addition we might have more clarity on how member states interpret the 2015 European Court of Justice ruling on standard essential patents Finally EU member states will need to start paying serious attention to how they will implement the new European rules for adapting their national copyright law systems to the digital world

UPC FINALLY READY TO LAUNCHProponents of a new unified patent system will need to be patient a little longer but it seems that the wheels will finally be set in motion (again) in 2020 The goal Having an operational system in 2021

Judging by press coverage the biggest hurdle to the UKrsquos ratification of the system in 2016 seemed to be the Brexit vote in June but the real game changer turned out to be Germany In 2017 Germany suspended its ratification process as it waited for the Federal Constitutional Court to decide whether German UPC legislation is compatible with the German Constitution While the case was meant to be decided in 2018 and then 2019 this did not happen In November 2019 however the rapporteur in the case made an unofficial statement in an interview that he intends to issue a decision in early 2020

If the court accepts incompatibility a further delay or ndash dare we say it ndash the end of the new system is inevitable If incompatibility is rejected the UPC launch will depend on how the German government responds and of course on Brexit

16

EXPERTS

What is the UPCThe Unified Patent Court (UPC UPC system) will be a supranational court specialised in patent litigation cases Subject to exceptions during a transitional period it will exclusively hear cases involving European patents and European patents with unitary effect (unitary patents are to take effect in all UPC member states) The system will come into effect four months after the Unified Patent Court Agreement is signed and ratified by several EU member states including Germany and the UK (their ratification is a prerequisite)

The future of the UPC system is in the hands of the UK and Germany

Should the German government give the green light the head of the UPC Preparatory Committee predicts that the UPC system will enter into effect shortly after A provisional application phase will then start within a short timeframe to ensure a smooth transition into the operational phase before the actual launch of the UPC a couple of months later Although the future of the new system is still uncertain we do know that its impact would be huge Interested parties especially patentees should continue preparing for the UPCrsquos arrival This means considering any future patent filing strategies ndash unitary patents European bundle patents andor national patents ndash and paying attention to the opt-out route

FRANDIf one or more patents claim technology involved with the standard ndash known as a standard essential patent (SEP) - the patent holder may have a dominant position on the market and may breach competition rules by enforcing its patents by requesting an injunction or recall SEP holders must therefore commit themselves to being prepared to licence their essential patents to other market players on fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms

Since the ECJrsquos landmark 2015 decision in HuaweiZTE - providing guidance on the enforcement of essential patents and competition law - litigation on the licensing of SEPs has increased in Europe and is expected to continue to be a hot topic in 2020 It will be interesting to see how the interpretation of the ECJrsquos ruling plays out in different EU member states

While case law on FRAND is being created at a frenetic pace throughout various European jurisdictions it is currently too sparse to reveal any conclusive jurisdictional trends What is clear is that member states vary in what they emphasise about FRAND commitment This could mean that it is merely a matter of time before the ECJ is asked to elaborate on its position With several rulings lined up for 2020 it is bound to be an exciting year

What is an SEPA patent can be marked as an SEP if it relates to technical specificati-on adopted by a recognised standardisation body for repeated or continuous application with which compliance is not compulso-ry Standardisation is a pheno-menon mostly seen in the fast-de-veloping telecommunications sector In order to promote interoperability of devices ndash such as smartphones laptops tablets but also cars ndash those should ideally use the same standards for certain technologies and functionalities Examples are the 3G (UMTS) 4G (LTE) 5G WiFi and USB standards

What is the provisional application phasePart of this phase is the ldquosunrise periodrdquo for opting out European patents before the UPC starts operating Patentees will be able to exclude their existing European patents and applications from the UPCrsquos exclusive jurisdiction For more information about the sunrise period and opting out your patents click here

17

Position of the UKThe UK has already completed ratification marking its intention to be a party to the UPC system Recently the European Parliament Think Tank published an in-depth analysis on possible UPC scenarios in the case of Brexit with or without a proper withdrawal agreement It concluded that - some legal challenges aside mainly that the UPC will apply EU law and be bound by ECJ decisions - the UK can be part of the UPC system even if it leaves the EU In a UK press release this month however the UK Prime Minister made clear that ldquoany future partnership must not involve any kind of alignment or ECJ jurisdictionrdquo which might indicate their intention to not be party to the UPC system after allrdquo

Different FRAND regimes across Europe might require ECJ guidance

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

All eyes are on the UK Supreme Courtrsquos imminent ruling in Unwired PlanetHuawei which concerns a global licence In the earlier decision the court of appeal confirmed that the UK courts could determine the terms of a global FRAND licence and grant an injunction for the UK subject to the implementer not accepting such terms Huawei challenged the imposition of a global licence on terms set by a national court The eagerly awaited Supreme Court ruling is bound to turn heads and shed some light on the competency of national courts in global licence disputes

Other cases to watch are the enforcement campaigns of Philips against a number of parties implementing patents from Philipsrsquo 3G 4G patent portfolio Philips is enforcing its portfolio at different courts across Europe and this may provide insight into how different jurisdictions interpret the ECJrsquos 2015 landmark decision Philips for example obtained a number of injunctions (against Asus in May and December 2019 against Wiko in July and December 2019) at the Court of Appeal of The Hague against Wiko and Asus in the Netherlands emphasising the responsibility of implementers of SEPs to be a ldquowilling licenseerdquo Both Wiko and Asus took these cases to the Dutch Supreme Court so this year we may also expect a first decision on FRAND at that level If a ruling should be made wersquoll find out if it agrees with the court of appealrsquos approach In PhilipsWiko a parallel case in Germany the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe was much stricter to Philips as an SEP holder and denied an injunction Recognising that the decision deviates from the Higher Regional Court of Duumlsseldorf ruling it allowed an appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice This is especially interesting since another German court the Mannheim Regional Court in the meantime granted Sisvel an injunction against Wiko thereby following a similar approach as the Dutch courts with respect to FRAND

For the same reasons the Sisvel cases are ones to watch Like Philips Sisvel is involved in a number of cases against multiple parties across Europe regarding its portfolio of essential patents for mobile technologies The cases will shed more light on the extent to which SEPs can be enforced in preliminary injunction proceedings An oral hearing about this question at The Court of Appeal of The Hague is scheduled for February 2020

DSM IMPACT EXPECTEDWith an implementation deadline of 7 June 2021 2020 is likely to be dominated ndash at least from a soft IP community perspective - by the implementation of the directive on copyright in the digital single market (DSM)

As the directive introduces quite a few controversial measures it will be interesting to see how member states will wriggle their way into implementing those in their national regimes The most controversial measures are commonly referred to as the ldquoupload filterrdquo and the ldquolink taxrdquo For more information about these controversial measures click here There is a risk that because the member states hold different views on certain topics ndash including after adoption of the directive ndash there will be diverging implementation at the national levels

In May 2019 Poland brought an action before the ECJ asking the court to annul part of the directiversquos article 17 on the much-debated ldquoupload filterrdquo or even annul the entire article Poland argues that the article infringes the right to freedom of expression and information Other pending cases at the ECJ level are Youtube and Elsevier where the German Federal Court of Justice has requested preliminary rulings The ECJ has joined the cases which centre on the position of internet video platform operators and shared hosting service operators who make content protected by copyright publicly accessible The answers by the ECJ will undoubtedly impact the existing framework under the new directive as the ECJ has requested the parties to address the directiversquos upload filter wording In addition the Dutch Supreme Court has referred questions on the position of a Usenet provider (offering a platform for news groups on which users can post messages and are able to upload content) to the ECJ in BREINNSE

Why a DSM DirectiveThis directive aims to update copyright rules for the 21st century Most copyright rules pre-date the internet and are not well-suited to deal with todayrsquos issues This directive improves protection for copyright holders by creating instruments to monetise their work used by information society service providers and to consequently stimulate the creative industry It also safeguards the use of copyright-protected works for private and scientific or educational purposes For more information on the directiversquos impact click here

Adoption of controversial directive does not end the heated debate on the position of information society

service providers

Regulatory amp Criminal EnforcementInvestment ManagementFinancial InstitutionsCorporate AdvisoryCapital MarketsFields of expertise

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2020 LEGAL ENTITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TO BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT

EXPERTS

UBO REGISTER ndash WHAT WILL LEGAL ENTITIES HAVE TO DOThe UBO register is expected to take effect in the Netherlands in early spring 2020 Listed companies are exempt from registering their UBO in the register as are direct or indirect 100 subsidiaries of listed companies To take advantage of this exemption it may be necessary to file an application with the Dutch Trade Register

Existing legal entities must register their UBO within 18 months after introduction of the UBO register Newly incorporated legal entities must register their UBO when they first apply to the Dutch Trade Register for registration of their business

As from the date of implementation of the UBO register all AML institutions ndash to include banks and lawyers ndash must report any inconsistencies between their CDD records and the data included in the UBO registration to the Dutch Trade Register

REGISTRATION FOR UBOS OF TRUSTS AND FUNDS FOR JOINT ACCOUNT In 2020 a new bill will be introduced to create a UBO register for trusts and ldquofunds for joint accountrdquo Although the concept of ldquoa trustrdquo as a legal entity is not recognised in Dutch law if the trust is the legal owner of real estate in the Netherlands or if the trustee is a Dutch legal entity registration might still be necessary

NEW EUROPEAN AML DIREC-TIVESThe AML Act 2020 will implement the terms of the 5th AML Directives by introducing a registration requirement for the providers of virtual currencies The act may also include stricter rules on AML-related penalties for natural persons and extend the liability of legal persons as set out in the 6th AML Directive

PLANS FOR AML-RELATED EX-CHANGE OF INFORMATION The Dutch government is proposing that ldquoAML Institutionsrdquo exchange information with similar institutions ndash for example banks with banks ndash in relation to enhanced client due diligence and the reporting of unusual transactions The proposals would also enable AML institutions to outsource transaction monitoring to third parties if these arrangements are based on a written agreement

GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONSThere are plans to introduce a publication requirement for donations of EUR 15000 or above (in cash or in kind) made to social organisations foundations associations church organisations and foreign equivalents if they have long-term activities in the Netherlands The objective is to make donations to these social organisations more transparent and to prevent any undesirable influence from abroad via these types of cash-flows

If these proposals become law the social organisation will have to publish an annual overview of donations received including the name and address of the donor and the amount of the donation on its website

19

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

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Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

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MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 3: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

4

5

INTRODUCTION 2020 introduces a new decade one which already promises to be an exciting one for our clients the legal sector and society in general In this special newsletter we gaze into our crystal ball and highlight some of the more important trends and developments which could very well affect or even change the way you do business in the next 12 months We want to make sure you are well-informed and ready for this year and beyond Clients tell us that they regularly face increasingly complex challenges that go to the core of their business which also have an impact on society We know that off-the-shelf legal solutions are no longer enough to meet these challenges Teams of experts with a broad vision in-depth expertise and a keen eye to responsibly identify and address societyrsquos needs must be part of the discussion Now more than ever We are very proud of the people at De Brauw who combine their skills to deliver sustainable solutions for the benefit and long term success of our clients We very much look forward to collaborating and facing the challenges with you and your teams in the upcoming year Marnix LeijtenAnja MutsaersDorothee van Vredenburch

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Corporate GovernanceCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN 2020 ISSUES FOR BOARDS TO ADDRESS

REMUNERATIONIn 2020 Dutch NVs and BVs listed on an EU-regulated market will have to ensure that their remuneration policy complies with Dutch legislation implementing the revised European Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) Companies that do not currently follow the new rules must include a revised policy as an agenda item for the upcoming AGM for approval by the general meeting Companies will also need to prepare a remuneration report in accordance with the new legislation and submit this to the general meetingrsquos advisory vote

When preparing the new remuneration policy companies are expected to seek the view of stakeholders to ensure a sound basis for their proposals This approach is also advocated by Eumedion the Dutch corporate governance platform for institutional investors in its 2020 Focus Letter

DIVERSITYIn 2020 boards at listed companies will have to include diversity in their dialogue with the companyrsquos stakeholders as a means of improving gender diversity within the company

Remuneration diversity and long-term value creation are some of the key corporate governance topics that boards at Dutch listed companies will have to account for in 2020 The new rules on remuneration ndash effective 1 December 2019 ndash will be at the centre of discus-sion at 2020 AGMs The same applies to board diversity which will be a recur-ring topic at AGMs as listed companies are being pressed by the government as well as by proxy advisors and institu-tional investors to increase gender diversity not only in the boardroom but also at senior management level A bill introducing a statutory 250-day response time enables boards at listed companies to identify and weigh the interests of the company and its stake-holders when confronted with a takeover or shareholder-initiated proposal for changes in the boardrsquos composition

6

EXPERTS

On 1 January 2020 the statutory 30 representation target for both men and women on boards at large NVs and BVs expired

In September 2019 the Dutch Social and Economic Council (SER) issued an advisory report (English summary) on cultural and gender diversity in the boardroom Regarding gender diversity the SER called forbull the introduction of a mandatory 30 quota for both women

and men on supervisory boards at Dutch listed companiesbull a requirement for large NVs and BVs to set ambitious

targets at both board and senior management level with a comply or explain character for the company

In December 2019 a majority in parliament supported two motions calling on the government to implement the SERrsquos advice A government proposal along these lines can be expected by the end of 2020

Gender diversity is also on the agendas of Eumedion and proxy advisors such as ISS and Glass Lewis In a gender diversity letter Eumedion calls for companies to adopt and publicly disclose a diversity policy including ldquoa commitment to increase gender diversity throughout the talent pipeline and to set an ambitious gender diversity target (of at least 30) especially at management board and committee levelrdquo Boards will be expected at the 2020 AGM to report on progress made and concrete measures taken in this respect ISS will recommend voting against the appointment or reappointment of the nomination committeersquos chair if a company has no female board directors although mitigating factors may apply Also some institutional investors seem to be introducing policies to vote against the appointment or reappointment of male directors at companies with no or few female board members

LONG-TERM VALUE CREATIONCompanies are being increasingly urged to take a longer-term approach The focus on long-term value creation is one of the core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code In pursuing this companies must carefully weigh up

the relevant interests of stakeholders In other countries the debate around long-term value creation and the corporate purpose is also unfolding In the US the Business Roundtable released a new statement on corporate purpose in August 2019 This was signed by 181 CEOs at major US firms committing to leading their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders Long-term value is also promoted by Larry Fink CEO of the US investment management company BlackRock in his CEO Letter of 14 January 2020 mentioning climate change as a defining factor in companiesrsquo long-term prospects In April 2019 the French parliament adopted a law enabling companies to state their purpose in corporate bylaws

The range of instruments available to boards at Dutch listed companies to achieve long-term value creation may be widened by a new statutory 250-day response time A bill (in Dutch) on this topic was submitted to parliament on 19 December 2019 Introducing a statutory response time has been criticised by some parties as boards already have the possibility to invoke a shorter180-day response time under the Dutch Corporate Governance Code The Explanatory Memorandum (in Dutch) clarifies that it is up to the parties concerned to decide if and how this best practice provision needs to be reconsidered

An NV or BV qualifies as large when at least two of the following three criteria are met (i) the value of the assets according to the balance sheet with explanatory notes exceeds EUR 20000000 (ii) the net turnover for the financial year exceeds EUR 40000000 (iii) there are on average 250 or more employees at the company during the financial year

For guidance on corporate governance in 2020 and beyond we published an update of our handbook Corporate Governance in Nederland

7

Mergers amp AcquisitionsFields of expertise

8

MampA WHAT

TO WATCH FOR IN 2020

The WampI insurance market has been softening for some time and now seems set to harden in the near future In this Crystal Ball Gazing edition we discuss the potential timing and implications of this development We also highlight an increased regulatory impact on MampA transactions making it necessary for parties and their advisors to prioritise regulatory compliance on deals particularly where the target is in a regulated or sensitive industry And finally the Netherlands was the stage for various cross-border high-value public deals in 2019 Many of these deals included innovative structures and we discuss the impact of this on the public MampA market

WHERE TO NOW FOR WampI INSURANCEThe last decade has seen Warranty amp Indemnity (WampI) insurance develop from a niche product into a mainstay of private MampA over half of the private MampA transactions that we advised on in 2019 involved WampI insurance The product is now sufficiently sophisticated

EXPERTS

9and affordable that sellers frequently achieve a ldquoclean exitrdquo in the Dutch market So for how long can we expect the ldquogood timesrdquo in WampI insurance to last

WampI insurance as a product is here to stay In that sense the good times will continue While available coverage and pricing may fluctuate we expect the product itself to develop new features and to become increasingly sophisticated

That said WampI insurance is almost certainly in the ldquosoftrdquo stage of the insurance cycle which will not last indefinitely In recent years coverage and pricing has continued to improve as new players and capital have entered the market But at some point insurers will start to expect or actually experience underwriting losses and will reduce or cease coverage or increase prices However it is difficult to assess whether this hardening of the market will happen in one year or three as we have been witnessing the market soften for the first time in parallel with the development of the product itself What is an indicator that the market may be about to turn and what is simply a further improvement in the product It is difficult to be certain

In addition if the private MampA market moves in a buyer-friendly direction demand for WampI insurance could fall as buyers seek more recourse directly from sellers This could cause the WampI insurance market to soften further and potentially accelerate the hardening of the market

We will need to wait and see how the WampI insurance market develops Buyers and sellers should both keep an eye on

developments as any material change in the available terms of WampI insurance is likely to impact negotiations on SPA liability regimes and there may be a period of adjustment until market participants settle on the new normal

REGULATORS INCREASING THEIR IMPACTThe EUR 1245 million fine on Altice in 2018 let the MampA world know that the European Commission (EC) is watching Since then we have seen various regulators increasingly exert their influence in ways that can impact MampA transactions We expect this to continue in 2020

The Altice fine related to gun-jumping (implementing a transaction before the required merger clearance is obtained) The gun-jumping rules restrict the behaviour of MampA parties between signing and merger clearance This is a focus area for antitrust regulators and subsequent cases ndash most notably the ECJrsquos KPMG Denmark EY decision ndash have continued to clarify the activities that can qualify as gun-jumping

Regulatory action is also impacting the timing and structure of MampA transactions Foreign investment review regimes are appearing in increasingly more jurisdictions Last year in another gun-jumping decision the EC fined Canon for using a two-step ldquowarehousingrdquo structure Financial regulators are more willing to hold up change in control approval to address conduct issues we have recently seen an approval delayed for a target whose core business is not even in financial services so non-compliance with AML screening rules could be remedied

Mergers amp AcquisitionsFields of expertise

10

Regulatory matters are often now key due diligence items given the growing size of regulatory fines and the fact that in many cases they will not be covered by WampI insurance The size of antitrust fines has been steadily increasing for several years In the last two years the European banking industry has seen substantial fines imposed in a regulatory crackdown on AML non-compliance With the GBP 1834 million fine recently imposed on British Airways this trend looks set to extend to GDPR non-compliance

In light of these developments MampA parties and their advisors need to have regulatory compliance at the front of their minds in any transaction particularly where the target is in a regulated or sensitive industry Matters that may have seemed immaterial even 12 months ago can now if not anticipated and properly addressed have a major impact on a transaction

CROSS-BORDER DEALS DRIVE INNOVATION IN PUBLIC MampA The Netherlands has seen a rise in public MampA in 2019 Neither economic headwinds (such as trade wars and signals about a looming recession) nor political uncertainty (such as the Middle East or Brexit) have shaken the confidence of MampA markets Although no one knows how long the good times will last we donrsquot expect the liquidity of the market ndash which has largely been stored on company balance sheets ndash to dry up any time soon As companies put their cash to work we expect the strong MampA market to endure in 2020 resulting in a steady flow of public deals

In 2019 the Netherlands was the stage for various cross-border high-value deals both inbound and outbound Some examples include the USD 22 billion combination of Pfizerrsquos Upjohn business with Mylan Digital Realtyrsquos USD 84 billion acquisition of InterXion

EssilorLuxotticarsquos EUR 55 billion acquisition of GrandVision the USD 50 billion cross-border merger between the Peugeot Group and Fiat Chrysler and Takeawaycomrsquos EUR 72 billion public offer for Just Eat Many of these international transactions included innovative deal structures from a Dutch perspective on topics like deal certainty ensuring 100 ownership and governance

The FiatPeugeot combination the largest Dutch transaction in 2019 in terms of value cemented the rarely used inbound cross-border legal merger as a legitimate and feasible deal structure and underlined the strong position of the Dutch NV as international holding company We expect more parties in the EU to follow suit in the future

The PfizerMylan transaction concerned a typical US spin-off combined with a complex Dutch asset sale structure facilitating a USDutch combination and ensuring maximum deal certainty Enhanced deal certainty is also the result of the innovative back-end structure agreed between Digital Realty and InterXion Given the mutually beneficial aspects for both targets and bidders we trust that these structures will keep being applied and further developed during 2020 and

What 2020 will bring for Dutch public MampA remains to be seen but we expect cross-border deals driving innovation to continue These are certainly interesting times for all involved in public MampA

subsequent years in other cross-border transactions

The TakeawaycomJust Eat transaction underlines that bidders face fierce competition in globally consolidating markets and should therefore carefully consider the relationship between transaction structure and deal certainty After the Dutch company Takeawaycom and the UK company Just Eat had agreed to combine their companies the Dutch technology company Prosus launched an unsolicited cash offer for Just Eat setting off a bidding war In response Takeawaycom and Just Eat changed the structure of their proposal from a UK scheme of arrangement to an exchange offer essentially making it easier to get the required shareholder support This move and the subsequent increase of the offer price seem to have paid off Takeaway has recently come out on top as it has become clear that a large majority of Just Eat shareholders have tendered their shares to Takeawaycomrsquos offer

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

11

COMPETITION AUTHORITIES ON THE HEELS OF DIGITAL ECONOMY

In 2019 competition authorities were busy thinking ldquoout of the boxrdquo about how best to police and enforce competition law in the digital economy Numerous reports were published (for example for the European Commission in the UK and in Germany) One of the key takeaways from these reports is that competition authorities find it difficult through retrospective enforcement to keep up with the seemingly incessant development of the digital economy To address this issue authorities are calling for additional and faster enforcement tools

Against this backdrop the great debate for 2020 will be whether new powers ndash and if introduced the use of those powers ndash are strictly necessary and proportionate to the concerns being addressed The European Commission has taken several major decisions in the digital sector in recent years most notably against Google But despite huge fines complaints of ldquotoo little too laterdquo continue to put pressure on authorities to do more including taking bolder pre-emptive action It should also be remembered that enforcement taken against the likes of Google reflects its unique stronghold in Search but these actions are irrelevant when considering the realities faced by most other digital businesses In a world where Facebook and Instagram continue to lose market share to the likes of the Chinese phenomenon TikTok identifying entrenched

dominance in digital markets let alone finding a practical and timely way of policing it is a real challenge

Companies that operate in the digital economy vary immensely and have to deal with different competitive environments The behaviour of many companies can be accurately charted against realities in the offline world such as consumer lethargy which prevents switching between suppliers in energy and banking markets the placement of sponsored and own-label retail products in key positions in supermarkets and department stores and variable pricing for taxi rides Regulators must decide why it is necessary to create additional regulation or enforcement priorities and how these can be tailored to tackle truly unique ndash and non-transient - concerns that are emerging Whether consensus is reached on these topics or not 2020 will bring further proposals to regulate the digital economy and to carry out enforcement actions addressing specific behaviour by data-driven companies

In relation to the use of data with the convergence of enforcement among

competition consumer and data protection authorities we expect a more inclusive discussion and collaboration between authorities and the companies themselves After all the educational journey for authorities should ndash at all costs ndash avoid debate and decision-making in a theoretical vacuum

Examples of this convergence abound Some competition authorities have demonstrated their willingness to use all the tools in their toolbox to ensure the best outcome for consumers The Dutch competition authority has set its agenda for 2020 focusing on protecting online consumers by enforcing Dutch consumer laws against misleading online practices Similarly the UK competition regulator has taken action against online hotel booking sites and the Italian authority has done the same against online web shops ndash both on the basis of their national consumer laws

Letrsquos hope that any specific and innovative action by authorities in 2020 is taken for the right reasons addressing concerns which are unique to digital and which the market itself is unlikely to correct

IS OVER-REGULATION NEXT

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD AGAINST UNFAIR COMPETITION FROM OUTSIDE EU A LOOK AHEAD AT 2020

Against the background of existing tensions in global trade an open economy like the EUrsquos internal market can be vulnerable to unfair competition by companies operating in countries outside the EU that tend to have a more protectionist industrial policy Although the WTO system aims to prevent barriers to trade and to eliminate discriminatory treatment in international commerce the European Commission has nevertheless announced that it will develop its own level playing field rules as a back-up plan against harmful competition by companies which are owned by third countries or are heavily state-subsidised These companies may undermine the level playing field in Europe where they use the subsidies or monopoly profits to artificially undercut prices when selling in the EU - while European businesses are generally restricted from receiving state aid or abusing their dominant position

NO WORDLWIDE STATE AID RULES The European Commission has put the development of this back-up plan on its action list for the new term The first result has been made at WTO level The EU recently agreed with the US and Japan to extend the list of prohibited subsidies The list includes (i) subsidies with unlimited guarantees (ii) subsidies to either insolvent or ailing companies without credible

restructuring plans or to companies which are unable to attract market investments or financing and (iv) certain direct forgiveness of debt EU state aid rules also prohibited more than only direct subsidies While this extension more closely resembles EU state aid rules it does not lead to harmonisation of state aid rules on a worldwide level It appears that more instruments are needed to prevent harmful competition by third country state owned or are state-subsidised companies

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTRUMENTThe Commissionrsquos plans if adopted

will result in the creation of a new level playing field instrument in the EU There seem to be many ideas as to what this instrument should look like but with the sense of growing urgency EU bodies and members states are looking to make changes The Dutch government has recently called on the Commission to introduce a level playing field instrument at the EU level It advocates preventing unfair competition by state-owned companies or by companies established in third countries but benefiting from a ldquohome staterdquo That is markets which shield these companies from competition and from state aid rules similar to those in

12

the EU Companies may for example use their subsidies and monopoly profits to set lower prices in the EU as compared to a company operating in a regular competitive market environment In the short term this could lead to lower prices for EU consumers but in the long run it leads to less competition and weakens industries within the EU

The level playing field instrument proposed by the Dutch government is not based on dominance or state aid Instead it is based on the lack of market regulation in the home state similar to EU competition rules If home

state market regulation is proven deficient the European Commission can impose behavioural remedies The Dutch government has suggested that it could require the third-country company to maintain a separate and transparent administrative system to monitor its activities in the EU By doing so it would be possible to prevent cross-subsidies from state aidmonopoly profits received in its home-state market to keep the prices in the EU low

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTSA level playing field instrument would complement existing rules on the

control of foreign direct investments (FDI) In 2019 EU member states (see also our Best Friendrsquos summary and guide) adopted a regulation establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments Member states have to start enforcing that regulation as of 11 October 2020 While the regulation only provides for minimum harmonisation member states are expected to include additional measures in their national legislation For example the Dutch government has announced an additional notification and screening system of takeovers where these concern vital infrastructure or technology affecting national security It has also proposed review measures concerning takeovers in the telecom sector with the possibility to prohibit a takeover should national security or public order be jeopardised Some larger European economies have recently tightened FDI screening rules France in mid-2019 Germany at the end of 2018 and the UK in mid-2018

These developments are the result of broader trade tensions between countries especially the US and China An in-depth interview with Marlies Heemskerk ndash de Waard Maikel van Wissen Yi Duan and James Wang about these developments can be found on page 10-11 (click previous page)

13

EXPERTS

Mergers amp AcquisitionsInternational TradeCompetition amp RegulationFields of expertise

foreign investments and export controls curbing the transfer of sensitive technology to protect its national security This legislation is principally triggered by the rise of China as an economic world power China in response is preparing to introduce its own export control law which is entering the final stages of the legislative process In the EU we have also seen a shift to a harder stance by EU Member States towards foreign investments by non-EU parties

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE RELATIONSWe expect an increasing number of technologies to become subject to export licence requirements In addition licence applications for exports to destinations like China will be scrutinised or even denied The difference with export controls as we know them is that many of the relevant technologies are omnipresent nowadays meaning that restrictions to their export will have serious implications for international trade including for industries that were not previously affected by such restrictions This may have a significant impact on our clientsrsquo international production and worldwide supply chains

14

SECURITY CONCERNS AND STRATEGIC INTERESTS

Interstate strategic competition has led the US and the EU to be increasingly protective of their national security and strategic economic interests and this has a growing effect on international business Ample reason to ask our team of experts to gaze into their crystal ball and tell our clients how this may impact them in the years to come

WHAT IS INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND WHY IS IT SO RELEVANTInterstate strategic competition is about major world powers striving to consolidate and strengthen their position and their influence over other states The reason they do this is to protect their military and security interests as well as their economic and technological edge Over the past few years this competition has intensified As of late this is resulting in concrete legislative action directly affecting our clients

It should come as no surprise but the most pressing example is the trade war between the US and China which goes well beyond tariffs The US has already enacted and is currently further developing legislation imposing additional controls on

GROWING IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MampA

EXPERTS

The US is preparing to subject a whole range of ldquoemerging technologiesrdquo to licence requirements where it concerns export to certain destinations notably China Relevant technologies range from biotechnology to robotics and from artificial intelligence to microprocessor technology and beyond They really cover a broad range of high-tech industries The effect of the export control restrictions is not limited to US parties they also apply to other parties incorporating a certain percentage of US-controlled content in their own products

In the EU the discussion about subjecting these technologies to export controls is less advanced However the US will likely pressure the EU and other jurisdictions to adopt similar restrictions In fact the US is already pressuring the Netherlands to be much more reticent in granting licences for the export of certain technology to China

WHAT IS THE EFFECT ON INTERNATIONAL MampA TRANSACTIONSForeign investment controls may pose substantial restrictions to international MampA quite similar to classic merger control Increasingly clients may be required to file notifications with foreign investment review authorities which may impose mitigating conditions if a transaction is found to impact national security interests Unlike merger control filings where parties can perform detailed substantive analyses in advance foreign investment control filings are sometimes more challenging due to the broad rules and secrecy relating to national security concerns of the host countries

In the US foreign investment controls are already well established However the US is now substantially broadening the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) They will now be able to also review transactions resulting in a non-controlling stake and involving certain critical technology or infrastructure or sensitive data of US citizens

HOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND HOW IT MAY AFFECT YOUR BUSINESSWe are planning a dedicated master class on the topic on May 28 and 29 of this year We will cover both export and foreign investment controls and their effect on international trade and MampA including US and EU as well as Chinese law developments And naturally clients who want to discuss the topic are most welcome to contact us

Foreign investment controls are gaining traction in the EU as well After the prohibition of the SiemensAlstom merger Germany and France have publicly called upon the Commission to overhaul its merger control policies to take into account unfair competition from state backed companies from China and other non-EU countries In March 2019 the EU introduced the Foreign Investment Framework Regulation The regulation primarily provides for certain procedural safeguards but it remains for the member states to design and operate their substantive foreign investment controls In many member states these are still developing The Netherlands for example has no overarching legal framework regulating foreign investments but a bill to prevent undesirable control over our telecommunications sector is pending

Some of the US legislation we referred to notably regarding foreign investment controls is set to go into effect this year As to export controls this may take a bit longer but clients would be well advised to closely monitor the developments before they take effect EU developments are more steady but the trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

15

The trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

NEW DECADE BRINGS CHANGES TO PATENT AND COPYRIGHT REGIMES AT EUROPEAN LEVELALL EYES ON UNIFIED PATENT COURT CHANGING FRAND LANDSCAPE AND COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

2020 will see us inching closer to the launch (or end) of the Unified Patent Court and the creation of a new unitary patents system In addition we might have more clarity on how member states interpret the 2015 European Court of Justice ruling on standard essential patents Finally EU member states will need to start paying serious attention to how they will implement the new European rules for adapting their national copyright law systems to the digital world

UPC FINALLY READY TO LAUNCHProponents of a new unified patent system will need to be patient a little longer but it seems that the wheels will finally be set in motion (again) in 2020 The goal Having an operational system in 2021

Judging by press coverage the biggest hurdle to the UKrsquos ratification of the system in 2016 seemed to be the Brexit vote in June but the real game changer turned out to be Germany In 2017 Germany suspended its ratification process as it waited for the Federal Constitutional Court to decide whether German UPC legislation is compatible with the German Constitution While the case was meant to be decided in 2018 and then 2019 this did not happen In November 2019 however the rapporteur in the case made an unofficial statement in an interview that he intends to issue a decision in early 2020

If the court accepts incompatibility a further delay or ndash dare we say it ndash the end of the new system is inevitable If incompatibility is rejected the UPC launch will depend on how the German government responds and of course on Brexit

16

EXPERTS

What is the UPCThe Unified Patent Court (UPC UPC system) will be a supranational court specialised in patent litigation cases Subject to exceptions during a transitional period it will exclusively hear cases involving European patents and European patents with unitary effect (unitary patents are to take effect in all UPC member states) The system will come into effect four months after the Unified Patent Court Agreement is signed and ratified by several EU member states including Germany and the UK (their ratification is a prerequisite)

The future of the UPC system is in the hands of the UK and Germany

Should the German government give the green light the head of the UPC Preparatory Committee predicts that the UPC system will enter into effect shortly after A provisional application phase will then start within a short timeframe to ensure a smooth transition into the operational phase before the actual launch of the UPC a couple of months later Although the future of the new system is still uncertain we do know that its impact would be huge Interested parties especially patentees should continue preparing for the UPCrsquos arrival This means considering any future patent filing strategies ndash unitary patents European bundle patents andor national patents ndash and paying attention to the opt-out route

FRANDIf one or more patents claim technology involved with the standard ndash known as a standard essential patent (SEP) - the patent holder may have a dominant position on the market and may breach competition rules by enforcing its patents by requesting an injunction or recall SEP holders must therefore commit themselves to being prepared to licence their essential patents to other market players on fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms

Since the ECJrsquos landmark 2015 decision in HuaweiZTE - providing guidance on the enforcement of essential patents and competition law - litigation on the licensing of SEPs has increased in Europe and is expected to continue to be a hot topic in 2020 It will be interesting to see how the interpretation of the ECJrsquos ruling plays out in different EU member states

While case law on FRAND is being created at a frenetic pace throughout various European jurisdictions it is currently too sparse to reveal any conclusive jurisdictional trends What is clear is that member states vary in what they emphasise about FRAND commitment This could mean that it is merely a matter of time before the ECJ is asked to elaborate on its position With several rulings lined up for 2020 it is bound to be an exciting year

What is an SEPA patent can be marked as an SEP if it relates to technical specificati-on adopted by a recognised standardisation body for repeated or continuous application with which compliance is not compulso-ry Standardisation is a pheno-menon mostly seen in the fast-de-veloping telecommunications sector In order to promote interoperability of devices ndash such as smartphones laptops tablets but also cars ndash those should ideally use the same standards for certain technologies and functionalities Examples are the 3G (UMTS) 4G (LTE) 5G WiFi and USB standards

What is the provisional application phasePart of this phase is the ldquosunrise periodrdquo for opting out European patents before the UPC starts operating Patentees will be able to exclude their existing European patents and applications from the UPCrsquos exclusive jurisdiction For more information about the sunrise period and opting out your patents click here

17

Position of the UKThe UK has already completed ratification marking its intention to be a party to the UPC system Recently the European Parliament Think Tank published an in-depth analysis on possible UPC scenarios in the case of Brexit with or without a proper withdrawal agreement It concluded that - some legal challenges aside mainly that the UPC will apply EU law and be bound by ECJ decisions - the UK can be part of the UPC system even if it leaves the EU In a UK press release this month however the UK Prime Minister made clear that ldquoany future partnership must not involve any kind of alignment or ECJ jurisdictionrdquo which might indicate their intention to not be party to the UPC system after allrdquo

Different FRAND regimes across Europe might require ECJ guidance

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

All eyes are on the UK Supreme Courtrsquos imminent ruling in Unwired PlanetHuawei which concerns a global licence In the earlier decision the court of appeal confirmed that the UK courts could determine the terms of a global FRAND licence and grant an injunction for the UK subject to the implementer not accepting such terms Huawei challenged the imposition of a global licence on terms set by a national court The eagerly awaited Supreme Court ruling is bound to turn heads and shed some light on the competency of national courts in global licence disputes

Other cases to watch are the enforcement campaigns of Philips against a number of parties implementing patents from Philipsrsquo 3G 4G patent portfolio Philips is enforcing its portfolio at different courts across Europe and this may provide insight into how different jurisdictions interpret the ECJrsquos 2015 landmark decision Philips for example obtained a number of injunctions (against Asus in May and December 2019 against Wiko in July and December 2019) at the Court of Appeal of The Hague against Wiko and Asus in the Netherlands emphasising the responsibility of implementers of SEPs to be a ldquowilling licenseerdquo Both Wiko and Asus took these cases to the Dutch Supreme Court so this year we may also expect a first decision on FRAND at that level If a ruling should be made wersquoll find out if it agrees with the court of appealrsquos approach In PhilipsWiko a parallel case in Germany the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe was much stricter to Philips as an SEP holder and denied an injunction Recognising that the decision deviates from the Higher Regional Court of Duumlsseldorf ruling it allowed an appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice This is especially interesting since another German court the Mannheim Regional Court in the meantime granted Sisvel an injunction against Wiko thereby following a similar approach as the Dutch courts with respect to FRAND

For the same reasons the Sisvel cases are ones to watch Like Philips Sisvel is involved in a number of cases against multiple parties across Europe regarding its portfolio of essential patents for mobile technologies The cases will shed more light on the extent to which SEPs can be enforced in preliminary injunction proceedings An oral hearing about this question at The Court of Appeal of The Hague is scheduled for February 2020

DSM IMPACT EXPECTEDWith an implementation deadline of 7 June 2021 2020 is likely to be dominated ndash at least from a soft IP community perspective - by the implementation of the directive on copyright in the digital single market (DSM)

As the directive introduces quite a few controversial measures it will be interesting to see how member states will wriggle their way into implementing those in their national regimes The most controversial measures are commonly referred to as the ldquoupload filterrdquo and the ldquolink taxrdquo For more information about these controversial measures click here There is a risk that because the member states hold different views on certain topics ndash including after adoption of the directive ndash there will be diverging implementation at the national levels

In May 2019 Poland brought an action before the ECJ asking the court to annul part of the directiversquos article 17 on the much-debated ldquoupload filterrdquo or even annul the entire article Poland argues that the article infringes the right to freedom of expression and information Other pending cases at the ECJ level are Youtube and Elsevier where the German Federal Court of Justice has requested preliminary rulings The ECJ has joined the cases which centre on the position of internet video platform operators and shared hosting service operators who make content protected by copyright publicly accessible The answers by the ECJ will undoubtedly impact the existing framework under the new directive as the ECJ has requested the parties to address the directiversquos upload filter wording In addition the Dutch Supreme Court has referred questions on the position of a Usenet provider (offering a platform for news groups on which users can post messages and are able to upload content) to the ECJ in BREINNSE

Why a DSM DirectiveThis directive aims to update copyright rules for the 21st century Most copyright rules pre-date the internet and are not well-suited to deal with todayrsquos issues This directive improves protection for copyright holders by creating instruments to monetise their work used by information society service providers and to consequently stimulate the creative industry It also safeguards the use of copyright-protected works for private and scientific or educational purposes For more information on the directiversquos impact click here

Adoption of controversial directive does not end the heated debate on the position of information society

service providers

Regulatory amp Criminal EnforcementInvestment ManagementFinancial InstitutionsCorporate AdvisoryCapital MarketsFields of expertise

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2020 LEGAL ENTITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TO BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT

EXPERTS

UBO REGISTER ndash WHAT WILL LEGAL ENTITIES HAVE TO DOThe UBO register is expected to take effect in the Netherlands in early spring 2020 Listed companies are exempt from registering their UBO in the register as are direct or indirect 100 subsidiaries of listed companies To take advantage of this exemption it may be necessary to file an application with the Dutch Trade Register

Existing legal entities must register their UBO within 18 months after introduction of the UBO register Newly incorporated legal entities must register their UBO when they first apply to the Dutch Trade Register for registration of their business

As from the date of implementation of the UBO register all AML institutions ndash to include banks and lawyers ndash must report any inconsistencies between their CDD records and the data included in the UBO registration to the Dutch Trade Register

REGISTRATION FOR UBOS OF TRUSTS AND FUNDS FOR JOINT ACCOUNT In 2020 a new bill will be introduced to create a UBO register for trusts and ldquofunds for joint accountrdquo Although the concept of ldquoa trustrdquo as a legal entity is not recognised in Dutch law if the trust is the legal owner of real estate in the Netherlands or if the trustee is a Dutch legal entity registration might still be necessary

NEW EUROPEAN AML DIREC-TIVESThe AML Act 2020 will implement the terms of the 5th AML Directives by introducing a registration requirement for the providers of virtual currencies The act may also include stricter rules on AML-related penalties for natural persons and extend the liability of legal persons as set out in the 6th AML Directive

PLANS FOR AML-RELATED EX-CHANGE OF INFORMATION The Dutch government is proposing that ldquoAML Institutionsrdquo exchange information with similar institutions ndash for example banks with banks ndash in relation to enhanced client due diligence and the reporting of unusual transactions The proposals would also enable AML institutions to outsource transaction monitoring to third parties if these arrangements are based on a written agreement

GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONSThere are plans to introduce a publication requirement for donations of EUR 15000 or above (in cash or in kind) made to social organisations foundations associations church organisations and foreign equivalents if they have long-term activities in the Netherlands The objective is to make donations to these social organisations more transparent and to prevent any undesirable influence from abroad via these types of cash-flows

If these proposals become law the social organisation will have to publish an annual overview of donations received including the name and address of the donor and the amount of the donation on its website

19

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 4: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

5

INTRODUCTION 2020 introduces a new decade one which already promises to be an exciting one for our clients the legal sector and society in general In this special newsletter we gaze into our crystal ball and highlight some of the more important trends and developments which could very well affect or even change the way you do business in the next 12 months We want to make sure you are well-informed and ready for this year and beyond Clients tell us that they regularly face increasingly complex challenges that go to the core of their business which also have an impact on society We know that off-the-shelf legal solutions are no longer enough to meet these challenges Teams of experts with a broad vision in-depth expertise and a keen eye to responsibly identify and address societyrsquos needs must be part of the discussion Now more than ever We are very proud of the people at De Brauw who combine their skills to deliver sustainable solutions for the benefit and long term success of our clients We very much look forward to collaborating and facing the challenges with you and your teams in the upcoming year Marnix LeijtenAnja MutsaersDorothee van Vredenburch

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Corporate GovernanceCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN 2020 ISSUES FOR BOARDS TO ADDRESS

REMUNERATIONIn 2020 Dutch NVs and BVs listed on an EU-regulated market will have to ensure that their remuneration policy complies with Dutch legislation implementing the revised European Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) Companies that do not currently follow the new rules must include a revised policy as an agenda item for the upcoming AGM for approval by the general meeting Companies will also need to prepare a remuneration report in accordance with the new legislation and submit this to the general meetingrsquos advisory vote

When preparing the new remuneration policy companies are expected to seek the view of stakeholders to ensure a sound basis for their proposals This approach is also advocated by Eumedion the Dutch corporate governance platform for institutional investors in its 2020 Focus Letter

DIVERSITYIn 2020 boards at listed companies will have to include diversity in their dialogue with the companyrsquos stakeholders as a means of improving gender diversity within the company

Remuneration diversity and long-term value creation are some of the key corporate governance topics that boards at Dutch listed companies will have to account for in 2020 The new rules on remuneration ndash effective 1 December 2019 ndash will be at the centre of discus-sion at 2020 AGMs The same applies to board diversity which will be a recur-ring topic at AGMs as listed companies are being pressed by the government as well as by proxy advisors and institu-tional investors to increase gender diversity not only in the boardroom but also at senior management level A bill introducing a statutory 250-day response time enables boards at listed companies to identify and weigh the interests of the company and its stake-holders when confronted with a takeover or shareholder-initiated proposal for changes in the boardrsquos composition

6

EXPERTS

On 1 January 2020 the statutory 30 representation target for both men and women on boards at large NVs and BVs expired

In September 2019 the Dutch Social and Economic Council (SER) issued an advisory report (English summary) on cultural and gender diversity in the boardroom Regarding gender diversity the SER called forbull the introduction of a mandatory 30 quota for both women

and men on supervisory boards at Dutch listed companiesbull a requirement for large NVs and BVs to set ambitious

targets at both board and senior management level with a comply or explain character for the company

In December 2019 a majority in parliament supported two motions calling on the government to implement the SERrsquos advice A government proposal along these lines can be expected by the end of 2020

Gender diversity is also on the agendas of Eumedion and proxy advisors such as ISS and Glass Lewis In a gender diversity letter Eumedion calls for companies to adopt and publicly disclose a diversity policy including ldquoa commitment to increase gender diversity throughout the talent pipeline and to set an ambitious gender diversity target (of at least 30) especially at management board and committee levelrdquo Boards will be expected at the 2020 AGM to report on progress made and concrete measures taken in this respect ISS will recommend voting against the appointment or reappointment of the nomination committeersquos chair if a company has no female board directors although mitigating factors may apply Also some institutional investors seem to be introducing policies to vote against the appointment or reappointment of male directors at companies with no or few female board members

LONG-TERM VALUE CREATIONCompanies are being increasingly urged to take a longer-term approach The focus on long-term value creation is one of the core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code In pursuing this companies must carefully weigh up

the relevant interests of stakeholders In other countries the debate around long-term value creation and the corporate purpose is also unfolding In the US the Business Roundtable released a new statement on corporate purpose in August 2019 This was signed by 181 CEOs at major US firms committing to leading their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders Long-term value is also promoted by Larry Fink CEO of the US investment management company BlackRock in his CEO Letter of 14 January 2020 mentioning climate change as a defining factor in companiesrsquo long-term prospects In April 2019 the French parliament adopted a law enabling companies to state their purpose in corporate bylaws

The range of instruments available to boards at Dutch listed companies to achieve long-term value creation may be widened by a new statutory 250-day response time A bill (in Dutch) on this topic was submitted to parliament on 19 December 2019 Introducing a statutory response time has been criticised by some parties as boards already have the possibility to invoke a shorter180-day response time under the Dutch Corporate Governance Code The Explanatory Memorandum (in Dutch) clarifies that it is up to the parties concerned to decide if and how this best practice provision needs to be reconsidered

An NV or BV qualifies as large when at least two of the following three criteria are met (i) the value of the assets according to the balance sheet with explanatory notes exceeds EUR 20000000 (ii) the net turnover for the financial year exceeds EUR 40000000 (iii) there are on average 250 or more employees at the company during the financial year

For guidance on corporate governance in 2020 and beyond we published an update of our handbook Corporate Governance in Nederland

7

Mergers amp AcquisitionsFields of expertise

8

MampA WHAT

TO WATCH FOR IN 2020

The WampI insurance market has been softening for some time and now seems set to harden in the near future In this Crystal Ball Gazing edition we discuss the potential timing and implications of this development We also highlight an increased regulatory impact on MampA transactions making it necessary for parties and their advisors to prioritise regulatory compliance on deals particularly where the target is in a regulated or sensitive industry And finally the Netherlands was the stage for various cross-border high-value public deals in 2019 Many of these deals included innovative structures and we discuss the impact of this on the public MampA market

WHERE TO NOW FOR WampI INSURANCEThe last decade has seen Warranty amp Indemnity (WampI) insurance develop from a niche product into a mainstay of private MampA over half of the private MampA transactions that we advised on in 2019 involved WampI insurance The product is now sufficiently sophisticated

EXPERTS

9and affordable that sellers frequently achieve a ldquoclean exitrdquo in the Dutch market So for how long can we expect the ldquogood timesrdquo in WampI insurance to last

WampI insurance as a product is here to stay In that sense the good times will continue While available coverage and pricing may fluctuate we expect the product itself to develop new features and to become increasingly sophisticated

That said WampI insurance is almost certainly in the ldquosoftrdquo stage of the insurance cycle which will not last indefinitely In recent years coverage and pricing has continued to improve as new players and capital have entered the market But at some point insurers will start to expect or actually experience underwriting losses and will reduce or cease coverage or increase prices However it is difficult to assess whether this hardening of the market will happen in one year or three as we have been witnessing the market soften for the first time in parallel with the development of the product itself What is an indicator that the market may be about to turn and what is simply a further improvement in the product It is difficult to be certain

In addition if the private MampA market moves in a buyer-friendly direction demand for WampI insurance could fall as buyers seek more recourse directly from sellers This could cause the WampI insurance market to soften further and potentially accelerate the hardening of the market

We will need to wait and see how the WampI insurance market develops Buyers and sellers should both keep an eye on

developments as any material change in the available terms of WampI insurance is likely to impact negotiations on SPA liability regimes and there may be a period of adjustment until market participants settle on the new normal

REGULATORS INCREASING THEIR IMPACTThe EUR 1245 million fine on Altice in 2018 let the MampA world know that the European Commission (EC) is watching Since then we have seen various regulators increasingly exert their influence in ways that can impact MampA transactions We expect this to continue in 2020

The Altice fine related to gun-jumping (implementing a transaction before the required merger clearance is obtained) The gun-jumping rules restrict the behaviour of MampA parties between signing and merger clearance This is a focus area for antitrust regulators and subsequent cases ndash most notably the ECJrsquos KPMG Denmark EY decision ndash have continued to clarify the activities that can qualify as gun-jumping

Regulatory action is also impacting the timing and structure of MampA transactions Foreign investment review regimes are appearing in increasingly more jurisdictions Last year in another gun-jumping decision the EC fined Canon for using a two-step ldquowarehousingrdquo structure Financial regulators are more willing to hold up change in control approval to address conduct issues we have recently seen an approval delayed for a target whose core business is not even in financial services so non-compliance with AML screening rules could be remedied

Mergers amp AcquisitionsFields of expertise

10

Regulatory matters are often now key due diligence items given the growing size of regulatory fines and the fact that in many cases they will not be covered by WampI insurance The size of antitrust fines has been steadily increasing for several years In the last two years the European banking industry has seen substantial fines imposed in a regulatory crackdown on AML non-compliance With the GBP 1834 million fine recently imposed on British Airways this trend looks set to extend to GDPR non-compliance

In light of these developments MampA parties and their advisors need to have regulatory compliance at the front of their minds in any transaction particularly where the target is in a regulated or sensitive industry Matters that may have seemed immaterial even 12 months ago can now if not anticipated and properly addressed have a major impact on a transaction

CROSS-BORDER DEALS DRIVE INNOVATION IN PUBLIC MampA The Netherlands has seen a rise in public MampA in 2019 Neither economic headwinds (such as trade wars and signals about a looming recession) nor political uncertainty (such as the Middle East or Brexit) have shaken the confidence of MampA markets Although no one knows how long the good times will last we donrsquot expect the liquidity of the market ndash which has largely been stored on company balance sheets ndash to dry up any time soon As companies put their cash to work we expect the strong MampA market to endure in 2020 resulting in a steady flow of public deals

In 2019 the Netherlands was the stage for various cross-border high-value deals both inbound and outbound Some examples include the USD 22 billion combination of Pfizerrsquos Upjohn business with Mylan Digital Realtyrsquos USD 84 billion acquisition of InterXion

EssilorLuxotticarsquos EUR 55 billion acquisition of GrandVision the USD 50 billion cross-border merger between the Peugeot Group and Fiat Chrysler and Takeawaycomrsquos EUR 72 billion public offer for Just Eat Many of these international transactions included innovative deal structures from a Dutch perspective on topics like deal certainty ensuring 100 ownership and governance

The FiatPeugeot combination the largest Dutch transaction in 2019 in terms of value cemented the rarely used inbound cross-border legal merger as a legitimate and feasible deal structure and underlined the strong position of the Dutch NV as international holding company We expect more parties in the EU to follow suit in the future

The PfizerMylan transaction concerned a typical US spin-off combined with a complex Dutch asset sale structure facilitating a USDutch combination and ensuring maximum deal certainty Enhanced deal certainty is also the result of the innovative back-end structure agreed between Digital Realty and InterXion Given the mutually beneficial aspects for both targets and bidders we trust that these structures will keep being applied and further developed during 2020 and

What 2020 will bring for Dutch public MampA remains to be seen but we expect cross-border deals driving innovation to continue These are certainly interesting times for all involved in public MampA

subsequent years in other cross-border transactions

The TakeawaycomJust Eat transaction underlines that bidders face fierce competition in globally consolidating markets and should therefore carefully consider the relationship between transaction structure and deal certainty After the Dutch company Takeawaycom and the UK company Just Eat had agreed to combine their companies the Dutch technology company Prosus launched an unsolicited cash offer for Just Eat setting off a bidding war In response Takeawaycom and Just Eat changed the structure of their proposal from a UK scheme of arrangement to an exchange offer essentially making it easier to get the required shareholder support This move and the subsequent increase of the offer price seem to have paid off Takeaway has recently come out on top as it has become clear that a large majority of Just Eat shareholders have tendered their shares to Takeawaycomrsquos offer

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

11

COMPETITION AUTHORITIES ON THE HEELS OF DIGITAL ECONOMY

In 2019 competition authorities were busy thinking ldquoout of the boxrdquo about how best to police and enforce competition law in the digital economy Numerous reports were published (for example for the European Commission in the UK and in Germany) One of the key takeaways from these reports is that competition authorities find it difficult through retrospective enforcement to keep up with the seemingly incessant development of the digital economy To address this issue authorities are calling for additional and faster enforcement tools

Against this backdrop the great debate for 2020 will be whether new powers ndash and if introduced the use of those powers ndash are strictly necessary and proportionate to the concerns being addressed The European Commission has taken several major decisions in the digital sector in recent years most notably against Google But despite huge fines complaints of ldquotoo little too laterdquo continue to put pressure on authorities to do more including taking bolder pre-emptive action It should also be remembered that enforcement taken against the likes of Google reflects its unique stronghold in Search but these actions are irrelevant when considering the realities faced by most other digital businesses In a world where Facebook and Instagram continue to lose market share to the likes of the Chinese phenomenon TikTok identifying entrenched

dominance in digital markets let alone finding a practical and timely way of policing it is a real challenge

Companies that operate in the digital economy vary immensely and have to deal with different competitive environments The behaviour of many companies can be accurately charted against realities in the offline world such as consumer lethargy which prevents switching between suppliers in energy and banking markets the placement of sponsored and own-label retail products in key positions in supermarkets and department stores and variable pricing for taxi rides Regulators must decide why it is necessary to create additional regulation or enforcement priorities and how these can be tailored to tackle truly unique ndash and non-transient - concerns that are emerging Whether consensus is reached on these topics or not 2020 will bring further proposals to regulate the digital economy and to carry out enforcement actions addressing specific behaviour by data-driven companies

In relation to the use of data with the convergence of enforcement among

competition consumer and data protection authorities we expect a more inclusive discussion and collaboration between authorities and the companies themselves After all the educational journey for authorities should ndash at all costs ndash avoid debate and decision-making in a theoretical vacuum

Examples of this convergence abound Some competition authorities have demonstrated their willingness to use all the tools in their toolbox to ensure the best outcome for consumers The Dutch competition authority has set its agenda for 2020 focusing on protecting online consumers by enforcing Dutch consumer laws against misleading online practices Similarly the UK competition regulator has taken action against online hotel booking sites and the Italian authority has done the same against online web shops ndash both on the basis of their national consumer laws

Letrsquos hope that any specific and innovative action by authorities in 2020 is taken for the right reasons addressing concerns which are unique to digital and which the market itself is unlikely to correct

IS OVER-REGULATION NEXT

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD AGAINST UNFAIR COMPETITION FROM OUTSIDE EU A LOOK AHEAD AT 2020

Against the background of existing tensions in global trade an open economy like the EUrsquos internal market can be vulnerable to unfair competition by companies operating in countries outside the EU that tend to have a more protectionist industrial policy Although the WTO system aims to prevent barriers to trade and to eliminate discriminatory treatment in international commerce the European Commission has nevertheless announced that it will develop its own level playing field rules as a back-up plan against harmful competition by companies which are owned by third countries or are heavily state-subsidised These companies may undermine the level playing field in Europe where they use the subsidies or monopoly profits to artificially undercut prices when selling in the EU - while European businesses are generally restricted from receiving state aid or abusing their dominant position

NO WORDLWIDE STATE AID RULES The European Commission has put the development of this back-up plan on its action list for the new term The first result has been made at WTO level The EU recently agreed with the US and Japan to extend the list of prohibited subsidies The list includes (i) subsidies with unlimited guarantees (ii) subsidies to either insolvent or ailing companies without credible

restructuring plans or to companies which are unable to attract market investments or financing and (iv) certain direct forgiveness of debt EU state aid rules also prohibited more than only direct subsidies While this extension more closely resembles EU state aid rules it does not lead to harmonisation of state aid rules on a worldwide level It appears that more instruments are needed to prevent harmful competition by third country state owned or are state-subsidised companies

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTRUMENTThe Commissionrsquos plans if adopted

will result in the creation of a new level playing field instrument in the EU There seem to be many ideas as to what this instrument should look like but with the sense of growing urgency EU bodies and members states are looking to make changes The Dutch government has recently called on the Commission to introduce a level playing field instrument at the EU level It advocates preventing unfair competition by state-owned companies or by companies established in third countries but benefiting from a ldquohome staterdquo That is markets which shield these companies from competition and from state aid rules similar to those in

12

the EU Companies may for example use their subsidies and monopoly profits to set lower prices in the EU as compared to a company operating in a regular competitive market environment In the short term this could lead to lower prices for EU consumers but in the long run it leads to less competition and weakens industries within the EU

The level playing field instrument proposed by the Dutch government is not based on dominance or state aid Instead it is based on the lack of market regulation in the home state similar to EU competition rules If home

state market regulation is proven deficient the European Commission can impose behavioural remedies The Dutch government has suggested that it could require the third-country company to maintain a separate and transparent administrative system to monitor its activities in the EU By doing so it would be possible to prevent cross-subsidies from state aidmonopoly profits received in its home-state market to keep the prices in the EU low

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTSA level playing field instrument would complement existing rules on the

control of foreign direct investments (FDI) In 2019 EU member states (see also our Best Friendrsquos summary and guide) adopted a regulation establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments Member states have to start enforcing that regulation as of 11 October 2020 While the regulation only provides for minimum harmonisation member states are expected to include additional measures in their national legislation For example the Dutch government has announced an additional notification and screening system of takeovers where these concern vital infrastructure or technology affecting national security It has also proposed review measures concerning takeovers in the telecom sector with the possibility to prohibit a takeover should national security or public order be jeopardised Some larger European economies have recently tightened FDI screening rules France in mid-2019 Germany at the end of 2018 and the UK in mid-2018

These developments are the result of broader trade tensions between countries especially the US and China An in-depth interview with Marlies Heemskerk ndash de Waard Maikel van Wissen Yi Duan and James Wang about these developments can be found on page 10-11 (click previous page)

13

EXPERTS

Mergers amp AcquisitionsInternational TradeCompetition amp RegulationFields of expertise

foreign investments and export controls curbing the transfer of sensitive technology to protect its national security This legislation is principally triggered by the rise of China as an economic world power China in response is preparing to introduce its own export control law which is entering the final stages of the legislative process In the EU we have also seen a shift to a harder stance by EU Member States towards foreign investments by non-EU parties

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE RELATIONSWe expect an increasing number of technologies to become subject to export licence requirements In addition licence applications for exports to destinations like China will be scrutinised or even denied The difference with export controls as we know them is that many of the relevant technologies are omnipresent nowadays meaning that restrictions to their export will have serious implications for international trade including for industries that were not previously affected by such restrictions This may have a significant impact on our clientsrsquo international production and worldwide supply chains

14

SECURITY CONCERNS AND STRATEGIC INTERESTS

Interstate strategic competition has led the US and the EU to be increasingly protective of their national security and strategic economic interests and this has a growing effect on international business Ample reason to ask our team of experts to gaze into their crystal ball and tell our clients how this may impact them in the years to come

WHAT IS INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND WHY IS IT SO RELEVANTInterstate strategic competition is about major world powers striving to consolidate and strengthen their position and their influence over other states The reason they do this is to protect their military and security interests as well as their economic and technological edge Over the past few years this competition has intensified As of late this is resulting in concrete legislative action directly affecting our clients

It should come as no surprise but the most pressing example is the trade war between the US and China which goes well beyond tariffs The US has already enacted and is currently further developing legislation imposing additional controls on

GROWING IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MampA

EXPERTS

The US is preparing to subject a whole range of ldquoemerging technologiesrdquo to licence requirements where it concerns export to certain destinations notably China Relevant technologies range from biotechnology to robotics and from artificial intelligence to microprocessor technology and beyond They really cover a broad range of high-tech industries The effect of the export control restrictions is not limited to US parties they also apply to other parties incorporating a certain percentage of US-controlled content in their own products

In the EU the discussion about subjecting these technologies to export controls is less advanced However the US will likely pressure the EU and other jurisdictions to adopt similar restrictions In fact the US is already pressuring the Netherlands to be much more reticent in granting licences for the export of certain technology to China

WHAT IS THE EFFECT ON INTERNATIONAL MampA TRANSACTIONSForeign investment controls may pose substantial restrictions to international MampA quite similar to classic merger control Increasingly clients may be required to file notifications with foreign investment review authorities which may impose mitigating conditions if a transaction is found to impact national security interests Unlike merger control filings where parties can perform detailed substantive analyses in advance foreign investment control filings are sometimes more challenging due to the broad rules and secrecy relating to national security concerns of the host countries

In the US foreign investment controls are already well established However the US is now substantially broadening the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) They will now be able to also review transactions resulting in a non-controlling stake and involving certain critical technology or infrastructure or sensitive data of US citizens

HOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND HOW IT MAY AFFECT YOUR BUSINESSWe are planning a dedicated master class on the topic on May 28 and 29 of this year We will cover both export and foreign investment controls and their effect on international trade and MampA including US and EU as well as Chinese law developments And naturally clients who want to discuss the topic are most welcome to contact us

Foreign investment controls are gaining traction in the EU as well After the prohibition of the SiemensAlstom merger Germany and France have publicly called upon the Commission to overhaul its merger control policies to take into account unfair competition from state backed companies from China and other non-EU countries In March 2019 the EU introduced the Foreign Investment Framework Regulation The regulation primarily provides for certain procedural safeguards but it remains for the member states to design and operate their substantive foreign investment controls In many member states these are still developing The Netherlands for example has no overarching legal framework regulating foreign investments but a bill to prevent undesirable control over our telecommunications sector is pending

Some of the US legislation we referred to notably regarding foreign investment controls is set to go into effect this year As to export controls this may take a bit longer but clients would be well advised to closely monitor the developments before they take effect EU developments are more steady but the trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

15

The trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

NEW DECADE BRINGS CHANGES TO PATENT AND COPYRIGHT REGIMES AT EUROPEAN LEVELALL EYES ON UNIFIED PATENT COURT CHANGING FRAND LANDSCAPE AND COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

2020 will see us inching closer to the launch (or end) of the Unified Patent Court and the creation of a new unitary patents system In addition we might have more clarity on how member states interpret the 2015 European Court of Justice ruling on standard essential patents Finally EU member states will need to start paying serious attention to how they will implement the new European rules for adapting their national copyright law systems to the digital world

UPC FINALLY READY TO LAUNCHProponents of a new unified patent system will need to be patient a little longer but it seems that the wheels will finally be set in motion (again) in 2020 The goal Having an operational system in 2021

Judging by press coverage the biggest hurdle to the UKrsquos ratification of the system in 2016 seemed to be the Brexit vote in June but the real game changer turned out to be Germany In 2017 Germany suspended its ratification process as it waited for the Federal Constitutional Court to decide whether German UPC legislation is compatible with the German Constitution While the case was meant to be decided in 2018 and then 2019 this did not happen In November 2019 however the rapporteur in the case made an unofficial statement in an interview that he intends to issue a decision in early 2020

If the court accepts incompatibility a further delay or ndash dare we say it ndash the end of the new system is inevitable If incompatibility is rejected the UPC launch will depend on how the German government responds and of course on Brexit

16

EXPERTS

What is the UPCThe Unified Patent Court (UPC UPC system) will be a supranational court specialised in patent litigation cases Subject to exceptions during a transitional period it will exclusively hear cases involving European patents and European patents with unitary effect (unitary patents are to take effect in all UPC member states) The system will come into effect four months after the Unified Patent Court Agreement is signed and ratified by several EU member states including Germany and the UK (their ratification is a prerequisite)

The future of the UPC system is in the hands of the UK and Germany

Should the German government give the green light the head of the UPC Preparatory Committee predicts that the UPC system will enter into effect shortly after A provisional application phase will then start within a short timeframe to ensure a smooth transition into the operational phase before the actual launch of the UPC a couple of months later Although the future of the new system is still uncertain we do know that its impact would be huge Interested parties especially patentees should continue preparing for the UPCrsquos arrival This means considering any future patent filing strategies ndash unitary patents European bundle patents andor national patents ndash and paying attention to the opt-out route

FRANDIf one or more patents claim technology involved with the standard ndash known as a standard essential patent (SEP) - the patent holder may have a dominant position on the market and may breach competition rules by enforcing its patents by requesting an injunction or recall SEP holders must therefore commit themselves to being prepared to licence their essential patents to other market players on fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms

Since the ECJrsquos landmark 2015 decision in HuaweiZTE - providing guidance on the enforcement of essential patents and competition law - litigation on the licensing of SEPs has increased in Europe and is expected to continue to be a hot topic in 2020 It will be interesting to see how the interpretation of the ECJrsquos ruling plays out in different EU member states

While case law on FRAND is being created at a frenetic pace throughout various European jurisdictions it is currently too sparse to reveal any conclusive jurisdictional trends What is clear is that member states vary in what they emphasise about FRAND commitment This could mean that it is merely a matter of time before the ECJ is asked to elaborate on its position With several rulings lined up for 2020 it is bound to be an exciting year

What is an SEPA patent can be marked as an SEP if it relates to technical specificati-on adopted by a recognised standardisation body for repeated or continuous application with which compliance is not compulso-ry Standardisation is a pheno-menon mostly seen in the fast-de-veloping telecommunications sector In order to promote interoperability of devices ndash such as smartphones laptops tablets but also cars ndash those should ideally use the same standards for certain technologies and functionalities Examples are the 3G (UMTS) 4G (LTE) 5G WiFi and USB standards

What is the provisional application phasePart of this phase is the ldquosunrise periodrdquo for opting out European patents before the UPC starts operating Patentees will be able to exclude their existing European patents and applications from the UPCrsquos exclusive jurisdiction For more information about the sunrise period and opting out your patents click here

17

Position of the UKThe UK has already completed ratification marking its intention to be a party to the UPC system Recently the European Parliament Think Tank published an in-depth analysis on possible UPC scenarios in the case of Brexit with or without a proper withdrawal agreement It concluded that - some legal challenges aside mainly that the UPC will apply EU law and be bound by ECJ decisions - the UK can be part of the UPC system even if it leaves the EU In a UK press release this month however the UK Prime Minister made clear that ldquoany future partnership must not involve any kind of alignment or ECJ jurisdictionrdquo which might indicate their intention to not be party to the UPC system after allrdquo

Different FRAND regimes across Europe might require ECJ guidance

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

All eyes are on the UK Supreme Courtrsquos imminent ruling in Unwired PlanetHuawei which concerns a global licence In the earlier decision the court of appeal confirmed that the UK courts could determine the terms of a global FRAND licence and grant an injunction for the UK subject to the implementer not accepting such terms Huawei challenged the imposition of a global licence on terms set by a national court The eagerly awaited Supreme Court ruling is bound to turn heads and shed some light on the competency of national courts in global licence disputes

Other cases to watch are the enforcement campaigns of Philips against a number of parties implementing patents from Philipsrsquo 3G 4G patent portfolio Philips is enforcing its portfolio at different courts across Europe and this may provide insight into how different jurisdictions interpret the ECJrsquos 2015 landmark decision Philips for example obtained a number of injunctions (against Asus in May and December 2019 against Wiko in July and December 2019) at the Court of Appeal of The Hague against Wiko and Asus in the Netherlands emphasising the responsibility of implementers of SEPs to be a ldquowilling licenseerdquo Both Wiko and Asus took these cases to the Dutch Supreme Court so this year we may also expect a first decision on FRAND at that level If a ruling should be made wersquoll find out if it agrees with the court of appealrsquos approach In PhilipsWiko a parallel case in Germany the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe was much stricter to Philips as an SEP holder and denied an injunction Recognising that the decision deviates from the Higher Regional Court of Duumlsseldorf ruling it allowed an appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice This is especially interesting since another German court the Mannheim Regional Court in the meantime granted Sisvel an injunction against Wiko thereby following a similar approach as the Dutch courts with respect to FRAND

For the same reasons the Sisvel cases are ones to watch Like Philips Sisvel is involved in a number of cases against multiple parties across Europe regarding its portfolio of essential patents for mobile technologies The cases will shed more light on the extent to which SEPs can be enforced in preliminary injunction proceedings An oral hearing about this question at The Court of Appeal of The Hague is scheduled for February 2020

DSM IMPACT EXPECTEDWith an implementation deadline of 7 June 2021 2020 is likely to be dominated ndash at least from a soft IP community perspective - by the implementation of the directive on copyright in the digital single market (DSM)

As the directive introduces quite a few controversial measures it will be interesting to see how member states will wriggle their way into implementing those in their national regimes The most controversial measures are commonly referred to as the ldquoupload filterrdquo and the ldquolink taxrdquo For more information about these controversial measures click here There is a risk that because the member states hold different views on certain topics ndash including after adoption of the directive ndash there will be diverging implementation at the national levels

In May 2019 Poland brought an action before the ECJ asking the court to annul part of the directiversquos article 17 on the much-debated ldquoupload filterrdquo or even annul the entire article Poland argues that the article infringes the right to freedom of expression and information Other pending cases at the ECJ level are Youtube and Elsevier where the German Federal Court of Justice has requested preliminary rulings The ECJ has joined the cases which centre on the position of internet video platform operators and shared hosting service operators who make content protected by copyright publicly accessible The answers by the ECJ will undoubtedly impact the existing framework under the new directive as the ECJ has requested the parties to address the directiversquos upload filter wording In addition the Dutch Supreme Court has referred questions on the position of a Usenet provider (offering a platform for news groups on which users can post messages and are able to upload content) to the ECJ in BREINNSE

Why a DSM DirectiveThis directive aims to update copyright rules for the 21st century Most copyright rules pre-date the internet and are not well-suited to deal with todayrsquos issues This directive improves protection for copyright holders by creating instruments to monetise their work used by information society service providers and to consequently stimulate the creative industry It also safeguards the use of copyright-protected works for private and scientific or educational purposes For more information on the directiversquos impact click here

Adoption of controversial directive does not end the heated debate on the position of information society

service providers

Regulatory amp Criminal EnforcementInvestment ManagementFinancial InstitutionsCorporate AdvisoryCapital MarketsFields of expertise

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2020 LEGAL ENTITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TO BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT

EXPERTS

UBO REGISTER ndash WHAT WILL LEGAL ENTITIES HAVE TO DOThe UBO register is expected to take effect in the Netherlands in early spring 2020 Listed companies are exempt from registering their UBO in the register as are direct or indirect 100 subsidiaries of listed companies To take advantage of this exemption it may be necessary to file an application with the Dutch Trade Register

Existing legal entities must register their UBO within 18 months after introduction of the UBO register Newly incorporated legal entities must register their UBO when they first apply to the Dutch Trade Register for registration of their business

As from the date of implementation of the UBO register all AML institutions ndash to include banks and lawyers ndash must report any inconsistencies between their CDD records and the data included in the UBO registration to the Dutch Trade Register

REGISTRATION FOR UBOS OF TRUSTS AND FUNDS FOR JOINT ACCOUNT In 2020 a new bill will be introduced to create a UBO register for trusts and ldquofunds for joint accountrdquo Although the concept of ldquoa trustrdquo as a legal entity is not recognised in Dutch law if the trust is the legal owner of real estate in the Netherlands or if the trustee is a Dutch legal entity registration might still be necessary

NEW EUROPEAN AML DIREC-TIVESThe AML Act 2020 will implement the terms of the 5th AML Directives by introducing a registration requirement for the providers of virtual currencies The act may also include stricter rules on AML-related penalties for natural persons and extend the liability of legal persons as set out in the 6th AML Directive

PLANS FOR AML-RELATED EX-CHANGE OF INFORMATION The Dutch government is proposing that ldquoAML Institutionsrdquo exchange information with similar institutions ndash for example banks with banks ndash in relation to enhanced client due diligence and the reporting of unusual transactions The proposals would also enable AML institutions to outsource transaction monitoring to third parties if these arrangements are based on a written agreement

GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONSThere are plans to introduce a publication requirement for donations of EUR 15000 or above (in cash or in kind) made to social organisations foundations associations church organisations and foreign equivalents if they have long-term activities in the Netherlands The objective is to make donations to these social organisations more transparent and to prevent any undesirable influence from abroad via these types of cash-flows

If these proposals become law the social organisation will have to publish an annual overview of donations received including the name and address of the donor and the amount of the donation on its website

19

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 5: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Corporate GovernanceCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN 2020 ISSUES FOR BOARDS TO ADDRESS

REMUNERATIONIn 2020 Dutch NVs and BVs listed on an EU-regulated market will have to ensure that their remuneration policy complies with Dutch legislation implementing the revised European Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) Companies that do not currently follow the new rules must include a revised policy as an agenda item for the upcoming AGM for approval by the general meeting Companies will also need to prepare a remuneration report in accordance with the new legislation and submit this to the general meetingrsquos advisory vote

When preparing the new remuneration policy companies are expected to seek the view of stakeholders to ensure a sound basis for their proposals This approach is also advocated by Eumedion the Dutch corporate governance platform for institutional investors in its 2020 Focus Letter

DIVERSITYIn 2020 boards at listed companies will have to include diversity in their dialogue with the companyrsquos stakeholders as a means of improving gender diversity within the company

Remuneration diversity and long-term value creation are some of the key corporate governance topics that boards at Dutch listed companies will have to account for in 2020 The new rules on remuneration ndash effective 1 December 2019 ndash will be at the centre of discus-sion at 2020 AGMs The same applies to board diversity which will be a recur-ring topic at AGMs as listed companies are being pressed by the government as well as by proxy advisors and institu-tional investors to increase gender diversity not only in the boardroom but also at senior management level A bill introducing a statutory 250-day response time enables boards at listed companies to identify and weigh the interests of the company and its stake-holders when confronted with a takeover or shareholder-initiated proposal for changes in the boardrsquos composition

6

EXPERTS

On 1 January 2020 the statutory 30 representation target for both men and women on boards at large NVs and BVs expired

In September 2019 the Dutch Social and Economic Council (SER) issued an advisory report (English summary) on cultural and gender diversity in the boardroom Regarding gender diversity the SER called forbull the introduction of a mandatory 30 quota for both women

and men on supervisory boards at Dutch listed companiesbull a requirement for large NVs and BVs to set ambitious

targets at both board and senior management level with a comply or explain character for the company

In December 2019 a majority in parliament supported two motions calling on the government to implement the SERrsquos advice A government proposal along these lines can be expected by the end of 2020

Gender diversity is also on the agendas of Eumedion and proxy advisors such as ISS and Glass Lewis In a gender diversity letter Eumedion calls for companies to adopt and publicly disclose a diversity policy including ldquoa commitment to increase gender diversity throughout the talent pipeline and to set an ambitious gender diversity target (of at least 30) especially at management board and committee levelrdquo Boards will be expected at the 2020 AGM to report on progress made and concrete measures taken in this respect ISS will recommend voting against the appointment or reappointment of the nomination committeersquos chair if a company has no female board directors although mitigating factors may apply Also some institutional investors seem to be introducing policies to vote against the appointment or reappointment of male directors at companies with no or few female board members

LONG-TERM VALUE CREATIONCompanies are being increasingly urged to take a longer-term approach The focus on long-term value creation is one of the core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code In pursuing this companies must carefully weigh up

the relevant interests of stakeholders In other countries the debate around long-term value creation and the corporate purpose is also unfolding In the US the Business Roundtable released a new statement on corporate purpose in August 2019 This was signed by 181 CEOs at major US firms committing to leading their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders Long-term value is also promoted by Larry Fink CEO of the US investment management company BlackRock in his CEO Letter of 14 January 2020 mentioning climate change as a defining factor in companiesrsquo long-term prospects In April 2019 the French parliament adopted a law enabling companies to state their purpose in corporate bylaws

The range of instruments available to boards at Dutch listed companies to achieve long-term value creation may be widened by a new statutory 250-day response time A bill (in Dutch) on this topic was submitted to parliament on 19 December 2019 Introducing a statutory response time has been criticised by some parties as boards already have the possibility to invoke a shorter180-day response time under the Dutch Corporate Governance Code The Explanatory Memorandum (in Dutch) clarifies that it is up to the parties concerned to decide if and how this best practice provision needs to be reconsidered

An NV or BV qualifies as large when at least two of the following three criteria are met (i) the value of the assets according to the balance sheet with explanatory notes exceeds EUR 20000000 (ii) the net turnover for the financial year exceeds EUR 40000000 (iii) there are on average 250 or more employees at the company during the financial year

For guidance on corporate governance in 2020 and beyond we published an update of our handbook Corporate Governance in Nederland

7

Mergers amp AcquisitionsFields of expertise

8

MampA WHAT

TO WATCH FOR IN 2020

The WampI insurance market has been softening for some time and now seems set to harden in the near future In this Crystal Ball Gazing edition we discuss the potential timing and implications of this development We also highlight an increased regulatory impact on MampA transactions making it necessary for parties and their advisors to prioritise regulatory compliance on deals particularly where the target is in a regulated or sensitive industry And finally the Netherlands was the stage for various cross-border high-value public deals in 2019 Many of these deals included innovative structures and we discuss the impact of this on the public MampA market

WHERE TO NOW FOR WampI INSURANCEThe last decade has seen Warranty amp Indemnity (WampI) insurance develop from a niche product into a mainstay of private MampA over half of the private MampA transactions that we advised on in 2019 involved WampI insurance The product is now sufficiently sophisticated

EXPERTS

9and affordable that sellers frequently achieve a ldquoclean exitrdquo in the Dutch market So for how long can we expect the ldquogood timesrdquo in WampI insurance to last

WampI insurance as a product is here to stay In that sense the good times will continue While available coverage and pricing may fluctuate we expect the product itself to develop new features and to become increasingly sophisticated

That said WampI insurance is almost certainly in the ldquosoftrdquo stage of the insurance cycle which will not last indefinitely In recent years coverage and pricing has continued to improve as new players and capital have entered the market But at some point insurers will start to expect or actually experience underwriting losses and will reduce or cease coverage or increase prices However it is difficult to assess whether this hardening of the market will happen in one year or three as we have been witnessing the market soften for the first time in parallel with the development of the product itself What is an indicator that the market may be about to turn and what is simply a further improvement in the product It is difficult to be certain

In addition if the private MampA market moves in a buyer-friendly direction demand for WampI insurance could fall as buyers seek more recourse directly from sellers This could cause the WampI insurance market to soften further and potentially accelerate the hardening of the market

We will need to wait and see how the WampI insurance market develops Buyers and sellers should both keep an eye on

developments as any material change in the available terms of WampI insurance is likely to impact negotiations on SPA liability regimes and there may be a period of adjustment until market participants settle on the new normal

REGULATORS INCREASING THEIR IMPACTThe EUR 1245 million fine on Altice in 2018 let the MampA world know that the European Commission (EC) is watching Since then we have seen various regulators increasingly exert their influence in ways that can impact MampA transactions We expect this to continue in 2020

The Altice fine related to gun-jumping (implementing a transaction before the required merger clearance is obtained) The gun-jumping rules restrict the behaviour of MampA parties between signing and merger clearance This is a focus area for antitrust regulators and subsequent cases ndash most notably the ECJrsquos KPMG Denmark EY decision ndash have continued to clarify the activities that can qualify as gun-jumping

Regulatory action is also impacting the timing and structure of MampA transactions Foreign investment review regimes are appearing in increasingly more jurisdictions Last year in another gun-jumping decision the EC fined Canon for using a two-step ldquowarehousingrdquo structure Financial regulators are more willing to hold up change in control approval to address conduct issues we have recently seen an approval delayed for a target whose core business is not even in financial services so non-compliance with AML screening rules could be remedied

Mergers amp AcquisitionsFields of expertise

10

Regulatory matters are often now key due diligence items given the growing size of regulatory fines and the fact that in many cases they will not be covered by WampI insurance The size of antitrust fines has been steadily increasing for several years In the last two years the European banking industry has seen substantial fines imposed in a regulatory crackdown on AML non-compliance With the GBP 1834 million fine recently imposed on British Airways this trend looks set to extend to GDPR non-compliance

In light of these developments MampA parties and their advisors need to have regulatory compliance at the front of their minds in any transaction particularly where the target is in a regulated or sensitive industry Matters that may have seemed immaterial even 12 months ago can now if not anticipated and properly addressed have a major impact on a transaction

CROSS-BORDER DEALS DRIVE INNOVATION IN PUBLIC MampA The Netherlands has seen a rise in public MampA in 2019 Neither economic headwinds (such as trade wars and signals about a looming recession) nor political uncertainty (such as the Middle East or Brexit) have shaken the confidence of MampA markets Although no one knows how long the good times will last we donrsquot expect the liquidity of the market ndash which has largely been stored on company balance sheets ndash to dry up any time soon As companies put their cash to work we expect the strong MampA market to endure in 2020 resulting in a steady flow of public deals

In 2019 the Netherlands was the stage for various cross-border high-value deals both inbound and outbound Some examples include the USD 22 billion combination of Pfizerrsquos Upjohn business with Mylan Digital Realtyrsquos USD 84 billion acquisition of InterXion

EssilorLuxotticarsquos EUR 55 billion acquisition of GrandVision the USD 50 billion cross-border merger between the Peugeot Group and Fiat Chrysler and Takeawaycomrsquos EUR 72 billion public offer for Just Eat Many of these international transactions included innovative deal structures from a Dutch perspective on topics like deal certainty ensuring 100 ownership and governance

The FiatPeugeot combination the largest Dutch transaction in 2019 in terms of value cemented the rarely used inbound cross-border legal merger as a legitimate and feasible deal structure and underlined the strong position of the Dutch NV as international holding company We expect more parties in the EU to follow suit in the future

The PfizerMylan transaction concerned a typical US spin-off combined with a complex Dutch asset sale structure facilitating a USDutch combination and ensuring maximum deal certainty Enhanced deal certainty is also the result of the innovative back-end structure agreed between Digital Realty and InterXion Given the mutually beneficial aspects for both targets and bidders we trust that these structures will keep being applied and further developed during 2020 and

What 2020 will bring for Dutch public MampA remains to be seen but we expect cross-border deals driving innovation to continue These are certainly interesting times for all involved in public MampA

subsequent years in other cross-border transactions

The TakeawaycomJust Eat transaction underlines that bidders face fierce competition in globally consolidating markets and should therefore carefully consider the relationship between transaction structure and deal certainty After the Dutch company Takeawaycom and the UK company Just Eat had agreed to combine their companies the Dutch technology company Prosus launched an unsolicited cash offer for Just Eat setting off a bidding war In response Takeawaycom and Just Eat changed the structure of their proposal from a UK scheme of arrangement to an exchange offer essentially making it easier to get the required shareholder support This move and the subsequent increase of the offer price seem to have paid off Takeaway has recently come out on top as it has become clear that a large majority of Just Eat shareholders have tendered their shares to Takeawaycomrsquos offer

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

11

COMPETITION AUTHORITIES ON THE HEELS OF DIGITAL ECONOMY

In 2019 competition authorities were busy thinking ldquoout of the boxrdquo about how best to police and enforce competition law in the digital economy Numerous reports were published (for example for the European Commission in the UK and in Germany) One of the key takeaways from these reports is that competition authorities find it difficult through retrospective enforcement to keep up with the seemingly incessant development of the digital economy To address this issue authorities are calling for additional and faster enforcement tools

Against this backdrop the great debate for 2020 will be whether new powers ndash and if introduced the use of those powers ndash are strictly necessary and proportionate to the concerns being addressed The European Commission has taken several major decisions in the digital sector in recent years most notably against Google But despite huge fines complaints of ldquotoo little too laterdquo continue to put pressure on authorities to do more including taking bolder pre-emptive action It should also be remembered that enforcement taken against the likes of Google reflects its unique stronghold in Search but these actions are irrelevant when considering the realities faced by most other digital businesses In a world where Facebook and Instagram continue to lose market share to the likes of the Chinese phenomenon TikTok identifying entrenched

dominance in digital markets let alone finding a practical and timely way of policing it is a real challenge

Companies that operate in the digital economy vary immensely and have to deal with different competitive environments The behaviour of many companies can be accurately charted against realities in the offline world such as consumer lethargy which prevents switching between suppliers in energy and banking markets the placement of sponsored and own-label retail products in key positions in supermarkets and department stores and variable pricing for taxi rides Regulators must decide why it is necessary to create additional regulation or enforcement priorities and how these can be tailored to tackle truly unique ndash and non-transient - concerns that are emerging Whether consensus is reached on these topics or not 2020 will bring further proposals to regulate the digital economy and to carry out enforcement actions addressing specific behaviour by data-driven companies

In relation to the use of data with the convergence of enforcement among

competition consumer and data protection authorities we expect a more inclusive discussion and collaboration between authorities and the companies themselves After all the educational journey for authorities should ndash at all costs ndash avoid debate and decision-making in a theoretical vacuum

Examples of this convergence abound Some competition authorities have demonstrated their willingness to use all the tools in their toolbox to ensure the best outcome for consumers The Dutch competition authority has set its agenda for 2020 focusing on protecting online consumers by enforcing Dutch consumer laws against misleading online practices Similarly the UK competition regulator has taken action against online hotel booking sites and the Italian authority has done the same against online web shops ndash both on the basis of their national consumer laws

Letrsquos hope that any specific and innovative action by authorities in 2020 is taken for the right reasons addressing concerns which are unique to digital and which the market itself is unlikely to correct

IS OVER-REGULATION NEXT

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD AGAINST UNFAIR COMPETITION FROM OUTSIDE EU A LOOK AHEAD AT 2020

Against the background of existing tensions in global trade an open economy like the EUrsquos internal market can be vulnerable to unfair competition by companies operating in countries outside the EU that tend to have a more protectionist industrial policy Although the WTO system aims to prevent barriers to trade and to eliminate discriminatory treatment in international commerce the European Commission has nevertheless announced that it will develop its own level playing field rules as a back-up plan against harmful competition by companies which are owned by third countries or are heavily state-subsidised These companies may undermine the level playing field in Europe where they use the subsidies or monopoly profits to artificially undercut prices when selling in the EU - while European businesses are generally restricted from receiving state aid or abusing their dominant position

NO WORDLWIDE STATE AID RULES The European Commission has put the development of this back-up plan on its action list for the new term The first result has been made at WTO level The EU recently agreed with the US and Japan to extend the list of prohibited subsidies The list includes (i) subsidies with unlimited guarantees (ii) subsidies to either insolvent or ailing companies without credible

restructuring plans or to companies which are unable to attract market investments or financing and (iv) certain direct forgiveness of debt EU state aid rules also prohibited more than only direct subsidies While this extension more closely resembles EU state aid rules it does not lead to harmonisation of state aid rules on a worldwide level It appears that more instruments are needed to prevent harmful competition by third country state owned or are state-subsidised companies

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTRUMENTThe Commissionrsquos plans if adopted

will result in the creation of a new level playing field instrument in the EU There seem to be many ideas as to what this instrument should look like but with the sense of growing urgency EU bodies and members states are looking to make changes The Dutch government has recently called on the Commission to introduce a level playing field instrument at the EU level It advocates preventing unfair competition by state-owned companies or by companies established in third countries but benefiting from a ldquohome staterdquo That is markets which shield these companies from competition and from state aid rules similar to those in

12

the EU Companies may for example use their subsidies and monopoly profits to set lower prices in the EU as compared to a company operating in a regular competitive market environment In the short term this could lead to lower prices for EU consumers but in the long run it leads to less competition and weakens industries within the EU

The level playing field instrument proposed by the Dutch government is not based on dominance or state aid Instead it is based on the lack of market regulation in the home state similar to EU competition rules If home

state market regulation is proven deficient the European Commission can impose behavioural remedies The Dutch government has suggested that it could require the third-country company to maintain a separate and transparent administrative system to monitor its activities in the EU By doing so it would be possible to prevent cross-subsidies from state aidmonopoly profits received in its home-state market to keep the prices in the EU low

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTSA level playing field instrument would complement existing rules on the

control of foreign direct investments (FDI) In 2019 EU member states (see also our Best Friendrsquos summary and guide) adopted a regulation establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments Member states have to start enforcing that regulation as of 11 October 2020 While the regulation only provides for minimum harmonisation member states are expected to include additional measures in their national legislation For example the Dutch government has announced an additional notification and screening system of takeovers where these concern vital infrastructure or technology affecting national security It has also proposed review measures concerning takeovers in the telecom sector with the possibility to prohibit a takeover should national security or public order be jeopardised Some larger European economies have recently tightened FDI screening rules France in mid-2019 Germany at the end of 2018 and the UK in mid-2018

These developments are the result of broader trade tensions between countries especially the US and China An in-depth interview with Marlies Heemskerk ndash de Waard Maikel van Wissen Yi Duan and James Wang about these developments can be found on page 10-11 (click previous page)

13

EXPERTS

Mergers amp AcquisitionsInternational TradeCompetition amp RegulationFields of expertise

foreign investments and export controls curbing the transfer of sensitive technology to protect its national security This legislation is principally triggered by the rise of China as an economic world power China in response is preparing to introduce its own export control law which is entering the final stages of the legislative process In the EU we have also seen a shift to a harder stance by EU Member States towards foreign investments by non-EU parties

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE RELATIONSWe expect an increasing number of technologies to become subject to export licence requirements In addition licence applications for exports to destinations like China will be scrutinised or even denied The difference with export controls as we know them is that many of the relevant technologies are omnipresent nowadays meaning that restrictions to their export will have serious implications for international trade including for industries that were not previously affected by such restrictions This may have a significant impact on our clientsrsquo international production and worldwide supply chains

14

SECURITY CONCERNS AND STRATEGIC INTERESTS

Interstate strategic competition has led the US and the EU to be increasingly protective of their national security and strategic economic interests and this has a growing effect on international business Ample reason to ask our team of experts to gaze into their crystal ball and tell our clients how this may impact them in the years to come

WHAT IS INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND WHY IS IT SO RELEVANTInterstate strategic competition is about major world powers striving to consolidate and strengthen their position and their influence over other states The reason they do this is to protect their military and security interests as well as their economic and technological edge Over the past few years this competition has intensified As of late this is resulting in concrete legislative action directly affecting our clients

It should come as no surprise but the most pressing example is the trade war between the US and China which goes well beyond tariffs The US has already enacted and is currently further developing legislation imposing additional controls on

GROWING IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MampA

EXPERTS

The US is preparing to subject a whole range of ldquoemerging technologiesrdquo to licence requirements where it concerns export to certain destinations notably China Relevant technologies range from biotechnology to robotics and from artificial intelligence to microprocessor technology and beyond They really cover a broad range of high-tech industries The effect of the export control restrictions is not limited to US parties they also apply to other parties incorporating a certain percentage of US-controlled content in their own products

In the EU the discussion about subjecting these technologies to export controls is less advanced However the US will likely pressure the EU and other jurisdictions to adopt similar restrictions In fact the US is already pressuring the Netherlands to be much more reticent in granting licences for the export of certain technology to China

WHAT IS THE EFFECT ON INTERNATIONAL MampA TRANSACTIONSForeign investment controls may pose substantial restrictions to international MampA quite similar to classic merger control Increasingly clients may be required to file notifications with foreign investment review authorities which may impose mitigating conditions if a transaction is found to impact national security interests Unlike merger control filings where parties can perform detailed substantive analyses in advance foreign investment control filings are sometimes more challenging due to the broad rules and secrecy relating to national security concerns of the host countries

In the US foreign investment controls are already well established However the US is now substantially broadening the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) They will now be able to also review transactions resulting in a non-controlling stake and involving certain critical technology or infrastructure or sensitive data of US citizens

HOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND HOW IT MAY AFFECT YOUR BUSINESSWe are planning a dedicated master class on the topic on May 28 and 29 of this year We will cover both export and foreign investment controls and their effect on international trade and MampA including US and EU as well as Chinese law developments And naturally clients who want to discuss the topic are most welcome to contact us

Foreign investment controls are gaining traction in the EU as well After the prohibition of the SiemensAlstom merger Germany and France have publicly called upon the Commission to overhaul its merger control policies to take into account unfair competition from state backed companies from China and other non-EU countries In March 2019 the EU introduced the Foreign Investment Framework Regulation The regulation primarily provides for certain procedural safeguards but it remains for the member states to design and operate their substantive foreign investment controls In many member states these are still developing The Netherlands for example has no overarching legal framework regulating foreign investments but a bill to prevent undesirable control over our telecommunications sector is pending

Some of the US legislation we referred to notably regarding foreign investment controls is set to go into effect this year As to export controls this may take a bit longer but clients would be well advised to closely monitor the developments before they take effect EU developments are more steady but the trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

15

The trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

NEW DECADE BRINGS CHANGES TO PATENT AND COPYRIGHT REGIMES AT EUROPEAN LEVELALL EYES ON UNIFIED PATENT COURT CHANGING FRAND LANDSCAPE AND COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

2020 will see us inching closer to the launch (or end) of the Unified Patent Court and the creation of a new unitary patents system In addition we might have more clarity on how member states interpret the 2015 European Court of Justice ruling on standard essential patents Finally EU member states will need to start paying serious attention to how they will implement the new European rules for adapting their national copyright law systems to the digital world

UPC FINALLY READY TO LAUNCHProponents of a new unified patent system will need to be patient a little longer but it seems that the wheels will finally be set in motion (again) in 2020 The goal Having an operational system in 2021

Judging by press coverage the biggest hurdle to the UKrsquos ratification of the system in 2016 seemed to be the Brexit vote in June but the real game changer turned out to be Germany In 2017 Germany suspended its ratification process as it waited for the Federal Constitutional Court to decide whether German UPC legislation is compatible with the German Constitution While the case was meant to be decided in 2018 and then 2019 this did not happen In November 2019 however the rapporteur in the case made an unofficial statement in an interview that he intends to issue a decision in early 2020

If the court accepts incompatibility a further delay or ndash dare we say it ndash the end of the new system is inevitable If incompatibility is rejected the UPC launch will depend on how the German government responds and of course on Brexit

16

EXPERTS

What is the UPCThe Unified Patent Court (UPC UPC system) will be a supranational court specialised in patent litigation cases Subject to exceptions during a transitional period it will exclusively hear cases involving European patents and European patents with unitary effect (unitary patents are to take effect in all UPC member states) The system will come into effect four months after the Unified Patent Court Agreement is signed and ratified by several EU member states including Germany and the UK (their ratification is a prerequisite)

The future of the UPC system is in the hands of the UK and Germany

Should the German government give the green light the head of the UPC Preparatory Committee predicts that the UPC system will enter into effect shortly after A provisional application phase will then start within a short timeframe to ensure a smooth transition into the operational phase before the actual launch of the UPC a couple of months later Although the future of the new system is still uncertain we do know that its impact would be huge Interested parties especially patentees should continue preparing for the UPCrsquos arrival This means considering any future patent filing strategies ndash unitary patents European bundle patents andor national patents ndash and paying attention to the opt-out route

FRANDIf one or more patents claim technology involved with the standard ndash known as a standard essential patent (SEP) - the patent holder may have a dominant position on the market and may breach competition rules by enforcing its patents by requesting an injunction or recall SEP holders must therefore commit themselves to being prepared to licence their essential patents to other market players on fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms

Since the ECJrsquos landmark 2015 decision in HuaweiZTE - providing guidance on the enforcement of essential patents and competition law - litigation on the licensing of SEPs has increased in Europe and is expected to continue to be a hot topic in 2020 It will be interesting to see how the interpretation of the ECJrsquos ruling plays out in different EU member states

While case law on FRAND is being created at a frenetic pace throughout various European jurisdictions it is currently too sparse to reveal any conclusive jurisdictional trends What is clear is that member states vary in what they emphasise about FRAND commitment This could mean that it is merely a matter of time before the ECJ is asked to elaborate on its position With several rulings lined up for 2020 it is bound to be an exciting year

What is an SEPA patent can be marked as an SEP if it relates to technical specificati-on adopted by a recognised standardisation body for repeated or continuous application with which compliance is not compulso-ry Standardisation is a pheno-menon mostly seen in the fast-de-veloping telecommunications sector In order to promote interoperability of devices ndash such as smartphones laptops tablets but also cars ndash those should ideally use the same standards for certain technologies and functionalities Examples are the 3G (UMTS) 4G (LTE) 5G WiFi and USB standards

What is the provisional application phasePart of this phase is the ldquosunrise periodrdquo for opting out European patents before the UPC starts operating Patentees will be able to exclude their existing European patents and applications from the UPCrsquos exclusive jurisdiction For more information about the sunrise period and opting out your patents click here

17

Position of the UKThe UK has already completed ratification marking its intention to be a party to the UPC system Recently the European Parliament Think Tank published an in-depth analysis on possible UPC scenarios in the case of Brexit with or without a proper withdrawal agreement It concluded that - some legal challenges aside mainly that the UPC will apply EU law and be bound by ECJ decisions - the UK can be part of the UPC system even if it leaves the EU In a UK press release this month however the UK Prime Minister made clear that ldquoany future partnership must not involve any kind of alignment or ECJ jurisdictionrdquo which might indicate their intention to not be party to the UPC system after allrdquo

Different FRAND regimes across Europe might require ECJ guidance

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

All eyes are on the UK Supreme Courtrsquos imminent ruling in Unwired PlanetHuawei which concerns a global licence In the earlier decision the court of appeal confirmed that the UK courts could determine the terms of a global FRAND licence and grant an injunction for the UK subject to the implementer not accepting such terms Huawei challenged the imposition of a global licence on terms set by a national court The eagerly awaited Supreme Court ruling is bound to turn heads and shed some light on the competency of national courts in global licence disputes

Other cases to watch are the enforcement campaigns of Philips against a number of parties implementing patents from Philipsrsquo 3G 4G patent portfolio Philips is enforcing its portfolio at different courts across Europe and this may provide insight into how different jurisdictions interpret the ECJrsquos 2015 landmark decision Philips for example obtained a number of injunctions (against Asus in May and December 2019 against Wiko in July and December 2019) at the Court of Appeal of The Hague against Wiko and Asus in the Netherlands emphasising the responsibility of implementers of SEPs to be a ldquowilling licenseerdquo Both Wiko and Asus took these cases to the Dutch Supreme Court so this year we may also expect a first decision on FRAND at that level If a ruling should be made wersquoll find out if it agrees with the court of appealrsquos approach In PhilipsWiko a parallel case in Germany the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe was much stricter to Philips as an SEP holder and denied an injunction Recognising that the decision deviates from the Higher Regional Court of Duumlsseldorf ruling it allowed an appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice This is especially interesting since another German court the Mannheim Regional Court in the meantime granted Sisvel an injunction against Wiko thereby following a similar approach as the Dutch courts with respect to FRAND

For the same reasons the Sisvel cases are ones to watch Like Philips Sisvel is involved in a number of cases against multiple parties across Europe regarding its portfolio of essential patents for mobile technologies The cases will shed more light on the extent to which SEPs can be enforced in preliminary injunction proceedings An oral hearing about this question at The Court of Appeal of The Hague is scheduled for February 2020

DSM IMPACT EXPECTEDWith an implementation deadline of 7 June 2021 2020 is likely to be dominated ndash at least from a soft IP community perspective - by the implementation of the directive on copyright in the digital single market (DSM)

As the directive introduces quite a few controversial measures it will be interesting to see how member states will wriggle their way into implementing those in their national regimes The most controversial measures are commonly referred to as the ldquoupload filterrdquo and the ldquolink taxrdquo For more information about these controversial measures click here There is a risk that because the member states hold different views on certain topics ndash including after adoption of the directive ndash there will be diverging implementation at the national levels

In May 2019 Poland brought an action before the ECJ asking the court to annul part of the directiversquos article 17 on the much-debated ldquoupload filterrdquo or even annul the entire article Poland argues that the article infringes the right to freedom of expression and information Other pending cases at the ECJ level are Youtube and Elsevier where the German Federal Court of Justice has requested preliminary rulings The ECJ has joined the cases which centre on the position of internet video platform operators and shared hosting service operators who make content protected by copyright publicly accessible The answers by the ECJ will undoubtedly impact the existing framework under the new directive as the ECJ has requested the parties to address the directiversquos upload filter wording In addition the Dutch Supreme Court has referred questions on the position of a Usenet provider (offering a platform for news groups on which users can post messages and are able to upload content) to the ECJ in BREINNSE

Why a DSM DirectiveThis directive aims to update copyright rules for the 21st century Most copyright rules pre-date the internet and are not well-suited to deal with todayrsquos issues This directive improves protection for copyright holders by creating instruments to monetise their work used by information society service providers and to consequently stimulate the creative industry It also safeguards the use of copyright-protected works for private and scientific or educational purposes For more information on the directiversquos impact click here

Adoption of controversial directive does not end the heated debate on the position of information society

service providers

Regulatory amp Criminal EnforcementInvestment ManagementFinancial InstitutionsCorporate AdvisoryCapital MarketsFields of expertise

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2020 LEGAL ENTITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TO BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT

EXPERTS

UBO REGISTER ndash WHAT WILL LEGAL ENTITIES HAVE TO DOThe UBO register is expected to take effect in the Netherlands in early spring 2020 Listed companies are exempt from registering their UBO in the register as are direct or indirect 100 subsidiaries of listed companies To take advantage of this exemption it may be necessary to file an application with the Dutch Trade Register

Existing legal entities must register their UBO within 18 months after introduction of the UBO register Newly incorporated legal entities must register their UBO when they first apply to the Dutch Trade Register for registration of their business

As from the date of implementation of the UBO register all AML institutions ndash to include banks and lawyers ndash must report any inconsistencies between their CDD records and the data included in the UBO registration to the Dutch Trade Register

REGISTRATION FOR UBOS OF TRUSTS AND FUNDS FOR JOINT ACCOUNT In 2020 a new bill will be introduced to create a UBO register for trusts and ldquofunds for joint accountrdquo Although the concept of ldquoa trustrdquo as a legal entity is not recognised in Dutch law if the trust is the legal owner of real estate in the Netherlands or if the trustee is a Dutch legal entity registration might still be necessary

NEW EUROPEAN AML DIREC-TIVESThe AML Act 2020 will implement the terms of the 5th AML Directives by introducing a registration requirement for the providers of virtual currencies The act may also include stricter rules on AML-related penalties for natural persons and extend the liability of legal persons as set out in the 6th AML Directive

PLANS FOR AML-RELATED EX-CHANGE OF INFORMATION The Dutch government is proposing that ldquoAML Institutionsrdquo exchange information with similar institutions ndash for example banks with banks ndash in relation to enhanced client due diligence and the reporting of unusual transactions The proposals would also enable AML institutions to outsource transaction monitoring to third parties if these arrangements are based on a written agreement

GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONSThere are plans to introduce a publication requirement for donations of EUR 15000 or above (in cash or in kind) made to social organisations foundations associations church organisations and foreign equivalents if they have long-term activities in the Netherlands The objective is to make donations to these social organisations more transparent and to prevent any undesirable influence from abroad via these types of cash-flows

If these proposals become law the social organisation will have to publish an annual overview of donations received including the name and address of the donor and the amount of the donation on its website

19

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

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Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

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The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

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MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 6: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

On 1 January 2020 the statutory 30 representation target for both men and women on boards at large NVs and BVs expired

In September 2019 the Dutch Social and Economic Council (SER) issued an advisory report (English summary) on cultural and gender diversity in the boardroom Regarding gender diversity the SER called forbull the introduction of a mandatory 30 quota for both women

and men on supervisory boards at Dutch listed companiesbull a requirement for large NVs and BVs to set ambitious

targets at both board and senior management level with a comply or explain character for the company

In December 2019 a majority in parliament supported two motions calling on the government to implement the SERrsquos advice A government proposal along these lines can be expected by the end of 2020

Gender diversity is also on the agendas of Eumedion and proxy advisors such as ISS and Glass Lewis In a gender diversity letter Eumedion calls for companies to adopt and publicly disclose a diversity policy including ldquoa commitment to increase gender diversity throughout the talent pipeline and to set an ambitious gender diversity target (of at least 30) especially at management board and committee levelrdquo Boards will be expected at the 2020 AGM to report on progress made and concrete measures taken in this respect ISS will recommend voting against the appointment or reappointment of the nomination committeersquos chair if a company has no female board directors although mitigating factors may apply Also some institutional investors seem to be introducing policies to vote against the appointment or reappointment of male directors at companies with no or few female board members

LONG-TERM VALUE CREATIONCompanies are being increasingly urged to take a longer-term approach The focus on long-term value creation is one of the core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code In pursuing this companies must carefully weigh up

the relevant interests of stakeholders In other countries the debate around long-term value creation and the corporate purpose is also unfolding In the US the Business Roundtable released a new statement on corporate purpose in August 2019 This was signed by 181 CEOs at major US firms committing to leading their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders Long-term value is also promoted by Larry Fink CEO of the US investment management company BlackRock in his CEO Letter of 14 January 2020 mentioning climate change as a defining factor in companiesrsquo long-term prospects In April 2019 the French parliament adopted a law enabling companies to state their purpose in corporate bylaws

The range of instruments available to boards at Dutch listed companies to achieve long-term value creation may be widened by a new statutory 250-day response time A bill (in Dutch) on this topic was submitted to parliament on 19 December 2019 Introducing a statutory response time has been criticised by some parties as boards already have the possibility to invoke a shorter180-day response time under the Dutch Corporate Governance Code The Explanatory Memorandum (in Dutch) clarifies that it is up to the parties concerned to decide if and how this best practice provision needs to be reconsidered

An NV or BV qualifies as large when at least two of the following three criteria are met (i) the value of the assets according to the balance sheet with explanatory notes exceeds EUR 20000000 (ii) the net turnover for the financial year exceeds EUR 40000000 (iii) there are on average 250 or more employees at the company during the financial year

For guidance on corporate governance in 2020 and beyond we published an update of our handbook Corporate Governance in Nederland

7

Mergers amp AcquisitionsFields of expertise

8

MampA WHAT

TO WATCH FOR IN 2020

The WampI insurance market has been softening for some time and now seems set to harden in the near future In this Crystal Ball Gazing edition we discuss the potential timing and implications of this development We also highlight an increased regulatory impact on MampA transactions making it necessary for parties and their advisors to prioritise regulatory compliance on deals particularly where the target is in a regulated or sensitive industry And finally the Netherlands was the stage for various cross-border high-value public deals in 2019 Many of these deals included innovative structures and we discuss the impact of this on the public MampA market

WHERE TO NOW FOR WampI INSURANCEThe last decade has seen Warranty amp Indemnity (WampI) insurance develop from a niche product into a mainstay of private MampA over half of the private MampA transactions that we advised on in 2019 involved WampI insurance The product is now sufficiently sophisticated

EXPERTS

9and affordable that sellers frequently achieve a ldquoclean exitrdquo in the Dutch market So for how long can we expect the ldquogood timesrdquo in WampI insurance to last

WampI insurance as a product is here to stay In that sense the good times will continue While available coverage and pricing may fluctuate we expect the product itself to develop new features and to become increasingly sophisticated

That said WampI insurance is almost certainly in the ldquosoftrdquo stage of the insurance cycle which will not last indefinitely In recent years coverage and pricing has continued to improve as new players and capital have entered the market But at some point insurers will start to expect or actually experience underwriting losses and will reduce or cease coverage or increase prices However it is difficult to assess whether this hardening of the market will happen in one year or three as we have been witnessing the market soften for the first time in parallel with the development of the product itself What is an indicator that the market may be about to turn and what is simply a further improvement in the product It is difficult to be certain

In addition if the private MampA market moves in a buyer-friendly direction demand for WampI insurance could fall as buyers seek more recourse directly from sellers This could cause the WampI insurance market to soften further and potentially accelerate the hardening of the market

We will need to wait and see how the WampI insurance market develops Buyers and sellers should both keep an eye on

developments as any material change in the available terms of WampI insurance is likely to impact negotiations on SPA liability regimes and there may be a period of adjustment until market participants settle on the new normal

REGULATORS INCREASING THEIR IMPACTThe EUR 1245 million fine on Altice in 2018 let the MampA world know that the European Commission (EC) is watching Since then we have seen various regulators increasingly exert their influence in ways that can impact MampA transactions We expect this to continue in 2020

The Altice fine related to gun-jumping (implementing a transaction before the required merger clearance is obtained) The gun-jumping rules restrict the behaviour of MampA parties between signing and merger clearance This is a focus area for antitrust regulators and subsequent cases ndash most notably the ECJrsquos KPMG Denmark EY decision ndash have continued to clarify the activities that can qualify as gun-jumping

Regulatory action is also impacting the timing and structure of MampA transactions Foreign investment review regimes are appearing in increasingly more jurisdictions Last year in another gun-jumping decision the EC fined Canon for using a two-step ldquowarehousingrdquo structure Financial regulators are more willing to hold up change in control approval to address conduct issues we have recently seen an approval delayed for a target whose core business is not even in financial services so non-compliance with AML screening rules could be remedied

Mergers amp AcquisitionsFields of expertise

10

Regulatory matters are often now key due diligence items given the growing size of regulatory fines and the fact that in many cases they will not be covered by WampI insurance The size of antitrust fines has been steadily increasing for several years In the last two years the European banking industry has seen substantial fines imposed in a regulatory crackdown on AML non-compliance With the GBP 1834 million fine recently imposed on British Airways this trend looks set to extend to GDPR non-compliance

In light of these developments MampA parties and their advisors need to have regulatory compliance at the front of their minds in any transaction particularly where the target is in a regulated or sensitive industry Matters that may have seemed immaterial even 12 months ago can now if not anticipated and properly addressed have a major impact on a transaction

CROSS-BORDER DEALS DRIVE INNOVATION IN PUBLIC MampA The Netherlands has seen a rise in public MampA in 2019 Neither economic headwinds (such as trade wars and signals about a looming recession) nor political uncertainty (such as the Middle East or Brexit) have shaken the confidence of MampA markets Although no one knows how long the good times will last we donrsquot expect the liquidity of the market ndash which has largely been stored on company balance sheets ndash to dry up any time soon As companies put their cash to work we expect the strong MampA market to endure in 2020 resulting in a steady flow of public deals

In 2019 the Netherlands was the stage for various cross-border high-value deals both inbound and outbound Some examples include the USD 22 billion combination of Pfizerrsquos Upjohn business with Mylan Digital Realtyrsquos USD 84 billion acquisition of InterXion

EssilorLuxotticarsquos EUR 55 billion acquisition of GrandVision the USD 50 billion cross-border merger between the Peugeot Group and Fiat Chrysler and Takeawaycomrsquos EUR 72 billion public offer for Just Eat Many of these international transactions included innovative deal structures from a Dutch perspective on topics like deal certainty ensuring 100 ownership and governance

The FiatPeugeot combination the largest Dutch transaction in 2019 in terms of value cemented the rarely used inbound cross-border legal merger as a legitimate and feasible deal structure and underlined the strong position of the Dutch NV as international holding company We expect more parties in the EU to follow suit in the future

The PfizerMylan transaction concerned a typical US spin-off combined with a complex Dutch asset sale structure facilitating a USDutch combination and ensuring maximum deal certainty Enhanced deal certainty is also the result of the innovative back-end structure agreed between Digital Realty and InterXion Given the mutually beneficial aspects for both targets and bidders we trust that these structures will keep being applied and further developed during 2020 and

What 2020 will bring for Dutch public MampA remains to be seen but we expect cross-border deals driving innovation to continue These are certainly interesting times for all involved in public MampA

subsequent years in other cross-border transactions

The TakeawaycomJust Eat transaction underlines that bidders face fierce competition in globally consolidating markets and should therefore carefully consider the relationship between transaction structure and deal certainty After the Dutch company Takeawaycom and the UK company Just Eat had agreed to combine their companies the Dutch technology company Prosus launched an unsolicited cash offer for Just Eat setting off a bidding war In response Takeawaycom and Just Eat changed the structure of their proposal from a UK scheme of arrangement to an exchange offer essentially making it easier to get the required shareholder support This move and the subsequent increase of the offer price seem to have paid off Takeaway has recently come out on top as it has become clear that a large majority of Just Eat shareholders have tendered their shares to Takeawaycomrsquos offer

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

11

COMPETITION AUTHORITIES ON THE HEELS OF DIGITAL ECONOMY

In 2019 competition authorities were busy thinking ldquoout of the boxrdquo about how best to police and enforce competition law in the digital economy Numerous reports were published (for example for the European Commission in the UK and in Germany) One of the key takeaways from these reports is that competition authorities find it difficult through retrospective enforcement to keep up with the seemingly incessant development of the digital economy To address this issue authorities are calling for additional and faster enforcement tools

Against this backdrop the great debate for 2020 will be whether new powers ndash and if introduced the use of those powers ndash are strictly necessary and proportionate to the concerns being addressed The European Commission has taken several major decisions in the digital sector in recent years most notably against Google But despite huge fines complaints of ldquotoo little too laterdquo continue to put pressure on authorities to do more including taking bolder pre-emptive action It should also be remembered that enforcement taken against the likes of Google reflects its unique stronghold in Search but these actions are irrelevant when considering the realities faced by most other digital businesses In a world where Facebook and Instagram continue to lose market share to the likes of the Chinese phenomenon TikTok identifying entrenched

dominance in digital markets let alone finding a practical and timely way of policing it is a real challenge

Companies that operate in the digital economy vary immensely and have to deal with different competitive environments The behaviour of many companies can be accurately charted against realities in the offline world such as consumer lethargy which prevents switching between suppliers in energy and banking markets the placement of sponsored and own-label retail products in key positions in supermarkets and department stores and variable pricing for taxi rides Regulators must decide why it is necessary to create additional regulation or enforcement priorities and how these can be tailored to tackle truly unique ndash and non-transient - concerns that are emerging Whether consensus is reached on these topics or not 2020 will bring further proposals to regulate the digital economy and to carry out enforcement actions addressing specific behaviour by data-driven companies

In relation to the use of data with the convergence of enforcement among

competition consumer and data protection authorities we expect a more inclusive discussion and collaboration between authorities and the companies themselves After all the educational journey for authorities should ndash at all costs ndash avoid debate and decision-making in a theoretical vacuum

Examples of this convergence abound Some competition authorities have demonstrated their willingness to use all the tools in their toolbox to ensure the best outcome for consumers The Dutch competition authority has set its agenda for 2020 focusing on protecting online consumers by enforcing Dutch consumer laws against misleading online practices Similarly the UK competition regulator has taken action against online hotel booking sites and the Italian authority has done the same against online web shops ndash both on the basis of their national consumer laws

Letrsquos hope that any specific and innovative action by authorities in 2020 is taken for the right reasons addressing concerns which are unique to digital and which the market itself is unlikely to correct

IS OVER-REGULATION NEXT

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD AGAINST UNFAIR COMPETITION FROM OUTSIDE EU A LOOK AHEAD AT 2020

Against the background of existing tensions in global trade an open economy like the EUrsquos internal market can be vulnerable to unfair competition by companies operating in countries outside the EU that tend to have a more protectionist industrial policy Although the WTO system aims to prevent barriers to trade and to eliminate discriminatory treatment in international commerce the European Commission has nevertheless announced that it will develop its own level playing field rules as a back-up plan against harmful competition by companies which are owned by third countries or are heavily state-subsidised These companies may undermine the level playing field in Europe where they use the subsidies or monopoly profits to artificially undercut prices when selling in the EU - while European businesses are generally restricted from receiving state aid or abusing their dominant position

NO WORDLWIDE STATE AID RULES The European Commission has put the development of this back-up plan on its action list for the new term The first result has been made at WTO level The EU recently agreed with the US and Japan to extend the list of prohibited subsidies The list includes (i) subsidies with unlimited guarantees (ii) subsidies to either insolvent or ailing companies without credible

restructuring plans or to companies which are unable to attract market investments or financing and (iv) certain direct forgiveness of debt EU state aid rules also prohibited more than only direct subsidies While this extension more closely resembles EU state aid rules it does not lead to harmonisation of state aid rules on a worldwide level It appears that more instruments are needed to prevent harmful competition by third country state owned or are state-subsidised companies

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTRUMENTThe Commissionrsquos plans if adopted

will result in the creation of a new level playing field instrument in the EU There seem to be many ideas as to what this instrument should look like but with the sense of growing urgency EU bodies and members states are looking to make changes The Dutch government has recently called on the Commission to introduce a level playing field instrument at the EU level It advocates preventing unfair competition by state-owned companies or by companies established in third countries but benefiting from a ldquohome staterdquo That is markets which shield these companies from competition and from state aid rules similar to those in

12

the EU Companies may for example use their subsidies and monopoly profits to set lower prices in the EU as compared to a company operating in a regular competitive market environment In the short term this could lead to lower prices for EU consumers but in the long run it leads to less competition and weakens industries within the EU

The level playing field instrument proposed by the Dutch government is not based on dominance or state aid Instead it is based on the lack of market regulation in the home state similar to EU competition rules If home

state market regulation is proven deficient the European Commission can impose behavioural remedies The Dutch government has suggested that it could require the third-country company to maintain a separate and transparent administrative system to monitor its activities in the EU By doing so it would be possible to prevent cross-subsidies from state aidmonopoly profits received in its home-state market to keep the prices in the EU low

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTSA level playing field instrument would complement existing rules on the

control of foreign direct investments (FDI) In 2019 EU member states (see also our Best Friendrsquos summary and guide) adopted a regulation establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments Member states have to start enforcing that regulation as of 11 October 2020 While the regulation only provides for minimum harmonisation member states are expected to include additional measures in their national legislation For example the Dutch government has announced an additional notification and screening system of takeovers where these concern vital infrastructure or technology affecting national security It has also proposed review measures concerning takeovers in the telecom sector with the possibility to prohibit a takeover should national security or public order be jeopardised Some larger European economies have recently tightened FDI screening rules France in mid-2019 Germany at the end of 2018 and the UK in mid-2018

These developments are the result of broader trade tensions between countries especially the US and China An in-depth interview with Marlies Heemskerk ndash de Waard Maikel van Wissen Yi Duan and James Wang about these developments can be found on page 10-11 (click previous page)

13

EXPERTS

Mergers amp AcquisitionsInternational TradeCompetition amp RegulationFields of expertise

foreign investments and export controls curbing the transfer of sensitive technology to protect its national security This legislation is principally triggered by the rise of China as an economic world power China in response is preparing to introduce its own export control law which is entering the final stages of the legislative process In the EU we have also seen a shift to a harder stance by EU Member States towards foreign investments by non-EU parties

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE RELATIONSWe expect an increasing number of technologies to become subject to export licence requirements In addition licence applications for exports to destinations like China will be scrutinised or even denied The difference with export controls as we know them is that many of the relevant technologies are omnipresent nowadays meaning that restrictions to their export will have serious implications for international trade including for industries that were not previously affected by such restrictions This may have a significant impact on our clientsrsquo international production and worldwide supply chains

14

SECURITY CONCERNS AND STRATEGIC INTERESTS

Interstate strategic competition has led the US and the EU to be increasingly protective of their national security and strategic economic interests and this has a growing effect on international business Ample reason to ask our team of experts to gaze into their crystal ball and tell our clients how this may impact them in the years to come

WHAT IS INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND WHY IS IT SO RELEVANTInterstate strategic competition is about major world powers striving to consolidate and strengthen their position and their influence over other states The reason they do this is to protect their military and security interests as well as their economic and technological edge Over the past few years this competition has intensified As of late this is resulting in concrete legislative action directly affecting our clients

It should come as no surprise but the most pressing example is the trade war between the US and China which goes well beyond tariffs The US has already enacted and is currently further developing legislation imposing additional controls on

GROWING IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MampA

EXPERTS

The US is preparing to subject a whole range of ldquoemerging technologiesrdquo to licence requirements where it concerns export to certain destinations notably China Relevant technologies range from biotechnology to robotics and from artificial intelligence to microprocessor technology and beyond They really cover a broad range of high-tech industries The effect of the export control restrictions is not limited to US parties they also apply to other parties incorporating a certain percentage of US-controlled content in their own products

In the EU the discussion about subjecting these technologies to export controls is less advanced However the US will likely pressure the EU and other jurisdictions to adopt similar restrictions In fact the US is already pressuring the Netherlands to be much more reticent in granting licences for the export of certain technology to China

WHAT IS THE EFFECT ON INTERNATIONAL MampA TRANSACTIONSForeign investment controls may pose substantial restrictions to international MampA quite similar to classic merger control Increasingly clients may be required to file notifications with foreign investment review authorities which may impose mitigating conditions if a transaction is found to impact national security interests Unlike merger control filings where parties can perform detailed substantive analyses in advance foreign investment control filings are sometimes more challenging due to the broad rules and secrecy relating to national security concerns of the host countries

In the US foreign investment controls are already well established However the US is now substantially broadening the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) They will now be able to also review transactions resulting in a non-controlling stake and involving certain critical technology or infrastructure or sensitive data of US citizens

HOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND HOW IT MAY AFFECT YOUR BUSINESSWe are planning a dedicated master class on the topic on May 28 and 29 of this year We will cover both export and foreign investment controls and their effect on international trade and MampA including US and EU as well as Chinese law developments And naturally clients who want to discuss the topic are most welcome to contact us

Foreign investment controls are gaining traction in the EU as well After the prohibition of the SiemensAlstom merger Germany and France have publicly called upon the Commission to overhaul its merger control policies to take into account unfair competition from state backed companies from China and other non-EU countries In March 2019 the EU introduced the Foreign Investment Framework Regulation The regulation primarily provides for certain procedural safeguards but it remains for the member states to design and operate their substantive foreign investment controls In many member states these are still developing The Netherlands for example has no overarching legal framework regulating foreign investments but a bill to prevent undesirable control over our telecommunications sector is pending

Some of the US legislation we referred to notably regarding foreign investment controls is set to go into effect this year As to export controls this may take a bit longer but clients would be well advised to closely monitor the developments before they take effect EU developments are more steady but the trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

15

The trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

NEW DECADE BRINGS CHANGES TO PATENT AND COPYRIGHT REGIMES AT EUROPEAN LEVELALL EYES ON UNIFIED PATENT COURT CHANGING FRAND LANDSCAPE AND COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

2020 will see us inching closer to the launch (or end) of the Unified Patent Court and the creation of a new unitary patents system In addition we might have more clarity on how member states interpret the 2015 European Court of Justice ruling on standard essential patents Finally EU member states will need to start paying serious attention to how they will implement the new European rules for adapting their national copyright law systems to the digital world

UPC FINALLY READY TO LAUNCHProponents of a new unified patent system will need to be patient a little longer but it seems that the wheels will finally be set in motion (again) in 2020 The goal Having an operational system in 2021

Judging by press coverage the biggest hurdle to the UKrsquos ratification of the system in 2016 seemed to be the Brexit vote in June but the real game changer turned out to be Germany In 2017 Germany suspended its ratification process as it waited for the Federal Constitutional Court to decide whether German UPC legislation is compatible with the German Constitution While the case was meant to be decided in 2018 and then 2019 this did not happen In November 2019 however the rapporteur in the case made an unofficial statement in an interview that he intends to issue a decision in early 2020

If the court accepts incompatibility a further delay or ndash dare we say it ndash the end of the new system is inevitable If incompatibility is rejected the UPC launch will depend on how the German government responds and of course on Brexit

16

EXPERTS

What is the UPCThe Unified Patent Court (UPC UPC system) will be a supranational court specialised in patent litigation cases Subject to exceptions during a transitional period it will exclusively hear cases involving European patents and European patents with unitary effect (unitary patents are to take effect in all UPC member states) The system will come into effect four months after the Unified Patent Court Agreement is signed and ratified by several EU member states including Germany and the UK (their ratification is a prerequisite)

The future of the UPC system is in the hands of the UK and Germany

Should the German government give the green light the head of the UPC Preparatory Committee predicts that the UPC system will enter into effect shortly after A provisional application phase will then start within a short timeframe to ensure a smooth transition into the operational phase before the actual launch of the UPC a couple of months later Although the future of the new system is still uncertain we do know that its impact would be huge Interested parties especially patentees should continue preparing for the UPCrsquos arrival This means considering any future patent filing strategies ndash unitary patents European bundle patents andor national patents ndash and paying attention to the opt-out route

FRANDIf one or more patents claim technology involved with the standard ndash known as a standard essential patent (SEP) - the patent holder may have a dominant position on the market and may breach competition rules by enforcing its patents by requesting an injunction or recall SEP holders must therefore commit themselves to being prepared to licence their essential patents to other market players on fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms

Since the ECJrsquos landmark 2015 decision in HuaweiZTE - providing guidance on the enforcement of essential patents and competition law - litigation on the licensing of SEPs has increased in Europe and is expected to continue to be a hot topic in 2020 It will be interesting to see how the interpretation of the ECJrsquos ruling plays out in different EU member states

While case law on FRAND is being created at a frenetic pace throughout various European jurisdictions it is currently too sparse to reveal any conclusive jurisdictional trends What is clear is that member states vary in what they emphasise about FRAND commitment This could mean that it is merely a matter of time before the ECJ is asked to elaborate on its position With several rulings lined up for 2020 it is bound to be an exciting year

What is an SEPA patent can be marked as an SEP if it relates to technical specificati-on adopted by a recognised standardisation body for repeated or continuous application with which compliance is not compulso-ry Standardisation is a pheno-menon mostly seen in the fast-de-veloping telecommunications sector In order to promote interoperability of devices ndash such as smartphones laptops tablets but also cars ndash those should ideally use the same standards for certain technologies and functionalities Examples are the 3G (UMTS) 4G (LTE) 5G WiFi and USB standards

What is the provisional application phasePart of this phase is the ldquosunrise periodrdquo for opting out European patents before the UPC starts operating Patentees will be able to exclude their existing European patents and applications from the UPCrsquos exclusive jurisdiction For more information about the sunrise period and opting out your patents click here

17

Position of the UKThe UK has already completed ratification marking its intention to be a party to the UPC system Recently the European Parliament Think Tank published an in-depth analysis on possible UPC scenarios in the case of Brexit with or without a proper withdrawal agreement It concluded that - some legal challenges aside mainly that the UPC will apply EU law and be bound by ECJ decisions - the UK can be part of the UPC system even if it leaves the EU In a UK press release this month however the UK Prime Minister made clear that ldquoany future partnership must not involve any kind of alignment or ECJ jurisdictionrdquo which might indicate their intention to not be party to the UPC system after allrdquo

Different FRAND regimes across Europe might require ECJ guidance

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

All eyes are on the UK Supreme Courtrsquos imminent ruling in Unwired PlanetHuawei which concerns a global licence In the earlier decision the court of appeal confirmed that the UK courts could determine the terms of a global FRAND licence and grant an injunction for the UK subject to the implementer not accepting such terms Huawei challenged the imposition of a global licence on terms set by a national court The eagerly awaited Supreme Court ruling is bound to turn heads and shed some light on the competency of national courts in global licence disputes

Other cases to watch are the enforcement campaigns of Philips against a number of parties implementing patents from Philipsrsquo 3G 4G patent portfolio Philips is enforcing its portfolio at different courts across Europe and this may provide insight into how different jurisdictions interpret the ECJrsquos 2015 landmark decision Philips for example obtained a number of injunctions (against Asus in May and December 2019 against Wiko in July and December 2019) at the Court of Appeal of The Hague against Wiko and Asus in the Netherlands emphasising the responsibility of implementers of SEPs to be a ldquowilling licenseerdquo Both Wiko and Asus took these cases to the Dutch Supreme Court so this year we may also expect a first decision on FRAND at that level If a ruling should be made wersquoll find out if it agrees with the court of appealrsquos approach In PhilipsWiko a parallel case in Germany the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe was much stricter to Philips as an SEP holder and denied an injunction Recognising that the decision deviates from the Higher Regional Court of Duumlsseldorf ruling it allowed an appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice This is especially interesting since another German court the Mannheim Regional Court in the meantime granted Sisvel an injunction against Wiko thereby following a similar approach as the Dutch courts with respect to FRAND

For the same reasons the Sisvel cases are ones to watch Like Philips Sisvel is involved in a number of cases against multiple parties across Europe regarding its portfolio of essential patents for mobile technologies The cases will shed more light on the extent to which SEPs can be enforced in preliminary injunction proceedings An oral hearing about this question at The Court of Appeal of The Hague is scheduled for February 2020

DSM IMPACT EXPECTEDWith an implementation deadline of 7 June 2021 2020 is likely to be dominated ndash at least from a soft IP community perspective - by the implementation of the directive on copyright in the digital single market (DSM)

As the directive introduces quite a few controversial measures it will be interesting to see how member states will wriggle their way into implementing those in their national regimes The most controversial measures are commonly referred to as the ldquoupload filterrdquo and the ldquolink taxrdquo For more information about these controversial measures click here There is a risk that because the member states hold different views on certain topics ndash including after adoption of the directive ndash there will be diverging implementation at the national levels

In May 2019 Poland brought an action before the ECJ asking the court to annul part of the directiversquos article 17 on the much-debated ldquoupload filterrdquo or even annul the entire article Poland argues that the article infringes the right to freedom of expression and information Other pending cases at the ECJ level are Youtube and Elsevier where the German Federal Court of Justice has requested preliminary rulings The ECJ has joined the cases which centre on the position of internet video platform operators and shared hosting service operators who make content protected by copyright publicly accessible The answers by the ECJ will undoubtedly impact the existing framework under the new directive as the ECJ has requested the parties to address the directiversquos upload filter wording In addition the Dutch Supreme Court has referred questions on the position of a Usenet provider (offering a platform for news groups on which users can post messages and are able to upload content) to the ECJ in BREINNSE

Why a DSM DirectiveThis directive aims to update copyright rules for the 21st century Most copyright rules pre-date the internet and are not well-suited to deal with todayrsquos issues This directive improves protection for copyright holders by creating instruments to monetise their work used by information society service providers and to consequently stimulate the creative industry It also safeguards the use of copyright-protected works for private and scientific or educational purposes For more information on the directiversquos impact click here

Adoption of controversial directive does not end the heated debate on the position of information society

service providers

Regulatory amp Criminal EnforcementInvestment ManagementFinancial InstitutionsCorporate AdvisoryCapital MarketsFields of expertise

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2020 LEGAL ENTITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TO BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT

EXPERTS

UBO REGISTER ndash WHAT WILL LEGAL ENTITIES HAVE TO DOThe UBO register is expected to take effect in the Netherlands in early spring 2020 Listed companies are exempt from registering their UBO in the register as are direct or indirect 100 subsidiaries of listed companies To take advantage of this exemption it may be necessary to file an application with the Dutch Trade Register

Existing legal entities must register their UBO within 18 months after introduction of the UBO register Newly incorporated legal entities must register their UBO when they first apply to the Dutch Trade Register for registration of their business

As from the date of implementation of the UBO register all AML institutions ndash to include banks and lawyers ndash must report any inconsistencies between their CDD records and the data included in the UBO registration to the Dutch Trade Register

REGISTRATION FOR UBOS OF TRUSTS AND FUNDS FOR JOINT ACCOUNT In 2020 a new bill will be introduced to create a UBO register for trusts and ldquofunds for joint accountrdquo Although the concept of ldquoa trustrdquo as a legal entity is not recognised in Dutch law if the trust is the legal owner of real estate in the Netherlands or if the trustee is a Dutch legal entity registration might still be necessary

NEW EUROPEAN AML DIREC-TIVESThe AML Act 2020 will implement the terms of the 5th AML Directives by introducing a registration requirement for the providers of virtual currencies The act may also include stricter rules on AML-related penalties for natural persons and extend the liability of legal persons as set out in the 6th AML Directive

PLANS FOR AML-RELATED EX-CHANGE OF INFORMATION The Dutch government is proposing that ldquoAML Institutionsrdquo exchange information with similar institutions ndash for example banks with banks ndash in relation to enhanced client due diligence and the reporting of unusual transactions The proposals would also enable AML institutions to outsource transaction monitoring to third parties if these arrangements are based on a written agreement

GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONSThere are plans to introduce a publication requirement for donations of EUR 15000 or above (in cash or in kind) made to social organisations foundations associations church organisations and foreign equivalents if they have long-term activities in the Netherlands The objective is to make donations to these social organisations more transparent and to prevent any undesirable influence from abroad via these types of cash-flows

If these proposals become law the social organisation will have to publish an annual overview of donations received including the name and address of the donor and the amount of the donation on its website

19

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 7: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

Mergers amp AcquisitionsFields of expertise

8

MampA WHAT

TO WATCH FOR IN 2020

The WampI insurance market has been softening for some time and now seems set to harden in the near future In this Crystal Ball Gazing edition we discuss the potential timing and implications of this development We also highlight an increased regulatory impact on MampA transactions making it necessary for parties and their advisors to prioritise regulatory compliance on deals particularly where the target is in a regulated or sensitive industry And finally the Netherlands was the stage for various cross-border high-value public deals in 2019 Many of these deals included innovative structures and we discuss the impact of this on the public MampA market

WHERE TO NOW FOR WampI INSURANCEThe last decade has seen Warranty amp Indemnity (WampI) insurance develop from a niche product into a mainstay of private MampA over half of the private MampA transactions that we advised on in 2019 involved WampI insurance The product is now sufficiently sophisticated

EXPERTS

9and affordable that sellers frequently achieve a ldquoclean exitrdquo in the Dutch market So for how long can we expect the ldquogood timesrdquo in WampI insurance to last

WampI insurance as a product is here to stay In that sense the good times will continue While available coverage and pricing may fluctuate we expect the product itself to develop new features and to become increasingly sophisticated

That said WampI insurance is almost certainly in the ldquosoftrdquo stage of the insurance cycle which will not last indefinitely In recent years coverage and pricing has continued to improve as new players and capital have entered the market But at some point insurers will start to expect or actually experience underwriting losses and will reduce or cease coverage or increase prices However it is difficult to assess whether this hardening of the market will happen in one year or three as we have been witnessing the market soften for the first time in parallel with the development of the product itself What is an indicator that the market may be about to turn and what is simply a further improvement in the product It is difficult to be certain

In addition if the private MampA market moves in a buyer-friendly direction demand for WampI insurance could fall as buyers seek more recourse directly from sellers This could cause the WampI insurance market to soften further and potentially accelerate the hardening of the market

We will need to wait and see how the WampI insurance market develops Buyers and sellers should both keep an eye on

developments as any material change in the available terms of WampI insurance is likely to impact negotiations on SPA liability regimes and there may be a period of adjustment until market participants settle on the new normal

REGULATORS INCREASING THEIR IMPACTThe EUR 1245 million fine on Altice in 2018 let the MampA world know that the European Commission (EC) is watching Since then we have seen various regulators increasingly exert their influence in ways that can impact MampA transactions We expect this to continue in 2020

The Altice fine related to gun-jumping (implementing a transaction before the required merger clearance is obtained) The gun-jumping rules restrict the behaviour of MampA parties between signing and merger clearance This is a focus area for antitrust regulators and subsequent cases ndash most notably the ECJrsquos KPMG Denmark EY decision ndash have continued to clarify the activities that can qualify as gun-jumping

Regulatory action is also impacting the timing and structure of MampA transactions Foreign investment review regimes are appearing in increasingly more jurisdictions Last year in another gun-jumping decision the EC fined Canon for using a two-step ldquowarehousingrdquo structure Financial regulators are more willing to hold up change in control approval to address conduct issues we have recently seen an approval delayed for a target whose core business is not even in financial services so non-compliance with AML screening rules could be remedied

Mergers amp AcquisitionsFields of expertise

10

Regulatory matters are often now key due diligence items given the growing size of regulatory fines and the fact that in many cases they will not be covered by WampI insurance The size of antitrust fines has been steadily increasing for several years In the last two years the European banking industry has seen substantial fines imposed in a regulatory crackdown on AML non-compliance With the GBP 1834 million fine recently imposed on British Airways this trend looks set to extend to GDPR non-compliance

In light of these developments MampA parties and their advisors need to have regulatory compliance at the front of their minds in any transaction particularly where the target is in a regulated or sensitive industry Matters that may have seemed immaterial even 12 months ago can now if not anticipated and properly addressed have a major impact on a transaction

CROSS-BORDER DEALS DRIVE INNOVATION IN PUBLIC MampA The Netherlands has seen a rise in public MampA in 2019 Neither economic headwinds (such as trade wars and signals about a looming recession) nor political uncertainty (such as the Middle East or Brexit) have shaken the confidence of MampA markets Although no one knows how long the good times will last we donrsquot expect the liquidity of the market ndash which has largely been stored on company balance sheets ndash to dry up any time soon As companies put their cash to work we expect the strong MampA market to endure in 2020 resulting in a steady flow of public deals

In 2019 the Netherlands was the stage for various cross-border high-value deals both inbound and outbound Some examples include the USD 22 billion combination of Pfizerrsquos Upjohn business with Mylan Digital Realtyrsquos USD 84 billion acquisition of InterXion

EssilorLuxotticarsquos EUR 55 billion acquisition of GrandVision the USD 50 billion cross-border merger between the Peugeot Group and Fiat Chrysler and Takeawaycomrsquos EUR 72 billion public offer for Just Eat Many of these international transactions included innovative deal structures from a Dutch perspective on topics like deal certainty ensuring 100 ownership and governance

The FiatPeugeot combination the largest Dutch transaction in 2019 in terms of value cemented the rarely used inbound cross-border legal merger as a legitimate and feasible deal structure and underlined the strong position of the Dutch NV as international holding company We expect more parties in the EU to follow suit in the future

The PfizerMylan transaction concerned a typical US spin-off combined with a complex Dutch asset sale structure facilitating a USDutch combination and ensuring maximum deal certainty Enhanced deal certainty is also the result of the innovative back-end structure agreed between Digital Realty and InterXion Given the mutually beneficial aspects for both targets and bidders we trust that these structures will keep being applied and further developed during 2020 and

What 2020 will bring for Dutch public MampA remains to be seen but we expect cross-border deals driving innovation to continue These are certainly interesting times for all involved in public MampA

subsequent years in other cross-border transactions

The TakeawaycomJust Eat transaction underlines that bidders face fierce competition in globally consolidating markets and should therefore carefully consider the relationship between transaction structure and deal certainty After the Dutch company Takeawaycom and the UK company Just Eat had agreed to combine their companies the Dutch technology company Prosus launched an unsolicited cash offer for Just Eat setting off a bidding war In response Takeawaycom and Just Eat changed the structure of their proposal from a UK scheme of arrangement to an exchange offer essentially making it easier to get the required shareholder support This move and the subsequent increase of the offer price seem to have paid off Takeaway has recently come out on top as it has become clear that a large majority of Just Eat shareholders have tendered their shares to Takeawaycomrsquos offer

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

11

COMPETITION AUTHORITIES ON THE HEELS OF DIGITAL ECONOMY

In 2019 competition authorities were busy thinking ldquoout of the boxrdquo about how best to police and enforce competition law in the digital economy Numerous reports were published (for example for the European Commission in the UK and in Germany) One of the key takeaways from these reports is that competition authorities find it difficult through retrospective enforcement to keep up with the seemingly incessant development of the digital economy To address this issue authorities are calling for additional and faster enforcement tools

Against this backdrop the great debate for 2020 will be whether new powers ndash and if introduced the use of those powers ndash are strictly necessary and proportionate to the concerns being addressed The European Commission has taken several major decisions in the digital sector in recent years most notably against Google But despite huge fines complaints of ldquotoo little too laterdquo continue to put pressure on authorities to do more including taking bolder pre-emptive action It should also be remembered that enforcement taken against the likes of Google reflects its unique stronghold in Search but these actions are irrelevant when considering the realities faced by most other digital businesses In a world where Facebook and Instagram continue to lose market share to the likes of the Chinese phenomenon TikTok identifying entrenched

dominance in digital markets let alone finding a practical and timely way of policing it is a real challenge

Companies that operate in the digital economy vary immensely and have to deal with different competitive environments The behaviour of many companies can be accurately charted against realities in the offline world such as consumer lethargy which prevents switching between suppliers in energy and banking markets the placement of sponsored and own-label retail products in key positions in supermarkets and department stores and variable pricing for taxi rides Regulators must decide why it is necessary to create additional regulation or enforcement priorities and how these can be tailored to tackle truly unique ndash and non-transient - concerns that are emerging Whether consensus is reached on these topics or not 2020 will bring further proposals to regulate the digital economy and to carry out enforcement actions addressing specific behaviour by data-driven companies

In relation to the use of data with the convergence of enforcement among

competition consumer and data protection authorities we expect a more inclusive discussion and collaboration between authorities and the companies themselves After all the educational journey for authorities should ndash at all costs ndash avoid debate and decision-making in a theoretical vacuum

Examples of this convergence abound Some competition authorities have demonstrated their willingness to use all the tools in their toolbox to ensure the best outcome for consumers The Dutch competition authority has set its agenda for 2020 focusing on protecting online consumers by enforcing Dutch consumer laws against misleading online practices Similarly the UK competition regulator has taken action against online hotel booking sites and the Italian authority has done the same against online web shops ndash both on the basis of their national consumer laws

Letrsquos hope that any specific and innovative action by authorities in 2020 is taken for the right reasons addressing concerns which are unique to digital and which the market itself is unlikely to correct

IS OVER-REGULATION NEXT

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD AGAINST UNFAIR COMPETITION FROM OUTSIDE EU A LOOK AHEAD AT 2020

Against the background of existing tensions in global trade an open economy like the EUrsquos internal market can be vulnerable to unfair competition by companies operating in countries outside the EU that tend to have a more protectionist industrial policy Although the WTO system aims to prevent barriers to trade and to eliminate discriminatory treatment in international commerce the European Commission has nevertheless announced that it will develop its own level playing field rules as a back-up plan against harmful competition by companies which are owned by third countries or are heavily state-subsidised These companies may undermine the level playing field in Europe where they use the subsidies or monopoly profits to artificially undercut prices when selling in the EU - while European businesses are generally restricted from receiving state aid or abusing their dominant position

NO WORDLWIDE STATE AID RULES The European Commission has put the development of this back-up plan on its action list for the new term The first result has been made at WTO level The EU recently agreed with the US and Japan to extend the list of prohibited subsidies The list includes (i) subsidies with unlimited guarantees (ii) subsidies to either insolvent or ailing companies without credible

restructuring plans or to companies which are unable to attract market investments or financing and (iv) certain direct forgiveness of debt EU state aid rules also prohibited more than only direct subsidies While this extension more closely resembles EU state aid rules it does not lead to harmonisation of state aid rules on a worldwide level It appears that more instruments are needed to prevent harmful competition by third country state owned or are state-subsidised companies

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTRUMENTThe Commissionrsquos plans if adopted

will result in the creation of a new level playing field instrument in the EU There seem to be many ideas as to what this instrument should look like but with the sense of growing urgency EU bodies and members states are looking to make changes The Dutch government has recently called on the Commission to introduce a level playing field instrument at the EU level It advocates preventing unfair competition by state-owned companies or by companies established in third countries but benefiting from a ldquohome staterdquo That is markets which shield these companies from competition and from state aid rules similar to those in

12

the EU Companies may for example use their subsidies and monopoly profits to set lower prices in the EU as compared to a company operating in a regular competitive market environment In the short term this could lead to lower prices for EU consumers but in the long run it leads to less competition and weakens industries within the EU

The level playing field instrument proposed by the Dutch government is not based on dominance or state aid Instead it is based on the lack of market regulation in the home state similar to EU competition rules If home

state market regulation is proven deficient the European Commission can impose behavioural remedies The Dutch government has suggested that it could require the third-country company to maintain a separate and transparent administrative system to monitor its activities in the EU By doing so it would be possible to prevent cross-subsidies from state aidmonopoly profits received in its home-state market to keep the prices in the EU low

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTSA level playing field instrument would complement existing rules on the

control of foreign direct investments (FDI) In 2019 EU member states (see also our Best Friendrsquos summary and guide) adopted a regulation establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments Member states have to start enforcing that regulation as of 11 October 2020 While the regulation only provides for minimum harmonisation member states are expected to include additional measures in their national legislation For example the Dutch government has announced an additional notification and screening system of takeovers where these concern vital infrastructure or technology affecting national security It has also proposed review measures concerning takeovers in the telecom sector with the possibility to prohibit a takeover should national security or public order be jeopardised Some larger European economies have recently tightened FDI screening rules France in mid-2019 Germany at the end of 2018 and the UK in mid-2018

These developments are the result of broader trade tensions between countries especially the US and China An in-depth interview with Marlies Heemskerk ndash de Waard Maikel van Wissen Yi Duan and James Wang about these developments can be found on page 10-11 (click previous page)

13

EXPERTS

Mergers amp AcquisitionsInternational TradeCompetition amp RegulationFields of expertise

foreign investments and export controls curbing the transfer of sensitive technology to protect its national security This legislation is principally triggered by the rise of China as an economic world power China in response is preparing to introduce its own export control law which is entering the final stages of the legislative process In the EU we have also seen a shift to a harder stance by EU Member States towards foreign investments by non-EU parties

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE RELATIONSWe expect an increasing number of technologies to become subject to export licence requirements In addition licence applications for exports to destinations like China will be scrutinised or even denied The difference with export controls as we know them is that many of the relevant technologies are omnipresent nowadays meaning that restrictions to their export will have serious implications for international trade including for industries that were not previously affected by such restrictions This may have a significant impact on our clientsrsquo international production and worldwide supply chains

14

SECURITY CONCERNS AND STRATEGIC INTERESTS

Interstate strategic competition has led the US and the EU to be increasingly protective of their national security and strategic economic interests and this has a growing effect on international business Ample reason to ask our team of experts to gaze into their crystal ball and tell our clients how this may impact them in the years to come

WHAT IS INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND WHY IS IT SO RELEVANTInterstate strategic competition is about major world powers striving to consolidate and strengthen their position and their influence over other states The reason they do this is to protect their military and security interests as well as their economic and technological edge Over the past few years this competition has intensified As of late this is resulting in concrete legislative action directly affecting our clients

It should come as no surprise but the most pressing example is the trade war between the US and China which goes well beyond tariffs The US has already enacted and is currently further developing legislation imposing additional controls on

GROWING IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MampA

EXPERTS

The US is preparing to subject a whole range of ldquoemerging technologiesrdquo to licence requirements where it concerns export to certain destinations notably China Relevant technologies range from biotechnology to robotics and from artificial intelligence to microprocessor technology and beyond They really cover a broad range of high-tech industries The effect of the export control restrictions is not limited to US parties they also apply to other parties incorporating a certain percentage of US-controlled content in their own products

In the EU the discussion about subjecting these technologies to export controls is less advanced However the US will likely pressure the EU and other jurisdictions to adopt similar restrictions In fact the US is already pressuring the Netherlands to be much more reticent in granting licences for the export of certain technology to China

WHAT IS THE EFFECT ON INTERNATIONAL MampA TRANSACTIONSForeign investment controls may pose substantial restrictions to international MampA quite similar to classic merger control Increasingly clients may be required to file notifications with foreign investment review authorities which may impose mitigating conditions if a transaction is found to impact national security interests Unlike merger control filings where parties can perform detailed substantive analyses in advance foreign investment control filings are sometimes more challenging due to the broad rules and secrecy relating to national security concerns of the host countries

In the US foreign investment controls are already well established However the US is now substantially broadening the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) They will now be able to also review transactions resulting in a non-controlling stake and involving certain critical technology or infrastructure or sensitive data of US citizens

HOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND HOW IT MAY AFFECT YOUR BUSINESSWe are planning a dedicated master class on the topic on May 28 and 29 of this year We will cover both export and foreign investment controls and their effect on international trade and MampA including US and EU as well as Chinese law developments And naturally clients who want to discuss the topic are most welcome to contact us

Foreign investment controls are gaining traction in the EU as well After the prohibition of the SiemensAlstom merger Germany and France have publicly called upon the Commission to overhaul its merger control policies to take into account unfair competition from state backed companies from China and other non-EU countries In March 2019 the EU introduced the Foreign Investment Framework Regulation The regulation primarily provides for certain procedural safeguards but it remains for the member states to design and operate their substantive foreign investment controls In many member states these are still developing The Netherlands for example has no overarching legal framework regulating foreign investments but a bill to prevent undesirable control over our telecommunications sector is pending

Some of the US legislation we referred to notably regarding foreign investment controls is set to go into effect this year As to export controls this may take a bit longer but clients would be well advised to closely monitor the developments before they take effect EU developments are more steady but the trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

15

The trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

NEW DECADE BRINGS CHANGES TO PATENT AND COPYRIGHT REGIMES AT EUROPEAN LEVELALL EYES ON UNIFIED PATENT COURT CHANGING FRAND LANDSCAPE AND COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

2020 will see us inching closer to the launch (or end) of the Unified Patent Court and the creation of a new unitary patents system In addition we might have more clarity on how member states interpret the 2015 European Court of Justice ruling on standard essential patents Finally EU member states will need to start paying serious attention to how they will implement the new European rules for adapting their national copyright law systems to the digital world

UPC FINALLY READY TO LAUNCHProponents of a new unified patent system will need to be patient a little longer but it seems that the wheels will finally be set in motion (again) in 2020 The goal Having an operational system in 2021

Judging by press coverage the biggest hurdle to the UKrsquos ratification of the system in 2016 seemed to be the Brexit vote in June but the real game changer turned out to be Germany In 2017 Germany suspended its ratification process as it waited for the Federal Constitutional Court to decide whether German UPC legislation is compatible with the German Constitution While the case was meant to be decided in 2018 and then 2019 this did not happen In November 2019 however the rapporteur in the case made an unofficial statement in an interview that he intends to issue a decision in early 2020

If the court accepts incompatibility a further delay or ndash dare we say it ndash the end of the new system is inevitable If incompatibility is rejected the UPC launch will depend on how the German government responds and of course on Brexit

16

EXPERTS

What is the UPCThe Unified Patent Court (UPC UPC system) will be a supranational court specialised in patent litigation cases Subject to exceptions during a transitional period it will exclusively hear cases involving European patents and European patents with unitary effect (unitary patents are to take effect in all UPC member states) The system will come into effect four months after the Unified Patent Court Agreement is signed and ratified by several EU member states including Germany and the UK (their ratification is a prerequisite)

The future of the UPC system is in the hands of the UK and Germany

Should the German government give the green light the head of the UPC Preparatory Committee predicts that the UPC system will enter into effect shortly after A provisional application phase will then start within a short timeframe to ensure a smooth transition into the operational phase before the actual launch of the UPC a couple of months later Although the future of the new system is still uncertain we do know that its impact would be huge Interested parties especially patentees should continue preparing for the UPCrsquos arrival This means considering any future patent filing strategies ndash unitary patents European bundle patents andor national patents ndash and paying attention to the opt-out route

FRANDIf one or more patents claim technology involved with the standard ndash known as a standard essential patent (SEP) - the patent holder may have a dominant position on the market and may breach competition rules by enforcing its patents by requesting an injunction or recall SEP holders must therefore commit themselves to being prepared to licence their essential patents to other market players on fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms

Since the ECJrsquos landmark 2015 decision in HuaweiZTE - providing guidance on the enforcement of essential patents and competition law - litigation on the licensing of SEPs has increased in Europe and is expected to continue to be a hot topic in 2020 It will be interesting to see how the interpretation of the ECJrsquos ruling plays out in different EU member states

While case law on FRAND is being created at a frenetic pace throughout various European jurisdictions it is currently too sparse to reveal any conclusive jurisdictional trends What is clear is that member states vary in what they emphasise about FRAND commitment This could mean that it is merely a matter of time before the ECJ is asked to elaborate on its position With several rulings lined up for 2020 it is bound to be an exciting year

What is an SEPA patent can be marked as an SEP if it relates to technical specificati-on adopted by a recognised standardisation body for repeated or continuous application with which compliance is not compulso-ry Standardisation is a pheno-menon mostly seen in the fast-de-veloping telecommunications sector In order to promote interoperability of devices ndash such as smartphones laptops tablets but also cars ndash those should ideally use the same standards for certain technologies and functionalities Examples are the 3G (UMTS) 4G (LTE) 5G WiFi and USB standards

What is the provisional application phasePart of this phase is the ldquosunrise periodrdquo for opting out European patents before the UPC starts operating Patentees will be able to exclude their existing European patents and applications from the UPCrsquos exclusive jurisdiction For more information about the sunrise period and opting out your patents click here

17

Position of the UKThe UK has already completed ratification marking its intention to be a party to the UPC system Recently the European Parliament Think Tank published an in-depth analysis on possible UPC scenarios in the case of Brexit with or without a proper withdrawal agreement It concluded that - some legal challenges aside mainly that the UPC will apply EU law and be bound by ECJ decisions - the UK can be part of the UPC system even if it leaves the EU In a UK press release this month however the UK Prime Minister made clear that ldquoany future partnership must not involve any kind of alignment or ECJ jurisdictionrdquo which might indicate their intention to not be party to the UPC system after allrdquo

Different FRAND regimes across Europe might require ECJ guidance

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

All eyes are on the UK Supreme Courtrsquos imminent ruling in Unwired PlanetHuawei which concerns a global licence In the earlier decision the court of appeal confirmed that the UK courts could determine the terms of a global FRAND licence and grant an injunction for the UK subject to the implementer not accepting such terms Huawei challenged the imposition of a global licence on terms set by a national court The eagerly awaited Supreme Court ruling is bound to turn heads and shed some light on the competency of national courts in global licence disputes

Other cases to watch are the enforcement campaigns of Philips against a number of parties implementing patents from Philipsrsquo 3G 4G patent portfolio Philips is enforcing its portfolio at different courts across Europe and this may provide insight into how different jurisdictions interpret the ECJrsquos 2015 landmark decision Philips for example obtained a number of injunctions (against Asus in May and December 2019 against Wiko in July and December 2019) at the Court of Appeal of The Hague against Wiko and Asus in the Netherlands emphasising the responsibility of implementers of SEPs to be a ldquowilling licenseerdquo Both Wiko and Asus took these cases to the Dutch Supreme Court so this year we may also expect a first decision on FRAND at that level If a ruling should be made wersquoll find out if it agrees with the court of appealrsquos approach In PhilipsWiko a parallel case in Germany the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe was much stricter to Philips as an SEP holder and denied an injunction Recognising that the decision deviates from the Higher Regional Court of Duumlsseldorf ruling it allowed an appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice This is especially interesting since another German court the Mannheim Regional Court in the meantime granted Sisvel an injunction against Wiko thereby following a similar approach as the Dutch courts with respect to FRAND

For the same reasons the Sisvel cases are ones to watch Like Philips Sisvel is involved in a number of cases against multiple parties across Europe regarding its portfolio of essential patents for mobile technologies The cases will shed more light on the extent to which SEPs can be enforced in preliminary injunction proceedings An oral hearing about this question at The Court of Appeal of The Hague is scheduled for February 2020

DSM IMPACT EXPECTEDWith an implementation deadline of 7 June 2021 2020 is likely to be dominated ndash at least from a soft IP community perspective - by the implementation of the directive on copyright in the digital single market (DSM)

As the directive introduces quite a few controversial measures it will be interesting to see how member states will wriggle their way into implementing those in their national regimes The most controversial measures are commonly referred to as the ldquoupload filterrdquo and the ldquolink taxrdquo For more information about these controversial measures click here There is a risk that because the member states hold different views on certain topics ndash including after adoption of the directive ndash there will be diverging implementation at the national levels

In May 2019 Poland brought an action before the ECJ asking the court to annul part of the directiversquos article 17 on the much-debated ldquoupload filterrdquo or even annul the entire article Poland argues that the article infringes the right to freedom of expression and information Other pending cases at the ECJ level are Youtube and Elsevier where the German Federal Court of Justice has requested preliminary rulings The ECJ has joined the cases which centre on the position of internet video platform operators and shared hosting service operators who make content protected by copyright publicly accessible The answers by the ECJ will undoubtedly impact the existing framework under the new directive as the ECJ has requested the parties to address the directiversquos upload filter wording In addition the Dutch Supreme Court has referred questions on the position of a Usenet provider (offering a platform for news groups on which users can post messages and are able to upload content) to the ECJ in BREINNSE

Why a DSM DirectiveThis directive aims to update copyright rules for the 21st century Most copyright rules pre-date the internet and are not well-suited to deal with todayrsquos issues This directive improves protection for copyright holders by creating instruments to monetise their work used by information society service providers and to consequently stimulate the creative industry It also safeguards the use of copyright-protected works for private and scientific or educational purposes For more information on the directiversquos impact click here

Adoption of controversial directive does not end the heated debate on the position of information society

service providers

Regulatory amp Criminal EnforcementInvestment ManagementFinancial InstitutionsCorporate AdvisoryCapital MarketsFields of expertise

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2020 LEGAL ENTITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TO BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT

EXPERTS

UBO REGISTER ndash WHAT WILL LEGAL ENTITIES HAVE TO DOThe UBO register is expected to take effect in the Netherlands in early spring 2020 Listed companies are exempt from registering their UBO in the register as are direct or indirect 100 subsidiaries of listed companies To take advantage of this exemption it may be necessary to file an application with the Dutch Trade Register

Existing legal entities must register their UBO within 18 months after introduction of the UBO register Newly incorporated legal entities must register their UBO when they first apply to the Dutch Trade Register for registration of their business

As from the date of implementation of the UBO register all AML institutions ndash to include banks and lawyers ndash must report any inconsistencies between their CDD records and the data included in the UBO registration to the Dutch Trade Register

REGISTRATION FOR UBOS OF TRUSTS AND FUNDS FOR JOINT ACCOUNT In 2020 a new bill will be introduced to create a UBO register for trusts and ldquofunds for joint accountrdquo Although the concept of ldquoa trustrdquo as a legal entity is not recognised in Dutch law if the trust is the legal owner of real estate in the Netherlands or if the trustee is a Dutch legal entity registration might still be necessary

NEW EUROPEAN AML DIREC-TIVESThe AML Act 2020 will implement the terms of the 5th AML Directives by introducing a registration requirement for the providers of virtual currencies The act may also include stricter rules on AML-related penalties for natural persons and extend the liability of legal persons as set out in the 6th AML Directive

PLANS FOR AML-RELATED EX-CHANGE OF INFORMATION The Dutch government is proposing that ldquoAML Institutionsrdquo exchange information with similar institutions ndash for example banks with banks ndash in relation to enhanced client due diligence and the reporting of unusual transactions The proposals would also enable AML institutions to outsource transaction monitoring to third parties if these arrangements are based on a written agreement

GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONSThere are plans to introduce a publication requirement for donations of EUR 15000 or above (in cash or in kind) made to social organisations foundations associations church organisations and foreign equivalents if they have long-term activities in the Netherlands The objective is to make donations to these social organisations more transparent and to prevent any undesirable influence from abroad via these types of cash-flows

If these proposals become law the social organisation will have to publish an annual overview of donations received including the name and address of the donor and the amount of the donation on its website

19

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

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Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

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The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

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MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 8: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

9and affordable that sellers frequently achieve a ldquoclean exitrdquo in the Dutch market So for how long can we expect the ldquogood timesrdquo in WampI insurance to last

WampI insurance as a product is here to stay In that sense the good times will continue While available coverage and pricing may fluctuate we expect the product itself to develop new features and to become increasingly sophisticated

That said WampI insurance is almost certainly in the ldquosoftrdquo stage of the insurance cycle which will not last indefinitely In recent years coverage and pricing has continued to improve as new players and capital have entered the market But at some point insurers will start to expect or actually experience underwriting losses and will reduce or cease coverage or increase prices However it is difficult to assess whether this hardening of the market will happen in one year or three as we have been witnessing the market soften for the first time in parallel with the development of the product itself What is an indicator that the market may be about to turn and what is simply a further improvement in the product It is difficult to be certain

In addition if the private MampA market moves in a buyer-friendly direction demand for WampI insurance could fall as buyers seek more recourse directly from sellers This could cause the WampI insurance market to soften further and potentially accelerate the hardening of the market

We will need to wait and see how the WampI insurance market develops Buyers and sellers should both keep an eye on

developments as any material change in the available terms of WampI insurance is likely to impact negotiations on SPA liability regimes and there may be a period of adjustment until market participants settle on the new normal

REGULATORS INCREASING THEIR IMPACTThe EUR 1245 million fine on Altice in 2018 let the MampA world know that the European Commission (EC) is watching Since then we have seen various regulators increasingly exert their influence in ways that can impact MampA transactions We expect this to continue in 2020

The Altice fine related to gun-jumping (implementing a transaction before the required merger clearance is obtained) The gun-jumping rules restrict the behaviour of MampA parties between signing and merger clearance This is a focus area for antitrust regulators and subsequent cases ndash most notably the ECJrsquos KPMG Denmark EY decision ndash have continued to clarify the activities that can qualify as gun-jumping

Regulatory action is also impacting the timing and structure of MampA transactions Foreign investment review regimes are appearing in increasingly more jurisdictions Last year in another gun-jumping decision the EC fined Canon for using a two-step ldquowarehousingrdquo structure Financial regulators are more willing to hold up change in control approval to address conduct issues we have recently seen an approval delayed for a target whose core business is not even in financial services so non-compliance with AML screening rules could be remedied

Mergers amp AcquisitionsFields of expertise

10

Regulatory matters are often now key due diligence items given the growing size of regulatory fines and the fact that in many cases they will not be covered by WampI insurance The size of antitrust fines has been steadily increasing for several years In the last two years the European banking industry has seen substantial fines imposed in a regulatory crackdown on AML non-compliance With the GBP 1834 million fine recently imposed on British Airways this trend looks set to extend to GDPR non-compliance

In light of these developments MampA parties and their advisors need to have regulatory compliance at the front of their minds in any transaction particularly where the target is in a regulated or sensitive industry Matters that may have seemed immaterial even 12 months ago can now if not anticipated and properly addressed have a major impact on a transaction

CROSS-BORDER DEALS DRIVE INNOVATION IN PUBLIC MampA The Netherlands has seen a rise in public MampA in 2019 Neither economic headwinds (such as trade wars and signals about a looming recession) nor political uncertainty (such as the Middle East or Brexit) have shaken the confidence of MampA markets Although no one knows how long the good times will last we donrsquot expect the liquidity of the market ndash which has largely been stored on company balance sheets ndash to dry up any time soon As companies put their cash to work we expect the strong MampA market to endure in 2020 resulting in a steady flow of public deals

In 2019 the Netherlands was the stage for various cross-border high-value deals both inbound and outbound Some examples include the USD 22 billion combination of Pfizerrsquos Upjohn business with Mylan Digital Realtyrsquos USD 84 billion acquisition of InterXion

EssilorLuxotticarsquos EUR 55 billion acquisition of GrandVision the USD 50 billion cross-border merger between the Peugeot Group and Fiat Chrysler and Takeawaycomrsquos EUR 72 billion public offer for Just Eat Many of these international transactions included innovative deal structures from a Dutch perspective on topics like deal certainty ensuring 100 ownership and governance

The FiatPeugeot combination the largest Dutch transaction in 2019 in terms of value cemented the rarely used inbound cross-border legal merger as a legitimate and feasible deal structure and underlined the strong position of the Dutch NV as international holding company We expect more parties in the EU to follow suit in the future

The PfizerMylan transaction concerned a typical US spin-off combined with a complex Dutch asset sale structure facilitating a USDutch combination and ensuring maximum deal certainty Enhanced deal certainty is also the result of the innovative back-end structure agreed between Digital Realty and InterXion Given the mutually beneficial aspects for both targets and bidders we trust that these structures will keep being applied and further developed during 2020 and

What 2020 will bring for Dutch public MampA remains to be seen but we expect cross-border deals driving innovation to continue These are certainly interesting times for all involved in public MampA

subsequent years in other cross-border transactions

The TakeawaycomJust Eat transaction underlines that bidders face fierce competition in globally consolidating markets and should therefore carefully consider the relationship between transaction structure and deal certainty After the Dutch company Takeawaycom and the UK company Just Eat had agreed to combine their companies the Dutch technology company Prosus launched an unsolicited cash offer for Just Eat setting off a bidding war In response Takeawaycom and Just Eat changed the structure of their proposal from a UK scheme of arrangement to an exchange offer essentially making it easier to get the required shareholder support This move and the subsequent increase of the offer price seem to have paid off Takeaway has recently come out on top as it has become clear that a large majority of Just Eat shareholders have tendered their shares to Takeawaycomrsquos offer

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

11

COMPETITION AUTHORITIES ON THE HEELS OF DIGITAL ECONOMY

In 2019 competition authorities were busy thinking ldquoout of the boxrdquo about how best to police and enforce competition law in the digital economy Numerous reports were published (for example for the European Commission in the UK and in Germany) One of the key takeaways from these reports is that competition authorities find it difficult through retrospective enforcement to keep up with the seemingly incessant development of the digital economy To address this issue authorities are calling for additional and faster enforcement tools

Against this backdrop the great debate for 2020 will be whether new powers ndash and if introduced the use of those powers ndash are strictly necessary and proportionate to the concerns being addressed The European Commission has taken several major decisions in the digital sector in recent years most notably against Google But despite huge fines complaints of ldquotoo little too laterdquo continue to put pressure on authorities to do more including taking bolder pre-emptive action It should also be remembered that enforcement taken against the likes of Google reflects its unique stronghold in Search but these actions are irrelevant when considering the realities faced by most other digital businesses In a world where Facebook and Instagram continue to lose market share to the likes of the Chinese phenomenon TikTok identifying entrenched

dominance in digital markets let alone finding a practical and timely way of policing it is a real challenge

Companies that operate in the digital economy vary immensely and have to deal with different competitive environments The behaviour of many companies can be accurately charted against realities in the offline world such as consumer lethargy which prevents switching between suppliers in energy and banking markets the placement of sponsored and own-label retail products in key positions in supermarkets and department stores and variable pricing for taxi rides Regulators must decide why it is necessary to create additional regulation or enforcement priorities and how these can be tailored to tackle truly unique ndash and non-transient - concerns that are emerging Whether consensus is reached on these topics or not 2020 will bring further proposals to regulate the digital economy and to carry out enforcement actions addressing specific behaviour by data-driven companies

In relation to the use of data with the convergence of enforcement among

competition consumer and data protection authorities we expect a more inclusive discussion and collaboration between authorities and the companies themselves After all the educational journey for authorities should ndash at all costs ndash avoid debate and decision-making in a theoretical vacuum

Examples of this convergence abound Some competition authorities have demonstrated their willingness to use all the tools in their toolbox to ensure the best outcome for consumers The Dutch competition authority has set its agenda for 2020 focusing on protecting online consumers by enforcing Dutch consumer laws against misleading online practices Similarly the UK competition regulator has taken action against online hotel booking sites and the Italian authority has done the same against online web shops ndash both on the basis of their national consumer laws

Letrsquos hope that any specific and innovative action by authorities in 2020 is taken for the right reasons addressing concerns which are unique to digital and which the market itself is unlikely to correct

IS OVER-REGULATION NEXT

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD AGAINST UNFAIR COMPETITION FROM OUTSIDE EU A LOOK AHEAD AT 2020

Against the background of existing tensions in global trade an open economy like the EUrsquos internal market can be vulnerable to unfair competition by companies operating in countries outside the EU that tend to have a more protectionist industrial policy Although the WTO system aims to prevent barriers to trade and to eliminate discriminatory treatment in international commerce the European Commission has nevertheless announced that it will develop its own level playing field rules as a back-up plan against harmful competition by companies which are owned by third countries or are heavily state-subsidised These companies may undermine the level playing field in Europe where they use the subsidies or monopoly profits to artificially undercut prices when selling in the EU - while European businesses are generally restricted from receiving state aid or abusing their dominant position

NO WORDLWIDE STATE AID RULES The European Commission has put the development of this back-up plan on its action list for the new term The first result has been made at WTO level The EU recently agreed with the US and Japan to extend the list of prohibited subsidies The list includes (i) subsidies with unlimited guarantees (ii) subsidies to either insolvent or ailing companies without credible

restructuring plans or to companies which are unable to attract market investments or financing and (iv) certain direct forgiveness of debt EU state aid rules also prohibited more than only direct subsidies While this extension more closely resembles EU state aid rules it does not lead to harmonisation of state aid rules on a worldwide level It appears that more instruments are needed to prevent harmful competition by third country state owned or are state-subsidised companies

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTRUMENTThe Commissionrsquos plans if adopted

will result in the creation of a new level playing field instrument in the EU There seem to be many ideas as to what this instrument should look like but with the sense of growing urgency EU bodies and members states are looking to make changes The Dutch government has recently called on the Commission to introduce a level playing field instrument at the EU level It advocates preventing unfair competition by state-owned companies or by companies established in third countries but benefiting from a ldquohome staterdquo That is markets which shield these companies from competition and from state aid rules similar to those in

12

the EU Companies may for example use their subsidies and monopoly profits to set lower prices in the EU as compared to a company operating in a regular competitive market environment In the short term this could lead to lower prices for EU consumers but in the long run it leads to less competition and weakens industries within the EU

The level playing field instrument proposed by the Dutch government is not based on dominance or state aid Instead it is based on the lack of market regulation in the home state similar to EU competition rules If home

state market regulation is proven deficient the European Commission can impose behavioural remedies The Dutch government has suggested that it could require the third-country company to maintain a separate and transparent administrative system to monitor its activities in the EU By doing so it would be possible to prevent cross-subsidies from state aidmonopoly profits received in its home-state market to keep the prices in the EU low

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTSA level playing field instrument would complement existing rules on the

control of foreign direct investments (FDI) In 2019 EU member states (see also our Best Friendrsquos summary and guide) adopted a regulation establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments Member states have to start enforcing that regulation as of 11 October 2020 While the regulation only provides for minimum harmonisation member states are expected to include additional measures in their national legislation For example the Dutch government has announced an additional notification and screening system of takeovers where these concern vital infrastructure or technology affecting national security It has also proposed review measures concerning takeovers in the telecom sector with the possibility to prohibit a takeover should national security or public order be jeopardised Some larger European economies have recently tightened FDI screening rules France in mid-2019 Germany at the end of 2018 and the UK in mid-2018

These developments are the result of broader trade tensions between countries especially the US and China An in-depth interview with Marlies Heemskerk ndash de Waard Maikel van Wissen Yi Duan and James Wang about these developments can be found on page 10-11 (click previous page)

13

EXPERTS

Mergers amp AcquisitionsInternational TradeCompetition amp RegulationFields of expertise

foreign investments and export controls curbing the transfer of sensitive technology to protect its national security This legislation is principally triggered by the rise of China as an economic world power China in response is preparing to introduce its own export control law which is entering the final stages of the legislative process In the EU we have also seen a shift to a harder stance by EU Member States towards foreign investments by non-EU parties

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE RELATIONSWe expect an increasing number of technologies to become subject to export licence requirements In addition licence applications for exports to destinations like China will be scrutinised or even denied The difference with export controls as we know them is that many of the relevant technologies are omnipresent nowadays meaning that restrictions to their export will have serious implications for international trade including for industries that were not previously affected by such restrictions This may have a significant impact on our clientsrsquo international production and worldwide supply chains

14

SECURITY CONCERNS AND STRATEGIC INTERESTS

Interstate strategic competition has led the US and the EU to be increasingly protective of their national security and strategic economic interests and this has a growing effect on international business Ample reason to ask our team of experts to gaze into their crystal ball and tell our clients how this may impact them in the years to come

WHAT IS INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND WHY IS IT SO RELEVANTInterstate strategic competition is about major world powers striving to consolidate and strengthen their position and their influence over other states The reason they do this is to protect their military and security interests as well as their economic and technological edge Over the past few years this competition has intensified As of late this is resulting in concrete legislative action directly affecting our clients

It should come as no surprise but the most pressing example is the trade war between the US and China which goes well beyond tariffs The US has already enacted and is currently further developing legislation imposing additional controls on

GROWING IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MampA

EXPERTS

The US is preparing to subject a whole range of ldquoemerging technologiesrdquo to licence requirements where it concerns export to certain destinations notably China Relevant technologies range from biotechnology to robotics and from artificial intelligence to microprocessor technology and beyond They really cover a broad range of high-tech industries The effect of the export control restrictions is not limited to US parties they also apply to other parties incorporating a certain percentage of US-controlled content in their own products

In the EU the discussion about subjecting these technologies to export controls is less advanced However the US will likely pressure the EU and other jurisdictions to adopt similar restrictions In fact the US is already pressuring the Netherlands to be much more reticent in granting licences for the export of certain technology to China

WHAT IS THE EFFECT ON INTERNATIONAL MampA TRANSACTIONSForeign investment controls may pose substantial restrictions to international MampA quite similar to classic merger control Increasingly clients may be required to file notifications with foreign investment review authorities which may impose mitigating conditions if a transaction is found to impact national security interests Unlike merger control filings where parties can perform detailed substantive analyses in advance foreign investment control filings are sometimes more challenging due to the broad rules and secrecy relating to national security concerns of the host countries

In the US foreign investment controls are already well established However the US is now substantially broadening the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) They will now be able to also review transactions resulting in a non-controlling stake and involving certain critical technology or infrastructure or sensitive data of US citizens

HOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND HOW IT MAY AFFECT YOUR BUSINESSWe are planning a dedicated master class on the topic on May 28 and 29 of this year We will cover both export and foreign investment controls and their effect on international trade and MampA including US and EU as well as Chinese law developments And naturally clients who want to discuss the topic are most welcome to contact us

Foreign investment controls are gaining traction in the EU as well After the prohibition of the SiemensAlstom merger Germany and France have publicly called upon the Commission to overhaul its merger control policies to take into account unfair competition from state backed companies from China and other non-EU countries In March 2019 the EU introduced the Foreign Investment Framework Regulation The regulation primarily provides for certain procedural safeguards but it remains for the member states to design and operate their substantive foreign investment controls In many member states these are still developing The Netherlands for example has no overarching legal framework regulating foreign investments but a bill to prevent undesirable control over our telecommunications sector is pending

Some of the US legislation we referred to notably regarding foreign investment controls is set to go into effect this year As to export controls this may take a bit longer but clients would be well advised to closely monitor the developments before they take effect EU developments are more steady but the trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

15

The trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

NEW DECADE BRINGS CHANGES TO PATENT AND COPYRIGHT REGIMES AT EUROPEAN LEVELALL EYES ON UNIFIED PATENT COURT CHANGING FRAND LANDSCAPE AND COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

2020 will see us inching closer to the launch (or end) of the Unified Patent Court and the creation of a new unitary patents system In addition we might have more clarity on how member states interpret the 2015 European Court of Justice ruling on standard essential patents Finally EU member states will need to start paying serious attention to how they will implement the new European rules for adapting their national copyright law systems to the digital world

UPC FINALLY READY TO LAUNCHProponents of a new unified patent system will need to be patient a little longer but it seems that the wheels will finally be set in motion (again) in 2020 The goal Having an operational system in 2021

Judging by press coverage the biggest hurdle to the UKrsquos ratification of the system in 2016 seemed to be the Brexit vote in June but the real game changer turned out to be Germany In 2017 Germany suspended its ratification process as it waited for the Federal Constitutional Court to decide whether German UPC legislation is compatible with the German Constitution While the case was meant to be decided in 2018 and then 2019 this did not happen In November 2019 however the rapporteur in the case made an unofficial statement in an interview that he intends to issue a decision in early 2020

If the court accepts incompatibility a further delay or ndash dare we say it ndash the end of the new system is inevitable If incompatibility is rejected the UPC launch will depend on how the German government responds and of course on Brexit

16

EXPERTS

What is the UPCThe Unified Patent Court (UPC UPC system) will be a supranational court specialised in patent litigation cases Subject to exceptions during a transitional period it will exclusively hear cases involving European patents and European patents with unitary effect (unitary patents are to take effect in all UPC member states) The system will come into effect four months after the Unified Patent Court Agreement is signed and ratified by several EU member states including Germany and the UK (their ratification is a prerequisite)

The future of the UPC system is in the hands of the UK and Germany

Should the German government give the green light the head of the UPC Preparatory Committee predicts that the UPC system will enter into effect shortly after A provisional application phase will then start within a short timeframe to ensure a smooth transition into the operational phase before the actual launch of the UPC a couple of months later Although the future of the new system is still uncertain we do know that its impact would be huge Interested parties especially patentees should continue preparing for the UPCrsquos arrival This means considering any future patent filing strategies ndash unitary patents European bundle patents andor national patents ndash and paying attention to the opt-out route

FRANDIf one or more patents claim technology involved with the standard ndash known as a standard essential patent (SEP) - the patent holder may have a dominant position on the market and may breach competition rules by enforcing its patents by requesting an injunction or recall SEP holders must therefore commit themselves to being prepared to licence their essential patents to other market players on fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms

Since the ECJrsquos landmark 2015 decision in HuaweiZTE - providing guidance on the enforcement of essential patents and competition law - litigation on the licensing of SEPs has increased in Europe and is expected to continue to be a hot topic in 2020 It will be interesting to see how the interpretation of the ECJrsquos ruling plays out in different EU member states

While case law on FRAND is being created at a frenetic pace throughout various European jurisdictions it is currently too sparse to reveal any conclusive jurisdictional trends What is clear is that member states vary in what they emphasise about FRAND commitment This could mean that it is merely a matter of time before the ECJ is asked to elaborate on its position With several rulings lined up for 2020 it is bound to be an exciting year

What is an SEPA patent can be marked as an SEP if it relates to technical specificati-on adopted by a recognised standardisation body for repeated or continuous application with which compliance is not compulso-ry Standardisation is a pheno-menon mostly seen in the fast-de-veloping telecommunications sector In order to promote interoperability of devices ndash such as smartphones laptops tablets but also cars ndash those should ideally use the same standards for certain technologies and functionalities Examples are the 3G (UMTS) 4G (LTE) 5G WiFi and USB standards

What is the provisional application phasePart of this phase is the ldquosunrise periodrdquo for opting out European patents before the UPC starts operating Patentees will be able to exclude their existing European patents and applications from the UPCrsquos exclusive jurisdiction For more information about the sunrise period and opting out your patents click here

17

Position of the UKThe UK has already completed ratification marking its intention to be a party to the UPC system Recently the European Parliament Think Tank published an in-depth analysis on possible UPC scenarios in the case of Brexit with or without a proper withdrawal agreement It concluded that - some legal challenges aside mainly that the UPC will apply EU law and be bound by ECJ decisions - the UK can be part of the UPC system even if it leaves the EU In a UK press release this month however the UK Prime Minister made clear that ldquoany future partnership must not involve any kind of alignment or ECJ jurisdictionrdquo which might indicate their intention to not be party to the UPC system after allrdquo

Different FRAND regimes across Europe might require ECJ guidance

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

All eyes are on the UK Supreme Courtrsquos imminent ruling in Unwired PlanetHuawei which concerns a global licence In the earlier decision the court of appeal confirmed that the UK courts could determine the terms of a global FRAND licence and grant an injunction for the UK subject to the implementer not accepting such terms Huawei challenged the imposition of a global licence on terms set by a national court The eagerly awaited Supreme Court ruling is bound to turn heads and shed some light on the competency of national courts in global licence disputes

Other cases to watch are the enforcement campaigns of Philips against a number of parties implementing patents from Philipsrsquo 3G 4G patent portfolio Philips is enforcing its portfolio at different courts across Europe and this may provide insight into how different jurisdictions interpret the ECJrsquos 2015 landmark decision Philips for example obtained a number of injunctions (against Asus in May and December 2019 against Wiko in July and December 2019) at the Court of Appeal of The Hague against Wiko and Asus in the Netherlands emphasising the responsibility of implementers of SEPs to be a ldquowilling licenseerdquo Both Wiko and Asus took these cases to the Dutch Supreme Court so this year we may also expect a first decision on FRAND at that level If a ruling should be made wersquoll find out if it agrees with the court of appealrsquos approach In PhilipsWiko a parallel case in Germany the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe was much stricter to Philips as an SEP holder and denied an injunction Recognising that the decision deviates from the Higher Regional Court of Duumlsseldorf ruling it allowed an appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice This is especially interesting since another German court the Mannheim Regional Court in the meantime granted Sisvel an injunction against Wiko thereby following a similar approach as the Dutch courts with respect to FRAND

For the same reasons the Sisvel cases are ones to watch Like Philips Sisvel is involved in a number of cases against multiple parties across Europe regarding its portfolio of essential patents for mobile technologies The cases will shed more light on the extent to which SEPs can be enforced in preliminary injunction proceedings An oral hearing about this question at The Court of Appeal of The Hague is scheduled for February 2020

DSM IMPACT EXPECTEDWith an implementation deadline of 7 June 2021 2020 is likely to be dominated ndash at least from a soft IP community perspective - by the implementation of the directive on copyright in the digital single market (DSM)

As the directive introduces quite a few controversial measures it will be interesting to see how member states will wriggle their way into implementing those in their national regimes The most controversial measures are commonly referred to as the ldquoupload filterrdquo and the ldquolink taxrdquo For more information about these controversial measures click here There is a risk that because the member states hold different views on certain topics ndash including after adoption of the directive ndash there will be diverging implementation at the national levels

In May 2019 Poland brought an action before the ECJ asking the court to annul part of the directiversquos article 17 on the much-debated ldquoupload filterrdquo or even annul the entire article Poland argues that the article infringes the right to freedom of expression and information Other pending cases at the ECJ level are Youtube and Elsevier where the German Federal Court of Justice has requested preliminary rulings The ECJ has joined the cases which centre on the position of internet video platform operators and shared hosting service operators who make content protected by copyright publicly accessible The answers by the ECJ will undoubtedly impact the existing framework under the new directive as the ECJ has requested the parties to address the directiversquos upload filter wording In addition the Dutch Supreme Court has referred questions on the position of a Usenet provider (offering a platform for news groups on which users can post messages and are able to upload content) to the ECJ in BREINNSE

Why a DSM DirectiveThis directive aims to update copyright rules for the 21st century Most copyright rules pre-date the internet and are not well-suited to deal with todayrsquos issues This directive improves protection for copyright holders by creating instruments to monetise their work used by information society service providers and to consequently stimulate the creative industry It also safeguards the use of copyright-protected works for private and scientific or educational purposes For more information on the directiversquos impact click here

Adoption of controversial directive does not end the heated debate on the position of information society

service providers

Regulatory amp Criminal EnforcementInvestment ManagementFinancial InstitutionsCorporate AdvisoryCapital MarketsFields of expertise

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2020 LEGAL ENTITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TO BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT

EXPERTS

UBO REGISTER ndash WHAT WILL LEGAL ENTITIES HAVE TO DOThe UBO register is expected to take effect in the Netherlands in early spring 2020 Listed companies are exempt from registering their UBO in the register as are direct or indirect 100 subsidiaries of listed companies To take advantage of this exemption it may be necessary to file an application with the Dutch Trade Register

Existing legal entities must register their UBO within 18 months after introduction of the UBO register Newly incorporated legal entities must register their UBO when they first apply to the Dutch Trade Register for registration of their business

As from the date of implementation of the UBO register all AML institutions ndash to include banks and lawyers ndash must report any inconsistencies between their CDD records and the data included in the UBO registration to the Dutch Trade Register

REGISTRATION FOR UBOS OF TRUSTS AND FUNDS FOR JOINT ACCOUNT In 2020 a new bill will be introduced to create a UBO register for trusts and ldquofunds for joint accountrdquo Although the concept of ldquoa trustrdquo as a legal entity is not recognised in Dutch law if the trust is the legal owner of real estate in the Netherlands or if the trustee is a Dutch legal entity registration might still be necessary

NEW EUROPEAN AML DIREC-TIVESThe AML Act 2020 will implement the terms of the 5th AML Directives by introducing a registration requirement for the providers of virtual currencies The act may also include stricter rules on AML-related penalties for natural persons and extend the liability of legal persons as set out in the 6th AML Directive

PLANS FOR AML-RELATED EX-CHANGE OF INFORMATION The Dutch government is proposing that ldquoAML Institutionsrdquo exchange information with similar institutions ndash for example banks with banks ndash in relation to enhanced client due diligence and the reporting of unusual transactions The proposals would also enable AML institutions to outsource transaction monitoring to third parties if these arrangements are based on a written agreement

GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONSThere are plans to introduce a publication requirement for donations of EUR 15000 or above (in cash or in kind) made to social organisations foundations associations church organisations and foreign equivalents if they have long-term activities in the Netherlands The objective is to make donations to these social organisations more transparent and to prevent any undesirable influence from abroad via these types of cash-flows

If these proposals become law the social organisation will have to publish an annual overview of donations received including the name and address of the donor and the amount of the donation on its website

19

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 9: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

Mergers amp AcquisitionsFields of expertise

10

Regulatory matters are often now key due diligence items given the growing size of regulatory fines and the fact that in many cases they will not be covered by WampI insurance The size of antitrust fines has been steadily increasing for several years In the last two years the European banking industry has seen substantial fines imposed in a regulatory crackdown on AML non-compliance With the GBP 1834 million fine recently imposed on British Airways this trend looks set to extend to GDPR non-compliance

In light of these developments MampA parties and their advisors need to have regulatory compliance at the front of their minds in any transaction particularly where the target is in a regulated or sensitive industry Matters that may have seemed immaterial even 12 months ago can now if not anticipated and properly addressed have a major impact on a transaction

CROSS-BORDER DEALS DRIVE INNOVATION IN PUBLIC MampA The Netherlands has seen a rise in public MampA in 2019 Neither economic headwinds (such as trade wars and signals about a looming recession) nor political uncertainty (such as the Middle East or Brexit) have shaken the confidence of MampA markets Although no one knows how long the good times will last we donrsquot expect the liquidity of the market ndash which has largely been stored on company balance sheets ndash to dry up any time soon As companies put their cash to work we expect the strong MampA market to endure in 2020 resulting in a steady flow of public deals

In 2019 the Netherlands was the stage for various cross-border high-value deals both inbound and outbound Some examples include the USD 22 billion combination of Pfizerrsquos Upjohn business with Mylan Digital Realtyrsquos USD 84 billion acquisition of InterXion

EssilorLuxotticarsquos EUR 55 billion acquisition of GrandVision the USD 50 billion cross-border merger between the Peugeot Group and Fiat Chrysler and Takeawaycomrsquos EUR 72 billion public offer for Just Eat Many of these international transactions included innovative deal structures from a Dutch perspective on topics like deal certainty ensuring 100 ownership and governance

The FiatPeugeot combination the largest Dutch transaction in 2019 in terms of value cemented the rarely used inbound cross-border legal merger as a legitimate and feasible deal structure and underlined the strong position of the Dutch NV as international holding company We expect more parties in the EU to follow suit in the future

The PfizerMylan transaction concerned a typical US spin-off combined with a complex Dutch asset sale structure facilitating a USDutch combination and ensuring maximum deal certainty Enhanced deal certainty is also the result of the innovative back-end structure agreed between Digital Realty and InterXion Given the mutually beneficial aspects for both targets and bidders we trust that these structures will keep being applied and further developed during 2020 and

What 2020 will bring for Dutch public MampA remains to be seen but we expect cross-border deals driving innovation to continue These are certainly interesting times for all involved in public MampA

subsequent years in other cross-border transactions

The TakeawaycomJust Eat transaction underlines that bidders face fierce competition in globally consolidating markets and should therefore carefully consider the relationship between transaction structure and deal certainty After the Dutch company Takeawaycom and the UK company Just Eat had agreed to combine their companies the Dutch technology company Prosus launched an unsolicited cash offer for Just Eat setting off a bidding war In response Takeawaycom and Just Eat changed the structure of their proposal from a UK scheme of arrangement to an exchange offer essentially making it easier to get the required shareholder support This move and the subsequent increase of the offer price seem to have paid off Takeaway has recently come out on top as it has become clear that a large majority of Just Eat shareholders have tendered their shares to Takeawaycomrsquos offer

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

11

COMPETITION AUTHORITIES ON THE HEELS OF DIGITAL ECONOMY

In 2019 competition authorities were busy thinking ldquoout of the boxrdquo about how best to police and enforce competition law in the digital economy Numerous reports were published (for example for the European Commission in the UK and in Germany) One of the key takeaways from these reports is that competition authorities find it difficult through retrospective enforcement to keep up with the seemingly incessant development of the digital economy To address this issue authorities are calling for additional and faster enforcement tools

Against this backdrop the great debate for 2020 will be whether new powers ndash and if introduced the use of those powers ndash are strictly necessary and proportionate to the concerns being addressed The European Commission has taken several major decisions in the digital sector in recent years most notably against Google But despite huge fines complaints of ldquotoo little too laterdquo continue to put pressure on authorities to do more including taking bolder pre-emptive action It should also be remembered that enforcement taken against the likes of Google reflects its unique stronghold in Search but these actions are irrelevant when considering the realities faced by most other digital businesses In a world where Facebook and Instagram continue to lose market share to the likes of the Chinese phenomenon TikTok identifying entrenched

dominance in digital markets let alone finding a practical and timely way of policing it is a real challenge

Companies that operate in the digital economy vary immensely and have to deal with different competitive environments The behaviour of many companies can be accurately charted against realities in the offline world such as consumer lethargy which prevents switching between suppliers in energy and banking markets the placement of sponsored and own-label retail products in key positions in supermarkets and department stores and variable pricing for taxi rides Regulators must decide why it is necessary to create additional regulation or enforcement priorities and how these can be tailored to tackle truly unique ndash and non-transient - concerns that are emerging Whether consensus is reached on these topics or not 2020 will bring further proposals to regulate the digital economy and to carry out enforcement actions addressing specific behaviour by data-driven companies

In relation to the use of data with the convergence of enforcement among

competition consumer and data protection authorities we expect a more inclusive discussion and collaboration between authorities and the companies themselves After all the educational journey for authorities should ndash at all costs ndash avoid debate and decision-making in a theoretical vacuum

Examples of this convergence abound Some competition authorities have demonstrated their willingness to use all the tools in their toolbox to ensure the best outcome for consumers The Dutch competition authority has set its agenda for 2020 focusing on protecting online consumers by enforcing Dutch consumer laws against misleading online practices Similarly the UK competition regulator has taken action against online hotel booking sites and the Italian authority has done the same against online web shops ndash both on the basis of their national consumer laws

Letrsquos hope that any specific and innovative action by authorities in 2020 is taken for the right reasons addressing concerns which are unique to digital and which the market itself is unlikely to correct

IS OVER-REGULATION NEXT

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD AGAINST UNFAIR COMPETITION FROM OUTSIDE EU A LOOK AHEAD AT 2020

Against the background of existing tensions in global trade an open economy like the EUrsquos internal market can be vulnerable to unfair competition by companies operating in countries outside the EU that tend to have a more protectionist industrial policy Although the WTO system aims to prevent barriers to trade and to eliminate discriminatory treatment in international commerce the European Commission has nevertheless announced that it will develop its own level playing field rules as a back-up plan against harmful competition by companies which are owned by third countries or are heavily state-subsidised These companies may undermine the level playing field in Europe where they use the subsidies or monopoly profits to artificially undercut prices when selling in the EU - while European businesses are generally restricted from receiving state aid or abusing their dominant position

NO WORDLWIDE STATE AID RULES The European Commission has put the development of this back-up plan on its action list for the new term The first result has been made at WTO level The EU recently agreed with the US and Japan to extend the list of prohibited subsidies The list includes (i) subsidies with unlimited guarantees (ii) subsidies to either insolvent or ailing companies without credible

restructuring plans or to companies which are unable to attract market investments or financing and (iv) certain direct forgiveness of debt EU state aid rules also prohibited more than only direct subsidies While this extension more closely resembles EU state aid rules it does not lead to harmonisation of state aid rules on a worldwide level It appears that more instruments are needed to prevent harmful competition by third country state owned or are state-subsidised companies

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTRUMENTThe Commissionrsquos plans if adopted

will result in the creation of a new level playing field instrument in the EU There seem to be many ideas as to what this instrument should look like but with the sense of growing urgency EU bodies and members states are looking to make changes The Dutch government has recently called on the Commission to introduce a level playing field instrument at the EU level It advocates preventing unfair competition by state-owned companies or by companies established in third countries but benefiting from a ldquohome staterdquo That is markets which shield these companies from competition and from state aid rules similar to those in

12

the EU Companies may for example use their subsidies and monopoly profits to set lower prices in the EU as compared to a company operating in a regular competitive market environment In the short term this could lead to lower prices for EU consumers but in the long run it leads to less competition and weakens industries within the EU

The level playing field instrument proposed by the Dutch government is not based on dominance or state aid Instead it is based on the lack of market regulation in the home state similar to EU competition rules If home

state market regulation is proven deficient the European Commission can impose behavioural remedies The Dutch government has suggested that it could require the third-country company to maintain a separate and transparent administrative system to monitor its activities in the EU By doing so it would be possible to prevent cross-subsidies from state aidmonopoly profits received in its home-state market to keep the prices in the EU low

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTSA level playing field instrument would complement existing rules on the

control of foreign direct investments (FDI) In 2019 EU member states (see also our Best Friendrsquos summary and guide) adopted a regulation establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments Member states have to start enforcing that regulation as of 11 October 2020 While the regulation only provides for minimum harmonisation member states are expected to include additional measures in their national legislation For example the Dutch government has announced an additional notification and screening system of takeovers where these concern vital infrastructure or technology affecting national security It has also proposed review measures concerning takeovers in the telecom sector with the possibility to prohibit a takeover should national security or public order be jeopardised Some larger European economies have recently tightened FDI screening rules France in mid-2019 Germany at the end of 2018 and the UK in mid-2018

These developments are the result of broader trade tensions between countries especially the US and China An in-depth interview with Marlies Heemskerk ndash de Waard Maikel van Wissen Yi Duan and James Wang about these developments can be found on page 10-11 (click previous page)

13

EXPERTS

Mergers amp AcquisitionsInternational TradeCompetition amp RegulationFields of expertise

foreign investments and export controls curbing the transfer of sensitive technology to protect its national security This legislation is principally triggered by the rise of China as an economic world power China in response is preparing to introduce its own export control law which is entering the final stages of the legislative process In the EU we have also seen a shift to a harder stance by EU Member States towards foreign investments by non-EU parties

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE RELATIONSWe expect an increasing number of technologies to become subject to export licence requirements In addition licence applications for exports to destinations like China will be scrutinised or even denied The difference with export controls as we know them is that many of the relevant technologies are omnipresent nowadays meaning that restrictions to their export will have serious implications for international trade including for industries that were not previously affected by such restrictions This may have a significant impact on our clientsrsquo international production and worldwide supply chains

14

SECURITY CONCERNS AND STRATEGIC INTERESTS

Interstate strategic competition has led the US and the EU to be increasingly protective of their national security and strategic economic interests and this has a growing effect on international business Ample reason to ask our team of experts to gaze into their crystal ball and tell our clients how this may impact them in the years to come

WHAT IS INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND WHY IS IT SO RELEVANTInterstate strategic competition is about major world powers striving to consolidate and strengthen their position and their influence over other states The reason they do this is to protect their military and security interests as well as their economic and technological edge Over the past few years this competition has intensified As of late this is resulting in concrete legislative action directly affecting our clients

It should come as no surprise but the most pressing example is the trade war between the US and China which goes well beyond tariffs The US has already enacted and is currently further developing legislation imposing additional controls on

GROWING IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MampA

EXPERTS

The US is preparing to subject a whole range of ldquoemerging technologiesrdquo to licence requirements where it concerns export to certain destinations notably China Relevant technologies range from biotechnology to robotics and from artificial intelligence to microprocessor technology and beyond They really cover a broad range of high-tech industries The effect of the export control restrictions is not limited to US parties they also apply to other parties incorporating a certain percentage of US-controlled content in their own products

In the EU the discussion about subjecting these technologies to export controls is less advanced However the US will likely pressure the EU and other jurisdictions to adopt similar restrictions In fact the US is already pressuring the Netherlands to be much more reticent in granting licences for the export of certain technology to China

WHAT IS THE EFFECT ON INTERNATIONAL MampA TRANSACTIONSForeign investment controls may pose substantial restrictions to international MampA quite similar to classic merger control Increasingly clients may be required to file notifications with foreign investment review authorities which may impose mitigating conditions if a transaction is found to impact national security interests Unlike merger control filings where parties can perform detailed substantive analyses in advance foreign investment control filings are sometimes more challenging due to the broad rules and secrecy relating to national security concerns of the host countries

In the US foreign investment controls are already well established However the US is now substantially broadening the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) They will now be able to also review transactions resulting in a non-controlling stake and involving certain critical technology or infrastructure or sensitive data of US citizens

HOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND HOW IT MAY AFFECT YOUR BUSINESSWe are planning a dedicated master class on the topic on May 28 and 29 of this year We will cover both export and foreign investment controls and their effect on international trade and MampA including US and EU as well as Chinese law developments And naturally clients who want to discuss the topic are most welcome to contact us

Foreign investment controls are gaining traction in the EU as well After the prohibition of the SiemensAlstom merger Germany and France have publicly called upon the Commission to overhaul its merger control policies to take into account unfair competition from state backed companies from China and other non-EU countries In March 2019 the EU introduced the Foreign Investment Framework Regulation The regulation primarily provides for certain procedural safeguards but it remains for the member states to design and operate their substantive foreign investment controls In many member states these are still developing The Netherlands for example has no overarching legal framework regulating foreign investments but a bill to prevent undesirable control over our telecommunications sector is pending

Some of the US legislation we referred to notably regarding foreign investment controls is set to go into effect this year As to export controls this may take a bit longer but clients would be well advised to closely monitor the developments before they take effect EU developments are more steady but the trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

15

The trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

NEW DECADE BRINGS CHANGES TO PATENT AND COPYRIGHT REGIMES AT EUROPEAN LEVELALL EYES ON UNIFIED PATENT COURT CHANGING FRAND LANDSCAPE AND COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

2020 will see us inching closer to the launch (or end) of the Unified Patent Court and the creation of a new unitary patents system In addition we might have more clarity on how member states interpret the 2015 European Court of Justice ruling on standard essential patents Finally EU member states will need to start paying serious attention to how they will implement the new European rules for adapting their national copyright law systems to the digital world

UPC FINALLY READY TO LAUNCHProponents of a new unified patent system will need to be patient a little longer but it seems that the wheels will finally be set in motion (again) in 2020 The goal Having an operational system in 2021

Judging by press coverage the biggest hurdle to the UKrsquos ratification of the system in 2016 seemed to be the Brexit vote in June but the real game changer turned out to be Germany In 2017 Germany suspended its ratification process as it waited for the Federal Constitutional Court to decide whether German UPC legislation is compatible with the German Constitution While the case was meant to be decided in 2018 and then 2019 this did not happen In November 2019 however the rapporteur in the case made an unofficial statement in an interview that he intends to issue a decision in early 2020

If the court accepts incompatibility a further delay or ndash dare we say it ndash the end of the new system is inevitable If incompatibility is rejected the UPC launch will depend on how the German government responds and of course on Brexit

16

EXPERTS

What is the UPCThe Unified Patent Court (UPC UPC system) will be a supranational court specialised in patent litigation cases Subject to exceptions during a transitional period it will exclusively hear cases involving European patents and European patents with unitary effect (unitary patents are to take effect in all UPC member states) The system will come into effect four months after the Unified Patent Court Agreement is signed and ratified by several EU member states including Germany and the UK (their ratification is a prerequisite)

The future of the UPC system is in the hands of the UK and Germany

Should the German government give the green light the head of the UPC Preparatory Committee predicts that the UPC system will enter into effect shortly after A provisional application phase will then start within a short timeframe to ensure a smooth transition into the operational phase before the actual launch of the UPC a couple of months later Although the future of the new system is still uncertain we do know that its impact would be huge Interested parties especially patentees should continue preparing for the UPCrsquos arrival This means considering any future patent filing strategies ndash unitary patents European bundle patents andor national patents ndash and paying attention to the opt-out route

FRANDIf one or more patents claim technology involved with the standard ndash known as a standard essential patent (SEP) - the patent holder may have a dominant position on the market and may breach competition rules by enforcing its patents by requesting an injunction or recall SEP holders must therefore commit themselves to being prepared to licence their essential patents to other market players on fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms

Since the ECJrsquos landmark 2015 decision in HuaweiZTE - providing guidance on the enforcement of essential patents and competition law - litigation on the licensing of SEPs has increased in Europe and is expected to continue to be a hot topic in 2020 It will be interesting to see how the interpretation of the ECJrsquos ruling plays out in different EU member states

While case law on FRAND is being created at a frenetic pace throughout various European jurisdictions it is currently too sparse to reveal any conclusive jurisdictional trends What is clear is that member states vary in what they emphasise about FRAND commitment This could mean that it is merely a matter of time before the ECJ is asked to elaborate on its position With several rulings lined up for 2020 it is bound to be an exciting year

What is an SEPA patent can be marked as an SEP if it relates to technical specificati-on adopted by a recognised standardisation body for repeated or continuous application with which compliance is not compulso-ry Standardisation is a pheno-menon mostly seen in the fast-de-veloping telecommunications sector In order to promote interoperability of devices ndash such as smartphones laptops tablets but also cars ndash those should ideally use the same standards for certain technologies and functionalities Examples are the 3G (UMTS) 4G (LTE) 5G WiFi and USB standards

What is the provisional application phasePart of this phase is the ldquosunrise periodrdquo for opting out European patents before the UPC starts operating Patentees will be able to exclude their existing European patents and applications from the UPCrsquos exclusive jurisdiction For more information about the sunrise period and opting out your patents click here

17

Position of the UKThe UK has already completed ratification marking its intention to be a party to the UPC system Recently the European Parliament Think Tank published an in-depth analysis on possible UPC scenarios in the case of Brexit with or without a proper withdrawal agreement It concluded that - some legal challenges aside mainly that the UPC will apply EU law and be bound by ECJ decisions - the UK can be part of the UPC system even if it leaves the EU In a UK press release this month however the UK Prime Minister made clear that ldquoany future partnership must not involve any kind of alignment or ECJ jurisdictionrdquo which might indicate their intention to not be party to the UPC system after allrdquo

Different FRAND regimes across Europe might require ECJ guidance

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

All eyes are on the UK Supreme Courtrsquos imminent ruling in Unwired PlanetHuawei which concerns a global licence In the earlier decision the court of appeal confirmed that the UK courts could determine the terms of a global FRAND licence and grant an injunction for the UK subject to the implementer not accepting such terms Huawei challenged the imposition of a global licence on terms set by a national court The eagerly awaited Supreme Court ruling is bound to turn heads and shed some light on the competency of national courts in global licence disputes

Other cases to watch are the enforcement campaigns of Philips against a number of parties implementing patents from Philipsrsquo 3G 4G patent portfolio Philips is enforcing its portfolio at different courts across Europe and this may provide insight into how different jurisdictions interpret the ECJrsquos 2015 landmark decision Philips for example obtained a number of injunctions (against Asus in May and December 2019 against Wiko in July and December 2019) at the Court of Appeal of The Hague against Wiko and Asus in the Netherlands emphasising the responsibility of implementers of SEPs to be a ldquowilling licenseerdquo Both Wiko and Asus took these cases to the Dutch Supreme Court so this year we may also expect a first decision on FRAND at that level If a ruling should be made wersquoll find out if it agrees with the court of appealrsquos approach In PhilipsWiko a parallel case in Germany the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe was much stricter to Philips as an SEP holder and denied an injunction Recognising that the decision deviates from the Higher Regional Court of Duumlsseldorf ruling it allowed an appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice This is especially interesting since another German court the Mannheim Regional Court in the meantime granted Sisvel an injunction against Wiko thereby following a similar approach as the Dutch courts with respect to FRAND

For the same reasons the Sisvel cases are ones to watch Like Philips Sisvel is involved in a number of cases against multiple parties across Europe regarding its portfolio of essential patents for mobile technologies The cases will shed more light on the extent to which SEPs can be enforced in preliminary injunction proceedings An oral hearing about this question at The Court of Appeal of The Hague is scheduled for February 2020

DSM IMPACT EXPECTEDWith an implementation deadline of 7 June 2021 2020 is likely to be dominated ndash at least from a soft IP community perspective - by the implementation of the directive on copyright in the digital single market (DSM)

As the directive introduces quite a few controversial measures it will be interesting to see how member states will wriggle their way into implementing those in their national regimes The most controversial measures are commonly referred to as the ldquoupload filterrdquo and the ldquolink taxrdquo For more information about these controversial measures click here There is a risk that because the member states hold different views on certain topics ndash including after adoption of the directive ndash there will be diverging implementation at the national levels

In May 2019 Poland brought an action before the ECJ asking the court to annul part of the directiversquos article 17 on the much-debated ldquoupload filterrdquo or even annul the entire article Poland argues that the article infringes the right to freedom of expression and information Other pending cases at the ECJ level are Youtube and Elsevier where the German Federal Court of Justice has requested preliminary rulings The ECJ has joined the cases which centre on the position of internet video platform operators and shared hosting service operators who make content protected by copyright publicly accessible The answers by the ECJ will undoubtedly impact the existing framework under the new directive as the ECJ has requested the parties to address the directiversquos upload filter wording In addition the Dutch Supreme Court has referred questions on the position of a Usenet provider (offering a platform for news groups on which users can post messages and are able to upload content) to the ECJ in BREINNSE

Why a DSM DirectiveThis directive aims to update copyright rules for the 21st century Most copyright rules pre-date the internet and are not well-suited to deal with todayrsquos issues This directive improves protection for copyright holders by creating instruments to monetise their work used by information society service providers and to consequently stimulate the creative industry It also safeguards the use of copyright-protected works for private and scientific or educational purposes For more information on the directiversquos impact click here

Adoption of controversial directive does not end the heated debate on the position of information society

service providers

Regulatory amp Criminal EnforcementInvestment ManagementFinancial InstitutionsCorporate AdvisoryCapital MarketsFields of expertise

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2020 LEGAL ENTITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TO BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT

EXPERTS

UBO REGISTER ndash WHAT WILL LEGAL ENTITIES HAVE TO DOThe UBO register is expected to take effect in the Netherlands in early spring 2020 Listed companies are exempt from registering their UBO in the register as are direct or indirect 100 subsidiaries of listed companies To take advantage of this exemption it may be necessary to file an application with the Dutch Trade Register

Existing legal entities must register their UBO within 18 months after introduction of the UBO register Newly incorporated legal entities must register their UBO when they first apply to the Dutch Trade Register for registration of their business

As from the date of implementation of the UBO register all AML institutions ndash to include banks and lawyers ndash must report any inconsistencies between their CDD records and the data included in the UBO registration to the Dutch Trade Register

REGISTRATION FOR UBOS OF TRUSTS AND FUNDS FOR JOINT ACCOUNT In 2020 a new bill will be introduced to create a UBO register for trusts and ldquofunds for joint accountrdquo Although the concept of ldquoa trustrdquo as a legal entity is not recognised in Dutch law if the trust is the legal owner of real estate in the Netherlands or if the trustee is a Dutch legal entity registration might still be necessary

NEW EUROPEAN AML DIREC-TIVESThe AML Act 2020 will implement the terms of the 5th AML Directives by introducing a registration requirement for the providers of virtual currencies The act may also include stricter rules on AML-related penalties for natural persons and extend the liability of legal persons as set out in the 6th AML Directive

PLANS FOR AML-RELATED EX-CHANGE OF INFORMATION The Dutch government is proposing that ldquoAML Institutionsrdquo exchange information with similar institutions ndash for example banks with banks ndash in relation to enhanced client due diligence and the reporting of unusual transactions The proposals would also enable AML institutions to outsource transaction monitoring to third parties if these arrangements are based on a written agreement

GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONSThere are plans to introduce a publication requirement for donations of EUR 15000 or above (in cash or in kind) made to social organisations foundations associations church organisations and foreign equivalents if they have long-term activities in the Netherlands The objective is to make donations to these social organisations more transparent and to prevent any undesirable influence from abroad via these types of cash-flows

If these proposals become law the social organisation will have to publish an annual overview of donations received including the name and address of the donor and the amount of the donation on its website

19

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 10: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

11

COMPETITION AUTHORITIES ON THE HEELS OF DIGITAL ECONOMY

In 2019 competition authorities were busy thinking ldquoout of the boxrdquo about how best to police and enforce competition law in the digital economy Numerous reports were published (for example for the European Commission in the UK and in Germany) One of the key takeaways from these reports is that competition authorities find it difficult through retrospective enforcement to keep up with the seemingly incessant development of the digital economy To address this issue authorities are calling for additional and faster enforcement tools

Against this backdrop the great debate for 2020 will be whether new powers ndash and if introduced the use of those powers ndash are strictly necessary and proportionate to the concerns being addressed The European Commission has taken several major decisions in the digital sector in recent years most notably against Google But despite huge fines complaints of ldquotoo little too laterdquo continue to put pressure on authorities to do more including taking bolder pre-emptive action It should also be remembered that enforcement taken against the likes of Google reflects its unique stronghold in Search but these actions are irrelevant when considering the realities faced by most other digital businesses In a world where Facebook and Instagram continue to lose market share to the likes of the Chinese phenomenon TikTok identifying entrenched

dominance in digital markets let alone finding a practical and timely way of policing it is a real challenge

Companies that operate in the digital economy vary immensely and have to deal with different competitive environments The behaviour of many companies can be accurately charted against realities in the offline world such as consumer lethargy which prevents switching between suppliers in energy and banking markets the placement of sponsored and own-label retail products in key positions in supermarkets and department stores and variable pricing for taxi rides Regulators must decide why it is necessary to create additional regulation or enforcement priorities and how these can be tailored to tackle truly unique ndash and non-transient - concerns that are emerging Whether consensus is reached on these topics or not 2020 will bring further proposals to regulate the digital economy and to carry out enforcement actions addressing specific behaviour by data-driven companies

In relation to the use of data with the convergence of enforcement among

competition consumer and data protection authorities we expect a more inclusive discussion and collaboration between authorities and the companies themselves After all the educational journey for authorities should ndash at all costs ndash avoid debate and decision-making in a theoretical vacuum

Examples of this convergence abound Some competition authorities have demonstrated their willingness to use all the tools in their toolbox to ensure the best outcome for consumers The Dutch competition authority has set its agenda for 2020 focusing on protecting online consumers by enforcing Dutch consumer laws against misleading online practices Similarly the UK competition regulator has taken action against online hotel booking sites and the Italian authority has done the same against online web shops ndash both on the basis of their national consumer laws

Letrsquos hope that any specific and innovative action by authorities in 2020 is taken for the right reasons addressing concerns which are unique to digital and which the market itself is unlikely to correct

IS OVER-REGULATION NEXT

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD AGAINST UNFAIR COMPETITION FROM OUTSIDE EU A LOOK AHEAD AT 2020

Against the background of existing tensions in global trade an open economy like the EUrsquos internal market can be vulnerable to unfair competition by companies operating in countries outside the EU that tend to have a more protectionist industrial policy Although the WTO system aims to prevent barriers to trade and to eliminate discriminatory treatment in international commerce the European Commission has nevertheless announced that it will develop its own level playing field rules as a back-up plan against harmful competition by companies which are owned by third countries or are heavily state-subsidised These companies may undermine the level playing field in Europe where they use the subsidies or monopoly profits to artificially undercut prices when selling in the EU - while European businesses are generally restricted from receiving state aid or abusing their dominant position

NO WORDLWIDE STATE AID RULES The European Commission has put the development of this back-up plan on its action list for the new term The first result has been made at WTO level The EU recently agreed with the US and Japan to extend the list of prohibited subsidies The list includes (i) subsidies with unlimited guarantees (ii) subsidies to either insolvent or ailing companies without credible

restructuring plans or to companies which are unable to attract market investments or financing and (iv) certain direct forgiveness of debt EU state aid rules also prohibited more than only direct subsidies While this extension more closely resembles EU state aid rules it does not lead to harmonisation of state aid rules on a worldwide level It appears that more instruments are needed to prevent harmful competition by third country state owned or are state-subsidised companies

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTRUMENTThe Commissionrsquos plans if adopted

will result in the creation of a new level playing field instrument in the EU There seem to be many ideas as to what this instrument should look like but with the sense of growing urgency EU bodies and members states are looking to make changes The Dutch government has recently called on the Commission to introduce a level playing field instrument at the EU level It advocates preventing unfair competition by state-owned companies or by companies established in third countries but benefiting from a ldquohome staterdquo That is markets which shield these companies from competition and from state aid rules similar to those in

12

the EU Companies may for example use their subsidies and monopoly profits to set lower prices in the EU as compared to a company operating in a regular competitive market environment In the short term this could lead to lower prices for EU consumers but in the long run it leads to less competition and weakens industries within the EU

The level playing field instrument proposed by the Dutch government is not based on dominance or state aid Instead it is based on the lack of market regulation in the home state similar to EU competition rules If home

state market regulation is proven deficient the European Commission can impose behavioural remedies The Dutch government has suggested that it could require the third-country company to maintain a separate and transparent administrative system to monitor its activities in the EU By doing so it would be possible to prevent cross-subsidies from state aidmonopoly profits received in its home-state market to keep the prices in the EU low

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTSA level playing field instrument would complement existing rules on the

control of foreign direct investments (FDI) In 2019 EU member states (see also our Best Friendrsquos summary and guide) adopted a regulation establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments Member states have to start enforcing that regulation as of 11 October 2020 While the regulation only provides for minimum harmonisation member states are expected to include additional measures in their national legislation For example the Dutch government has announced an additional notification and screening system of takeovers where these concern vital infrastructure or technology affecting national security It has also proposed review measures concerning takeovers in the telecom sector with the possibility to prohibit a takeover should national security or public order be jeopardised Some larger European economies have recently tightened FDI screening rules France in mid-2019 Germany at the end of 2018 and the UK in mid-2018

These developments are the result of broader trade tensions between countries especially the US and China An in-depth interview with Marlies Heemskerk ndash de Waard Maikel van Wissen Yi Duan and James Wang about these developments can be found on page 10-11 (click previous page)

13

EXPERTS

Mergers amp AcquisitionsInternational TradeCompetition amp RegulationFields of expertise

foreign investments and export controls curbing the transfer of sensitive technology to protect its national security This legislation is principally triggered by the rise of China as an economic world power China in response is preparing to introduce its own export control law which is entering the final stages of the legislative process In the EU we have also seen a shift to a harder stance by EU Member States towards foreign investments by non-EU parties

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE RELATIONSWe expect an increasing number of technologies to become subject to export licence requirements In addition licence applications for exports to destinations like China will be scrutinised or even denied The difference with export controls as we know them is that many of the relevant technologies are omnipresent nowadays meaning that restrictions to their export will have serious implications for international trade including for industries that were not previously affected by such restrictions This may have a significant impact on our clientsrsquo international production and worldwide supply chains

14

SECURITY CONCERNS AND STRATEGIC INTERESTS

Interstate strategic competition has led the US and the EU to be increasingly protective of their national security and strategic economic interests and this has a growing effect on international business Ample reason to ask our team of experts to gaze into their crystal ball and tell our clients how this may impact them in the years to come

WHAT IS INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND WHY IS IT SO RELEVANTInterstate strategic competition is about major world powers striving to consolidate and strengthen their position and their influence over other states The reason they do this is to protect their military and security interests as well as their economic and technological edge Over the past few years this competition has intensified As of late this is resulting in concrete legislative action directly affecting our clients

It should come as no surprise but the most pressing example is the trade war between the US and China which goes well beyond tariffs The US has already enacted and is currently further developing legislation imposing additional controls on

GROWING IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MampA

EXPERTS

The US is preparing to subject a whole range of ldquoemerging technologiesrdquo to licence requirements where it concerns export to certain destinations notably China Relevant technologies range from biotechnology to robotics and from artificial intelligence to microprocessor technology and beyond They really cover a broad range of high-tech industries The effect of the export control restrictions is not limited to US parties they also apply to other parties incorporating a certain percentage of US-controlled content in their own products

In the EU the discussion about subjecting these technologies to export controls is less advanced However the US will likely pressure the EU and other jurisdictions to adopt similar restrictions In fact the US is already pressuring the Netherlands to be much more reticent in granting licences for the export of certain technology to China

WHAT IS THE EFFECT ON INTERNATIONAL MampA TRANSACTIONSForeign investment controls may pose substantial restrictions to international MampA quite similar to classic merger control Increasingly clients may be required to file notifications with foreign investment review authorities which may impose mitigating conditions if a transaction is found to impact national security interests Unlike merger control filings where parties can perform detailed substantive analyses in advance foreign investment control filings are sometimes more challenging due to the broad rules and secrecy relating to national security concerns of the host countries

In the US foreign investment controls are already well established However the US is now substantially broadening the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) They will now be able to also review transactions resulting in a non-controlling stake and involving certain critical technology or infrastructure or sensitive data of US citizens

HOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND HOW IT MAY AFFECT YOUR BUSINESSWe are planning a dedicated master class on the topic on May 28 and 29 of this year We will cover both export and foreign investment controls and their effect on international trade and MampA including US and EU as well as Chinese law developments And naturally clients who want to discuss the topic are most welcome to contact us

Foreign investment controls are gaining traction in the EU as well After the prohibition of the SiemensAlstom merger Germany and France have publicly called upon the Commission to overhaul its merger control policies to take into account unfair competition from state backed companies from China and other non-EU countries In March 2019 the EU introduced the Foreign Investment Framework Regulation The regulation primarily provides for certain procedural safeguards but it remains for the member states to design and operate their substantive foreign investment controls In many member states these are still developing The Netherlands for example has no overarching legal framework regulating foreign investments but a bill to prevent undesirable control over our telecommunications sector is pending

Some of the US legislation we referred to notably regarding foreign investment controls is set to go into effect this year As to export controls this may take a bit longer but clients would be well advised to closely monitor the developments before they take effect EU developments are more steady but the trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

15

The trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

NEW DECADE BRINGS CHANGES TO PATENT AND COPYRIGHT REGIMES AT EUROPEAN LEVELALL EYES ON UNIFIED PATENT COURT CHANGING FRAND LANDSCAPE AND COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

2020 will see us inching closer to the launch (or end) of the Unified Patent Court and the creation of a new unitary patents system In addition we might have more clarity on how member states interpret the 2015 European Court of Justice ruling on standard essential patents Finally EU member states will need to start paying serious attention to how they will implement the new European rules for adapting their national copyright law systems to the digital world

UPC FINALLY READY TO LAUNCHProponents of a new unified patent system will need to be patient a little longer but it seems that the wheels will finally be set in motion (again) in 2020 The goal Having an operational system in 2021

Judging by press coverage the biggest hurdle to the UKrsquos ratification of the system in 2016 seemed to be the Brexit vote in June but the real game changer turned out to be Germany In 2017 Germany suspended its ratification process as it waited for the Federal Constitutional Court to decide whether German UPC legislation is compatible with the German Constitution While the case was meant to be decided in 2018 and then 2019 this did not happen In November 2019 however the rapporteur in the case made an unofficial statement in an interview that he intends to issue a decision in early 2020

If the court accepts incompatibility a further delay or ndash dare we say it ndash the end of the new system is inevitable If incompatibility is rejected the UPC launch will depend on how the German government responds and of course on Brexit

16

EXPERTS

What is the UPCThe Unified Patent Court (UPC UPC system) will be a supranational court specialised in patent litigation cases Subject to exceptions during a transitional period it will exclusively hear cases involving European patents and European patents with unitary effect (unitary patents are to take effect in all UPC member states) The system will come into effect four months after the Unified Patent Court Agreement is signed and ratified by several EU member states including Germany and the UK (their ratification is a prerequisite)

The future of the UPC system is in the hands of the UK and Germany

Should the German government give the green light the head of the UPC Preparatory Committee predicts that the UPC system will enter into effect shortly after A provisional application phase will then start within a short timeframe to ensure a smooth transition into the operational phase before the actual launch of the UPC a couple of months later Although the future of the new system is still uncertain we do know that its impact would be huge Interested parties especially patentees should continue preparing for the UPCrsquos arrival This means considering any future patent filing strategies ndash unitary patents European bundle patents andor national patents ndash and paying attention to the opt-out route

FRANDIf one or more patents claim technology involved with the standard ndash known as a standard essential patent (SEP) - the patent holder may have a dominant position on the market and may breach competition rules by enforcing its patents by requesting an injunction or recall SEP holders must therefore commit themselves to being prepared to licence their essential patents to other market players on fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms

Since the ECJrsquos landmark 2015 decision in HuaweiZTE - providing guidance on the enforcement of essential patents and competition law - litigation on the licensing of SEPs has increased in Europe and is expected to continue to be a hot topic in 2020 It will be interesting to see how the interpretation of the ECJrsquos ruling plays out in different EU member states

While case law on FRAND is being created at a frenetic pace throughout various European jurisdictions it is currently too sparse to reveal any conclusive jurisdictional trends What is clear is that member states vary in what they emphasise about FRAND commitment This could mean that it is merely a matter of time before the ECJ is asked to elaborate on its position With several rulings lined up for 2020 it is bound to be an exciting year

What is an SEPA patent can be marked as an SEP if it relates to technical specificati-on adopted by a recognised standardisation body for repeated or continuous application with which compliance is not compulso-ry Standardisation is a pheno-menon mostly seen in the fast-de-veloping telecommunications sector In order to promote interoperability of devices ndash such as smartphones laptops tablets but also cars ndash those should ideally use the same standards for certain technologies and functionalities Examples are the 3G (UMTS) 4G (LTE) 5G WiFi and USB standards

What is the provisional application phasePart of this phase is the ldquosunrise periodrdquo for opting out European patents before the UPC starts operating Patentees will be able to exclude their existing European patents and applications from the UPCrsquos exclusive jurisdiction For more information about the sunrise period and opting out your patents click here

17

Position of the UKThe UK has already completed ratification marking its intention to be a party to the UPC system Recently the European Parliament Think Tank published an in-depth analysis on possible UPC scenarios in the case of Brexit with or without a proper withdrawal agreement It concluded that - some legal challenges aside mainly that the UPC will apply EU law and be bound by ECJ decisions - the UK can be part of the UPC system even if it leaves the EU In a UK press release this month however the UK Prime Minister made clear that ldquoany future partnership must not involve any kind of alignment or ECJ jurisdictionrdquo which might indicate their intention to not be party to the UPC system after allrdquo

Different FRAND regimes across Europe might require ECJ guidance

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

All eyes are on the UK Supreme Courtrsquos imminent ruling in Unwired PlanetHuawei which concerns a global licence In the earlier decision the court of appeal confirmed that the UK courts could determine the terms of a global FRAND licence and grant an injunction for the UK subject to the implementer not accepting such terms Huawei challenged the imposition of a global licence on terms set by a national court The eagerly awaited Supreme Court ruling is bound to turn heads and shed some light on the competency of national courts in global licence disputes

Other cases to watch are the enforcement campaigns of Philips against a number of parties implementing patents from Philipsrsquo 3G 4G patent portfolio Philips is enforcing its portfolio at different courts across Europe and this may provide insight into how different jurisdictions interpret the ECJrsquos 2015 landmark decision Philips for example obtained a number of injunctions (against Asus in May and December 2019 against Wiko in July and December 2019) at the Court of Appeal of The Hague against Wiko and Asus in the Netherlands emphasising the responsibility of implementers of SEPs to be a ldquowilling licenseerdquo Both Wiko and Asus took these cases to the Dutch Supreme Court so this year we may also expect a first decision on FRAND at that level If a ruling should be made wersquoll find out if it agrees with the court of appealrsquos approach In PhilipsWiko a parallel case in Germany the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe was much stricter to Philips as an SEP holder and denied an injunction Recognising that the decision deviates from the Higher Regional Court of Duumlsseldorf ruling it allowed an appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice This is especially interesting since another German court the Mannheim Regional Court in the meantime granted Sisvel an injunction against Wiko thereby following a similar approach as the Dutch courts with respect to FRAND

For the same reasons the Sisvel cases are ones to watch Like Philips Sisvel is involved in a number of cases against multiple parties across Europe regarding its portfolio of essential patents for mobile technologies The cases will shed more light on the extent to which SEPs can be enforced in preliminary injunction proceedings An oral hearing about this question at The Court of Appeal of The Hague is scheduled for February 2020

DSM IMPACT EXPECTEDWith an implementation deadline of 7 June 2021 2020 is likely to be dominated ndash at least from a soft IP community perspective - by the implementation of the directive on copyright in the digital single market (DSM)

As the directive introduces quite a few controversial measures it will be interesting to see how member states will wriggle their way into implementing those in their national regimes The most controversial measures are commonly referred to as the ldquoupload filterrdquo and the ldquolink taxrdquo For more information about these controversial measures click here There is a risk that because the member states hold different views on certain topics ndash including after adoption of the directive ndash there will be diverging implementation at the national levels

In May 2019 Poland brought an action before the ECJ asking the court to annul part of the directiversquos article 17 on the much-debated ldquoupload filterrdquo or even annul the entire article Poland argues that the article infringes the right to freedom of expression and information Other pending cases at the ECJ level are Youtube and Elsevier where the German Federal Court of Justice has requested preliminary rulings The ECJ has joined the cases which centre on the position of internet video platform operators and shared hosting service operators who make content protected by copyright publicly accessible The answers by the ECJ will undoubtedly impact the existing framework under the new directive as the ECJ has requested the parties to address the directiversquos upload filter wording In addition the Dutch Supreme Court has referred questions on the position of a Usenet provider (offering a platform for news groups on which users can post messages and are able to upload content) to the ECJ in BREINNSE

Why a DSM DirectiveThis directive aims to update copyright rules for the 21st century Most copyright rules pre-date the internet and are not well-suited to deal with todayrsquos issues This directive improves protection for copyright holders by creating instruments to monetise their work used by information society service providers and to consequently stimulate the creative industry It also safeguards the use of copyright-protected works for private and scientific or educational purposes For more information on the directiversquos impact click here

Adoption of controversial directive does not end the heated debate on the position of information society

service providers

Regulatory amp Criminal EnforcementInvestment ManagementFinancial InstitutionsCorporate AdvisoryCapital MarketsFields of expertise

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2020 LEGAL ENTITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TO BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT

EXPERTS

UBO REGISTER ndash WHAT WILL LEGAL ENTITIES HAVE TO DOThe UBO register is expected to take effect in the Netherlands in early spring 2020 Listed companies are exempt from registering their UBO in the register as are direct or indirect 100 subsidiaries of listed companies To take advantage of this exemption it may be necessary to file an application with the Dutch Trade Register

Existing legal entities must register their UBO within 18 months after introduction of the UBO register Newly incorporated legal entities must register their UBO when they first apply to the Dutch Trade Register for registration of their business

As from the date of implementation of the UBO register all AML institutions ndash to include banks and lawyers ndash must report any inconsistencies between their CDD records and the data included in the UBO registration to the Dutch Trade Register

REGISTRATION FOR UBOS OF TRUSTS AND FUNDS FOR JOINT ACCOUNT In 2020 a new bill will be introduced to create a UBO register for trusts and ldquofunds for joint accountrdquo Although the concept of ldquoa trustrdquo as a legal entity is not recognised in Dutch law if the trust is the legal owner of real estate in the Netherlands or if the trustee is a Dutch legal entity registration might still be necessary

NEW EUROPEAN AML DIREC-TIVESThe AML Act 2020 will implement the terms of the 5th AML Directives by introducing a registration requirement for the providers of virtual currencies The act may also include stricter rules on AML-related penalties for natural persons and extend the liability of legal persons as set out in the 6th AML Directive

PLANS FOR AML-RELATED EX-CHANGE OF INFORMATION The Dutch government is proposing that ldquoAML Institutionsrdquo exchange information with similar institutions ndash for example banks with banks ndash in relation to enhanced client due diligence and the reporting of unusual transactions The proposals would also enable AML institutions to outsource transaction monitoring to third parties if these arrangements are based on a written agreement

GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONSThere are plans to introduce a publication requirement for donations of EUR 15000 or above (in cash or in kind) made to social organisations foundations associations church organisations and foreign equivalents if they have long-term activities in the Netherlands The objective is to make donations to these social organisations more transparent and to prevent any undesirable influence from abroad via these types of cash-flows

If these proposals become law the social organisation will have to publish an annual overview of donations received including the name and address of the donor and the amount of the donation on its website

19

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

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Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 11: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD AGAINST UNFAIR COMPETITION FROM OUTSIDE EU A LOOK AHEAD AT 2020

Against the background of existing tensions in global trade an open economy like the EUrsquos internal market can be vulnerable to unfair competition by companies operating in countries outside the EU that tend to have a more protectionist industrial policy Although the WTO system aims to prevent barriers to trade and to eliminate discriminatory treatment in international commerce the European Commission has nevertheless announced that it will develop its own level playing field rules as a back-up plan against harmful competition by companies which are owned by third countries or are heavily state-subsidised These companies may undermine the level playing field in Europe where they use the subsidies or monopoly profits to artificially undercut prices when selling in the EU - while European businesses are generally restricted from receiving state aid or abusing their dominant position

NO WORDLWIDE STATE AID RULES The European Commission has put the development of this back-up plan on its action list for the new term The first result has been made at WTO level The EU recently agreed with the US and Japan to extend the list of prohibited subsidies The list includes (i) subsidies with unlimited guarantees (ii) subsidies to either insolvent or ailing companies without credible

restructuring plans or to companies which are unable to attract market investments or financing and (iv) certain direct forgiveness of debt EU state aid rules also prohibited more than only direct subsidies While this extension more closely resembles EU state aid rules it does not lead to harmonisation of state aid rules on a worldwide level It appears that more instruments are needed to prevent harmful competition by third country state owned or are state-subsidised companies

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTRUMENTThe Commissionrsquos plans if adopted

will result in the creation of a new level playing field instrument in the EU There seem to be many ideas as to what this instrument should look like but with the sense of growing urgency EU bodies and members states are looking to make changes The Dutch government has recently called on the Commission to introduce a level playing field instrument at the EU level It advocates preventing unfair competition by state-owned companies or by companies established in third countries but benefiting from a ldquohome staterdquo That is markets which shield these companies from competition and from state aid rules similar to those in

12

the EU Companies may for example use their subsidies and monopoly profits to set lower prices in the EU as compared to a company operating in a regular competitive market environment In the short term this could lead to lower prices for EU consumers but in the long run it leads to less competition and weakens industries within the EU

The level playing field instrument proposed by the Dutch government is not based on dominance or state aid Instead it is based on the lack of market regulation in the home state similar to EU competition rules If home

state market regulation is proven deficient the European Commission can impose behavioural remedies The Dutch government has suggested that it could require the third-country company to maintain a separate and transparent administrative system to monitor its activities in the EU By doing so it would be possible to prevent cross-subsidies from state aidmonopoly profits received in its home-state market to keep the prices in the EU low

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTSA level playing field instrument would complement existing rules on the

control of foreign direct investments (FDI) In 2019 EU member states (see also our Best Friendrsquos summary and guide) adopted a regulation establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments Member states have to start enforcing that regulation as of 11 October 2020 While the regulation only provides for minimum harmonisation member states are expected to include additional measures in their national legislation For example the Dutch government has announced an additional notification and screening system of takeovers where these concern vital infrastructure or technology affecting national security It has also proposed review measures concerning takeovers in the telecom sector with the possibility to prohibit a takeover should national security or public order be jeopardised Some larger European economies have recently tightened FDI screening rules France in mid-2019 Germany at the end of 2018 and the UK in mid-2018

These developments are the result of broader trade tensions between countries especially the US and China An in-depth interview with Marlies Heemskerk ndash de Waard Maikel van Wissen Yi Duan and James Wang about these developments can be found on page 10-11 (click previous page)

13

EXPERTS

Mergers amp AcquisitionsInternational TradeCompetition amp RegulationFields of expertise

foreign investments and export controls curbing the transfer of sensitive technology to protect its national security This legislation is principally triggered by the rise of China as an economic world power China in response is preparing to introduce its own export control law which is entering the final stages of the legislative process In the EU we have also seen a shift to a harder stance by EU Member States towards foreign investments by non-EU parties

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE RELATIONSWe expect an increasing number of technologies to become subject to export licence requirements In addition licence applications for exports to destinations like China will be scrutinised or even denied The difference with export controls as we know them is that many of the relevant technologies are omnipresent nowadays meaning that restrictions to their export will have serious implications for international trade including for industries that were not previously affected by such restrictions This may have a significant impact on our clientsrsquo international production and worldwide supply chains

14

SECURITY CONCERNS AND STRATEGIC INTERESTS

Interstate strategic competition has led the US and the EU to be increasingly protective of their national security and strategic economic interests and this has a growing effect on international business Ample reason to ask our team of experts to gaze into their crystal ball and tell our clients how this may impact them in the years to come

WHAT IS INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND WHY IS IT SO RELEVANTInterstate strategic competition is about major world powers striving to consolidate and strengthen their position and their influence over other states The reason they do this is to protect their military and security interests as well as their economic and technological edge Over the past few years this competition has intensified As of late this is resulting in concrete legislative action directly affecting our clients

It should come as no surprise but the most pressing example is the trade war between the US and China which goes well beyond tariffs The US has already enacted and is currently further developing legislation imposing additional controls on

GROWING IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MampA

EXPERTS

The US is preparing to subject a whole range of ldquoemerging technologiesrdquo to licence requirements where it concerns export to certain destinations notably China Relevant technologies range from biotechnology to robotics and from artificial intelligence to microprocessor technology and beyond They really cover a broad range of high-tech industries The effect of the export control restrictions is not limited to US parties they also apply to other parties incorporating a certain percentage of US-controlled content in their own products

In the EU the discussion about subjecting these technologies to export controls is less advanced However the US will likely pressure the EU and other jurisdictions to adopt similar restrictions In fact the US is already pressuring the Netherlands to be much more reticent in granting licences for the export of certain technology to China

WHAT IS THE EFFECT ON INTERNATIONAL MampA TRANSACTIONSForeign investment controls may pose substantial restrictions to international MampA quite similar to classic merger control Increasingly clients may be required to file notifications with foreign investment review authorities which may impose mitigating conditions if a transaction is found to impact national security interests Unlike merger control filings where parties can perform detailed substantive analyses in advance foreign investment control filings are sometimes more challenging due to the broad rules and secrecy relating to national security concerns of the host countries

In the US foreign investment controls are already well established However the US is now substantially broadening the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) They will now be able to also review transactions resulting in a non-controlling stake and involving certain critical technology or infrastructure or sensitive data of US citizens

HOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND HOW IT MAY AFFECT YOUR BUSINESSWe are planning a dedicated master class on the topic on May 28 and 29 of this year We will cover both export and foreign investment controls and their effect on international trade and MampA including US and EU as well as Chinese law developments And naturally clients who want to discuss the topic are most welcome to contact us

Foreign investment controls are gaining traction in the EU as well After the prohibition of the SiemensAlstom merger Germany and France have publicly called upon the Commission to overhaul its merger control policies to take into account unfair competition from state backed companies from China and other non-EU countries In March 2019 the EU introduced the Foreign Investment Framework Regulation The regulation primarily provides for certain procedural safeguards but it remains for the member states to design and operate their substantive foreign investment controls In many member states these are still developing The Netherlands for example has no overarching legal framework regulating foreign investments but a bill to prevent undesirable control over our telecommunications sector is pending

Some of the US legislation we referred to notably regarding foreign investment controls is set to go into effect this year As to export controls this may take a bit longer but clients would be well advised to closely monitor the developments before they take effect EU developments are more steady but the trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

15

The trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

NEW DECADE BRINGS CHANGES TO PATENT AND COPYRIGHT REGIMES AT EUROPEAN LEVELALL EYES ON UNIFIED PATENT COURT CHANGING FRAND LANDSCAPE AND COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

2020 will see us inching closer to the launch (or end) of the Unified Patent Court and the creation of a new unitary patents system In addition we might have more clarity on how member states interpret the 2015 European Court of Justice ruling on standard essential patents Finally EU member states will need to start paying serious attention to how they will implement the new European rules for adapting their national copyright law systems to the digital world

UPC FINALLY READY TO LAUNCHProponents of a new unified patent system will need to be patient a little longer but it seems that the wheels will finally be set in motion (again) in 2020 The goal Having an operational system in 2021

Judging by press coverage the biggest hurdle to the UKrsquos ratification of the system in 2016 seemed to be the Brexit vote in June but the real game changer turned out to be Germany In 2017 Germany suspended its ratification process as it waited for the Federal Constitutional Court to decide whether German UPC legislation is compatible with the German Constitution While the case was meant to be decided in 2018 and then 2019 this did not happen In November 2019 however the rapporteur in the case made an unofficial statement in an interview that he intends to issue a decision in early 2020

If the court accepts incompatibility a further delay or ndash dare we say it ndash the end of the new system is inevitable If incompatibility is rejected the UPC launch will depend on how the German government responds and of course on Brexit

16

EXPERTS

What is the UPCThe Unified Patent Court (UPC UPC system) will be a supranational court specialised in patent litigation cases Subject to exceptions during a transitional period it will exclusively hear cases involving European patents and European patents with unitary effect (unitary patents are to take effect in all UPC member states) The system will come into effect four months after the Unified Patent Court Agreement is signed and ratified by several EU member states including Germany and the UK (their ratification is a prerequisite)

The future of the UPC system is in the hands of the UK and Germany

Should the German government give the green light the head of the UPC Preparatory Committee predicts that the UPC system will enter into effect shortly after A provisional application phase will then start within a short timeframe to ensure a smooth transition into the operational phase before the actual launch of the UPC a couple of months later Although the future of the new system is still uncertain we do know that its impact would be huge Interested parties especially patentees should continue preparing for the UPCrsquos arrival This means considering any future patent filing strategies ndash unitary patents European bundle patents andor national patents ndash and paying attention to the opt-out route

FRANDIf one or more patents claim technology involved with the standard ndash known as a standard essential patent (SEP) - the patent holder may have a dominant position on the market and may breach competition rules by enforcing its patents by requesting an injunction or recall SEP holders must therefore commit themselves to being prepared to licence their essential patents to other market players on fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms

Since the ECJrsquos landmark 2015 decision in HuaweiZTE - providing guidance on the enforcement of essential patents and competition law - litigation on the licensing of SEPs has increased in Europe and is expected to continue to be a hot topic in 2020 It will be interesting to see how the interpretation of the ECJrsquos ruling plays out in different EU member states

While case law on FRAND is being created at a frenetic pace throughout various European jurisdictions it is currently too sparse to reveal any conclusive jurisdictional trends What is clear is that member states vary in what they emphasise about FRAND commitment This could mean that it is merely a matter of time before the ECJ is asked to elaborate on its position With several rulings lined up for 2020 it is bound to be an exciting year

What is an SEPA patent can be marked as an SEP if it relates to technical specificati-on adopted by a recognised standardisation body for repeated or continuous application with which compliance is not compulso-ry Standardisation is a pheno-menon mostly seen in the fast-de-veloping telecommunications sector In order to promote interoperability of devices ndash such as smartphones laptops tablets but also cars ndash those should ideally use the same standards for certain technologies and functionalities Examples are the 3G (UMTS) 4G (LTE) 5G WiFi and USB standards

What is the provisional application phasePart of this phase is the ldquosunrise periodrdquo for opting out European patents before the UPC starts operating Patentees will be able to exclude their existing European patents and applications from the UPCrsquos exclusive jurisdiction For more information about the sunrise period and opting out your patents click here

17

Position of the UKThe UK has already completed ratification marking its intention to be a party to the UPC system Recently the European Parliament Think Tank published an in-depth analysis on possible UPC scenarios in the case of Brexit with or without a proper withdrawal agreement It concluded that - some legal challenges aside mainly that the UPC will apply EU law and be bound by ECJ decisions - the UK can be part of the UPC system even if it leaves the EU In a UK press release this month however the UK Prime Minister made clear that ldquoany future partnership must not involve any kind of alignment or ECJ jurisdictionrdquo which might indicate their intention to not be party to the UPC system after allrdquo

Different FRAND regimes across Europe might require ECJ guidance

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

All eyes are on the UK Supreme Courtrsquos imminent ruling in Unwired PlanetHuawei which concerns a global licence In the earlier decision the court of appeal confirmed that the UK courts could determine the terms of a global FRAND licence and grant an injunction for the UK subject to the implementer not accepting such terms Huawei challenged the imposition of a global licence on terms set by a national court The eagerly awaited Supreme Court ruling is bound to turn heads and shed some light on the competency of national courts in global licence disputes

Other cases to watch are the enforcement campaigns of Philips against a number of parties implementing patents from Philipsrsquo 3G 4G patent portfolio Philips is enforcing its portfolio at different courts across Europe and this may provide insight into how different jurisdictions interpret the ECJrsquos 2015 landmark decision Philips for example obtained a number of injunctions (against Asus in May and December 2019 against Wiko in July and December 2019) at the Court of Appeal of The Hague against Wiko and Asus in the Netherlands emphasising the responsibility of implementers of SEPs to be a ldquowilling licenseerdquo Both Wiko and Asus took these cases to the Dutch Supreme Court so this year we may also expect a first decision on FRAND at that level If a ruling should be made wersquoll find out if it agrees with the court of appealrsquos approach In PhilipsWiko a parallel case in Germany the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe was much stricter to Philips as an SEP holder and denied an injunction Recognising that the decision deviates from the Higher Regional Court of Duumlsseldorf ruling it allowed an appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice This is especially interesting since another German court the Mannheim Regional Court in the meantime granted Sisvel an injunction against Wiko thereby following a similar approach as the Dutch courts with respect to FRAND

For the same reasons the Sisvel cases are ones to watch Like Philips Sisvel is involved in a number of cases against multiple parties across Europe regarding its portfolio of essential patents for mobile technologies The cases will shed more light on the extent to which SEPs can be enforced in preliminary injunction proceedings An oral hearing about this question at The Court of Appeal of The Hague is scheduled for February 2020

DSM IMPACT EXPECTEDWith an implementation deadline of 7 June 2021 2020 is likely to be dominated ndash at least from a soft IP community perspective - by the implementation of the directive on copyright in the digital single market (DSM)

As the directive introduces quite a few controversial measures it will be interesting to see how member states will wriggle their way into implementing those in their national regimes The most controversial measures are commonly referred to as the ldquoupload filterrdquo and the ldquolink taxrdquo For more information about these controversial measures click here There is a risk that because the member states hold different views on certain topics ndash including after adoption of the directive ndash there will be diverging implementation at the national levels

In May 2019 Poland brought an action before the ECJ asking the court to annul part of the directiversquos article 17 on the much-debated ldquoupload filterrdquo or even annul the entire article Poland argues that the article infringes the right to freedom of expression and information Other pending cases at the ECJ level are Youtube and Elsevier where the German Federal Court of Justice has requested preliminary rulings The ECJ has joined the cases which centre on the position of internet video platform operators and shared hosting service operators who make content protected by copyright publicly accessible The answers by the ECJ will undoubtedly impact the existing framework under the new directive as the ECJ has requested the parties to address the directiversquos upload filter wording In addition the Dutch Supreme Court has referred questions on the position of a Usenet provider (offering a platform for news groups on which users can post messages and are able to upload content) to the ECJ in BREINNSE

Why a DSM DirectiveThis directive aims to update copyright rules for the 21st century Most copyright rules pre-date the internet and are not well-suited to deal with todayrsquos issues This directive improves protection for copyright holders by creating instruments to monetise their work used by information society service providers and to consequently stimulate the creative industry It also safeguards the use of copyright-protected works for private and scientific or educational purposes For more information on the directiversquos impact click here

Adoption of controversial directive does not end the heated debate on the position of information society

service providers

Regulatory amp Criminal EnforcementInvestment ManagementFinancial InstitutionsCorporate AdvisoryCapital MarketsFields of expertise

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2020 LEGAL ENTITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TO BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT

EXPERTS

UBO REGISTER ndash WHAT WILL LEGAL ENTITIES HAVE TO DOThe UBO register is expected to take effect in the Netherlands in early spring 2020 Listed companies are exempt from registering their UBO in the register as are direct or indirect 100 subsidiaries of listed companies To take advantage of this exemption it may be necessary to file an application with the Dutch Trade Register

Existing legal entities must register their UBO within 18 months after introduction of the UBO register Newly incorporated legal entities must register their UBO when they first apply to the Dutch Trade Register for registration of their business

As from the date of implementation of the UBO register all AML institutions ndash to include banks and lawyers ndash must report any inconsistencies between their CDD records and the data included in the UBO registration to the Dutch Trade Register

REGISTRATION FOR UBOS OF TRUSTS AND FUNDS FOR JOINT ACCOUNT In 2020 a new bill will be introduced to create a UBO register for trusts and ldquofunds for joint accountrdquo Although the concept of ldquoa trustrdquo as a legal entity is not recognised in Dutch law if the trust is the legal owner of real estate in the Netherlands or if the trustee is a Dutch legal entity registration might still be necessary

NEW EUROPEAN AML DIREC-TIVESThe AML Act 2020 will implement the terms of the 5th AML Directives by introducing a registration requirement for the providers of virtual currencies The act may also include stricter rules on AML-related penalties for natural persons and extend the liability of legal persons as set out in the 6th AML Directive

PLANS FOR AML-RELATED EX-CHANGE OF INFORMATION The Dutch government is proposing that ldquoAML Institutionsrdquo exchange information with similar institutions ndash for example banks with banks ndash in relation to enhanced client due diligence and the reporting of unusual transactions The proposals would also enable AML institutions to outsource transaction monitoring to third parties if these arrangements are based on a written agreement

GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONSThere are plans to introduce a publication requirement for donations of EUR 15000 or above (in cash or in kind) made to social organisations foundations associations church organisations and foreign equivalents if they have long-term activities in the Netherlands The objective is to make donations to these social organisations more transparent and to prevent any undesirable influence from abroad via these types of cash-flows

If these proposals become law the social organisation will have to publish an annual overview of donations received including the name and address of the donor and the amount of the donation on its website

19

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 12: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

the EU Companies may for example use their subsidies and monopoly profits to set lower prices in the EU as compared to a company operating in a regular competitive market environment In the short term this could lead to lower prices for EU consumers but in the long run it leads to less competition and weakens industries within the EU

The level playing field instrument proposed by the Dutch government is not based on dominance or state aid Instead it is based on the lack of market regulation in the home state similar to EU competition rules If home

state market regulation is proven deficient the European Commission can impose behavioural remedies The Dutch government has suggested that it could require the third-country company to maintain a separate and transparent administrative system to monitor its activities in the EU By doing so it would be possible to prevent cross-subsidies from state aidmonopoly profits received in its home-state market to keep the prices in the EU low

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTSA level playing field instrument would complement existing rules on the

control of foreign direct investments (FDI) In 2019 EU member states (see also our Best Friendrsquos summary and guide) adopted a regulation establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments Member states have to start enforcing that regulation as of 11 October 2020 While the regulation only provides for minimum harmonisation member states are expected to include additional measures in their national legislation For example the Dutch government has announced an additional notification and screening system of takeovers where these concern vital infrastructure or technology affecting national security It has also proposed review measures concerning takeovers in the telecom sector with the possibility to prohibit a takeover should national security or public order be jeopardised Some larger European economies have recently tightened FDI screening rules France in mid-2019 Germany at the end of 2018 and the UK in mid-2018

These developments are the result of broader trade tensions between countries especially the US and China An in-depth interview with Marlies Heemskerk ndash de Waard Maikel van Wissen Yi Duan and James Wang about these developments can be found on page 10-11 (click previous page)

13

EXPERTS

Mergers amp AcquisitionsInternational TradeCompetition amp RegulationFields of expertise

foreign investments and export controls curbing the transfer of sensitive technology to protect its national security This legislation is principally triggered by the rise of China as an economic world power China in response is preparing to introduce its own export control law which is entering the final stages of the legislative process In the EU we have also seen a shift to a harder stance by EU Member States towards foreign investments by non-EU parties

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE RELATIONSWe expect an increasing number of technologies to become subject to export licence requirements In addition licence applications for exports to destinations like China will be scrutinised or even denied The difference with export controls as we know them is that many of the relevant technologies are omnipresent nowadays meaning that restrictions to their export will have serious implications for international trade including for industries that were not previously affected by such restrictions This may have a significant impact on our clientsrsquo international production and worldwide supply chains

14

SECURITY CONCERNS AND STRATEGIC INTERESTS

Interstate strategic competition has led the US and the EU to be increasingly protective of their national security and strategic economic interests and this has a growing effect on international business Ample reason to ask our team of experts to gaze into their crystal ball and tell our clients how this may impact them in the years to come

WHAT IS INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND WHY IS IT SO RELEVANTInterstate strategic competition is about major world powers striving to consolidate and strengthen their position and their influence over other states The reason they do this is to protect their military and security interests as well as their economic and technological edge Over the past few years this competition has intensified As of late this is resulting in concrete legislative action directly affecting our clients

It should come as no surprise but the most pressing example is the trade war between the US and China which goes well beyond tariffs The US has already enacted and is currently further developing legislation imposing additional controls on

GROWING IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MampA

EXPERTS

The US is preparing to subject a whole range of ldquoemerging technologiesrdquo to licence requirements where it concerns export to certain destinations notably China Relevant technologies range from biotechnology to robotics and from artificial intelligence to microprocessor technology and beyond They really cover a broad range of high-tech industries The effect of the export control restrictions is not limited to US parties they also apply to other parties incorporating a certain percentage of US-controlled content in their own products

In the EU the discussion about subjecting these technologies to export controls is less advanced However the US will likely pressure the EU and other jurisdictions to adopt similar restrictions In fact the US is already pressuring the Netherlands to be much more reticent in granting licences for the export of certain technology to China

WHAT IS THE EFFECT ON INTERNATIONAL MampA TRANSACTIONSForeign investment controls may pose substantial restrictions to international MampA quite similar to classic merger control Increasingly clients may be required to file notifications with foreign investment review authorities which may impose mitigating conditions if a transaction is found to impact national security interests Unlike merger control filings where parties can perform detailed substantive analyses in advance foreign investment control filings are sometimes more challenging due to the broad rules and secrecy relating to national security concerns of the host countries

In the US foreign investment controls are already well established However the US is now substantially broadening the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) They will now be able to also review transactions resulting in a non-controlling stake and involving certain critical technology or infrastructure or sensitive data of US citizens

HOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND HOW IT MAY AFFECT YOUR BUSINESSWe are planning a dedicated master class on the topic on May 28 and 29 of this year We will cover both export and foreign investment controls and their effect on international trade and MampA including US and EU as well as Chinese law developments And naturally clients who want to discuss the topic are most welcome to contact us

Foreign investment controls are gaining traction in the EU as well After the prohibition of the SiemensAlstom merger Germany and France have publicly called upon the Commission to overhaul its merger control policies to take into account unfair competition from state backed companies from China and other non-EU countries In March 2019 the EU introduced the Foreign Investment Framework Regulation The regulation primarily provides for certain procedural safeguards but it remains for the member states to design and operate their substantive foreign investment controls In many member states these are still developing The Netherlands for example has no overarching legal framework regulating foreign investments but a bill to prevent undesirable control over our telecommunications sector is pending

Some of the US legislation we referred to notably regarding foreign investment controls is set to go into effect this year As to export controls this may take a bit longer but clients would be well advised to closely monitor the developments before they take effect EU developments are more steady but the trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

15

The trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

NEW DECADE BRINGS CHANGES TO PATENT AND COPYRIGHT REGIMES AT EUROPEAN LEVELALL EYES ON UNIFIED PATENT COURT CHANGING FRAND LANDSCAPE AND COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

2020 will see us inching closer to the launch (or end) of the Unified Patent Court and the creation of a new unitary patents system In addition we might have more clarity on how member states interpret the 2015 European Court of Justice ruling on standard essential patents Finally EU member states will need to start paying serious attention to how they will implement the new European rules for adapting their national copyright law systems to the digital world

UPC FINALLY READY TO LAUNCHProponents of a new unified patent system will need to be patient a little longer but it seems that the wheels will finally be set in motion (again) in 2020 The goal Having an operational system in 2021

Judging by press coverage the biggest hurdle to the UKrsquos ratification of the system in 2016 seemed to be the Brexit vote in June but the real game changer turned out to be Germany In 2017 Germany suspended its ratification process as it waited for the Federal Constitutional Court to decide whether German UPC legislation is compatible with the German Constitution While the case was meant to be decided in 2018 and then 2019 this did not happen In November 2019 however the rapporteur in the case made an unofficial statement in an interview that he intends to issue a decision in early 2020

If the court accepts incompatibility a further delay or ndash dare we say it ndash the end of the new system is inevitable If incompatibility is rejected the UPC launch will depend on how the German government responds and of course on Brexit

16

EXPERTS

What is the UPCThe Unified Patent Court (UPC UPC system) will be a supranational court specialised in patent litigation cases Subject to exceptions during a transitional period it will exclusively hear cases involving European patents and European patents with unitary effect (unitary patents are to take effect in all UPC member states) The system will come into effect four months after the Unified Patent Court Agreement is signed and ratified by several EU member states including Germany and the UK (their ratification is a prerequisite)

The future of the UPC system is in the hands of the UK and Germany

Should the German government give the green light the head of the UPC Preparatory Committee predicts that the UPC system will enter into effect shortly after A provisional application phase will then start within a short timeframe to ensure a smooth transition into the operational phase before the actual launch of the UPC a couple of months later Although the future of the new system is still uncertain we do know that its impact would be huge Interested parties especially patentees should continue preparing for the UPCrsquos arrival This means considering any future patent filing strategies ndash unitary patents European bundle patents andor national patents ndash and paying attention to the opt-out route

FRANDIf one or more patents claim technology involved with the standard ndash known as a standard essential patent (SEP) - the patent holder may have a dominant position on the market and may breach competition rules by enforcing its patents by requesting an injunction or recall SEP holders must therefore commit themselves to being prepared to licence their essential patents to other market players on fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms

Since the ECJrsquos landmark 2015 decision in HuaweiZTE - providing guidance on the enforcement of essential patents and competition law - litigation on the licensing of SEPs has increased in Europe and is expected to continue to be a hot topic in 2020 It will be interesting to see how the interpretation of the ECJrsquos ruling plays out in different EU member states

While case law on FRAND is being created at a frenetic pace throughout various European jurisdictions it is currently too sparse to reveal any conclusive jurisdictional trends What is clear is that member states vary in what they emphasise about FRAND commitment This could mean that it is merely a matter of time before the ECJ is asked to elaborate on its position With several rulings lined up for 2020 it is bound to be an exciting year

What is an SEPA patent can be marked as an SEP if it relates to technical specificati-on adopted by a recognised standardisation body for repeated or continuous application with which compliance is not compulso-ry Standardisation is a pheno-menon mostly seen in the fast-de-veloping telecommunications sector In order to promote interoperability of devices ndash such as smartphones laptops tablets but also cars ndash those should ideally use the same standards for certain technologies and functionalities Examples are the 3G (UMTS) 4G (LTE) 5G WiFi and USB standards

What is the provisional application phasePart of this phase is the ldquosunrise periodrdquo for opting out European patents before the UPC starts operating Patentees will be able to exclude their existing European patents and applications from the UPCrsquos exclusive jurisdiction For more information about the sunrise period and opting out your patents click here

17

Position of the UKThe UK has already completed ratification marking its intention to be a party to the UPC system Recently the European Parliament Think Tank published an in-depth analysis on possible UPC scenarios in the case of Brexit with or without a proper withdrawal agreement It concluded that - some legal challenges aside mainly that the UPC will apply EU law and be bound by ECJ decisions - the UK can be part of the UPC system even if it leaves the EU In a UK press release this month however the UK Prime Minister made clear that ldquoany future partnership must not involve any kind of alignment or ECJ jurisdictionrdquo which might indicate their intention to not be party to the UPC system after allrdquo

Different FRAND regimes across Europe might require ECJ guidance

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

All eyes are on the UK Supreme Courtrsquos imminent ruling in Unwired PlanetHuawei which concerns a global licence In the earlier decision the court of appeal confirmed that the UK courts could determine the terms of a global FRAND licence and grant an injunction for the UK subject to the implementer not accepting such terms Huawei challenged the imposition of a global licence on terms set by a national court The eagerly awaited Supreme Court ruling is bound to turn heads and shed some light on the competency of national courts in global licence disputes

Other cases to watch are the enforcement campaigns of Philips against a number of parties implementing patents from Philipsrsquo 3G 4G patent portfolio Philips is enforcing its portfolio at different courts across Europe and this may provide insight into how different jurisdictions interpret the ECJrsquos 2015 landmark decision Philips for example obtained a number of injunctions (against Asus in May and December 2019 against Wiko in July and December 2019) at the Court of Appeal of The Hague against Wiko and Asus in the Netherlands emphasising the responsibility of implementers of SEPs to be a ldquowilling licenseerdquo Both Wiko and Asus took these cases to the Dutch Supreme Court so this year we may also expect a first decision on FRAND at that level If a ruling should be made wersquoll find out if it agrees with the court of appealrsquos approach In PhilipsWiko a parallel case in Germany the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe was much stricter to Philips as an SEP holder and denied an injunction Recognising that the decision deviates from the Higher Regional Court of Duumlsseldorf ruling it allowed an appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice This is especially interesting since another German court the Mannheim Regional Court in the meantime granted Sisvel an injunction against Wiko thereby following a similar approach as the Dutch courts with respect to FRAND

For the same reasons the Sisvel cases are ones to watch Like Philips Sisvel is involved in a number of cases against multiple parties across Europe regarding its portfolio of essential patents for mobile technologies The cases will shed more light on the extent to which SEPs can be enforced in preliminary injunction proceedings An oral hearing about this question at The Court of Appeal of The Hague is scheduled for February 2020

DSM IMPACT EXPECTEDWith an implementation deadline of 7 June 2021 2020 is likely to be dominated ndash at least from a soft IP community perspective - by the implementation of the directive on copyright in the digital single market (DSM)

As the directive introduces quite a few controversial measures it will be interesting to see how member states will wriggle their way into implementing those in their national regimes The most controversial measures are commonly referred to as the ldquoupload filterrdquo and the ldquolink taxrdquo For more information about these controversial measures click here There is a risk that because the member states hold different views on certain topics ndash including after adoption of the directive ndash there will be diverging implementation at the national levels

In May 2019 Poland brought an action before the ECJ asking the court to annul part of the directiversquos article 17 on the much-debated ldquoupload filterrdquo or even annul the entire article Poland argues that the article infringes the right to freedom of expression and information Other pending cases at the ECJ level are Youtube and Elsevier where the German Federal Court of Justice has requested preliminary rulings The ECJ has joined the cases which centre on the position of internet video platform operators and shared hosting service operators who make content protected by copyright publicly accessible The answers by the ECJ will undoubtedly impact the existing framework under the new directive as the ECJ has requested the parties to address the directiversquos upload filter wording In addition the Dutch Supreme Court has referred questions on the position of a Usenet provider (offering a platform for news groups on which users can post messages and are able to upload content) to the ECJ in BREINNSE

Why a DSM DirectiveThis directive aims to update copyright rules for the 21st century Most copyright rules pre-date the internet and are not well-suited to deal with todayrsquos issues This directive improves protection for copyright holders by creating instruments to monetise their work used by information society service providers and to consequently stimulate the creative industry It also safeguards the use of copyright-protected works for private and scientific or educational purposes For more information on the directiversquos impact click here

Adoption of controversial directive does not end the heated debate on the position of information society

service providers

Regulatory amp Criminal EnforcementInvestment ManagementFinancial InstitutionsCorporate AdvisoryCapital MarketsFields of expertise

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2020 LEGAL ENTITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TO BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT

EXPERTS

UBO REGISTER ndash WHAT WILL LEGAL ENTITIES HAVE TO DOThe UBO register is expected to take effect in the Netherlands in early spring 2020 Listed companies are exempt from registering their UBO in the register as are direct or indirect 100 subsidiaries of listed companies To take advantage of this exemption it may be necessary to file an application with the Dutch Trade Register

Existing legal entities must register their UBO within 18 months after introduction of the UBO register Newly incorporated legal entities must register their UBO when they first apply to the Dutch Trade Register for registration of their business

As from the date of implementation of the UBO register all AML institutions ndash to include banks and lawyers ndash must report any inconsistencies between their CDD records and the data included in the UBO registration to the Dutch Trade Register

REGISTRATION FOR UBOS OF TRUSTS AND FUNDS FOR JOINT ACCOUNT In 2020 a new bill will be introduced to create a UBO register for trusts and ldquofunds for joint accountrdquo Although the concept of ldquoa trustrdquo as a legal entity is not recognised in Dutch law if the trust is the legal owner of real estate in the Netherlands or if the trustee is a Dutch legal entity registration might still be necessary

NEW EUROPEAN AML DIREC-TIVESThe AML Act 2020 will implement the terms of the 5th AML Directives by introducing a registration requirement for the providers of virtual currencies The act may also include stricter rules on AML-related penalties for natural persons and extend the liability of legal persons as set out in the 6th AML Directive

PLANS FOR AML-RELATED EX-CHANGE OF INFORMATION The Dutch government is proposing that ldquoAML Institutionsrdquo exchange information with similar institutions ndash for example banks with banks ndash in relation to enhanced client due diligence and the reporting of unusual transactions The proposals would also enable AML institutions to outsource transaction monitoring to third parties if these arrangements are based on a written agreement

GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONSThere are plans to introduce a publication requirement for donations of EUR 15000 or above (in cash or in kind) made to social organisations foundations associations church organisations and foreign equivalents if they have long-term activities in the Netherlands The objective is to make donations to these social organisations more transparent and to prevent any undesirable influence from abroad via these types of cash-flows

If these proposals become law the social organisation will have to publish an annual overview of donations received including the name and address of the donor and the amount of the donation on its website

19

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 13: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

Mergers amp AcquisitionsInternational TradeCompetition amp RegulationFields of expertise

foreign investments and export controls curbing the transfer of sensitive technology to protect its national security This legislation is principally triggered by the rise of China as an economic world power China in response is preparing to introduce its own export control law which is entering the final stages of the legislative process In the EU we have also seen a shift to a harder stance by EU Member States towards foreign investments by non-EU parties

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE RELATIONSWe expect an increasing number of technologies to become subject to export licence requirements In addition licence applications for exports to destinations like China will be scrutinised or even denied The difference with export controls as we know them is that many of the relevant technologies are omnipresent nowadays meaning that restrictions to their export will have serious implications for international trade including for industries that were not previously affected by such restrictions This may have a significant impact on our clientsrsquo international production and worldwide supply chains

14

SECURITY CONCERNS AND STRATEGIC INTERESTS

Interstate strategic competition has led the US and the EU to be increasingly protective of their national security and strategic economic interests and this has a growing effect on international business Ample reason to ask our team of experts to gaze into their crystal ball and tell our clients how this may impact them in the years to come

WHAT IS INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND WHY IS IT SO RELEVANTInterstate strategic competition is about major world powers striving to consolidate and strengthen their position and their influence over other states The reason they do this is to protect their military and security interests as well as their economic and technological edge Over the past few years this competition has intensified As of late this is resulting in concrete legislative action directly affecting our clients

It should come as no surprise but the most pressing example is the trade war between the US and China which goes well beyond tariffs The US has already enacted and is currently further developing legislation imposing additional controls on

GROWING IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MampA

EXPERTS

The US is preparing to subject a whole range of ldquoemerging technologiesrdquo to licence requirements where it concerns export to certain destinations notably China Relevant technologies range from biotechnology to robotics and from artificial intelligence to microprocessor technology and beyond They really cover a broad range of high-tech industries The effect of the export control restrictions is not limited to US parties they also apply to other parties incorporating a certain percentage of US-controlled content in their own products

In the EU the discussion about subjecting these technologies to export controls is less advanced However the US will likely pressure the EU and other jurisdictions to adopt similar restrictions In fact the US is already pressuring the Netherlands to be much more reticent in granting licences for the export of certain technology to China

WHAT IS THE EFFECT ON INTERNATIONAL MampA TRANSACTIONSForeign investment controls may pose substantial restrictions to international MampA quite similar to classic merger control Increasingly clients may be required to file notifications with foreign investment review authorities which may impose mitigating conditions if a transaction is found to impact national security interests Unlike merger control filings where parties can perform detailed substantive analyses in advance foreign investment control filings are sometimes more challenging due to the broad rules and secrecy relating to national security concerns of the host countries

In the US foreign investment controls are already well established However the US is now substantially broadening the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) They will now be able to also review transactions resulting in a non-controlling stake and involving certain critical technology or infrastructure or sensitive data of US citizens

HOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND HOW IT MAY AFFECT YOUR BUSINESSWe are planning a dedicated master class on the topic on May 28 and 29 of this year We will cover both export and foreign investment controls and their effect on international trade and MampA including US and EU as well as Chinese law developments And naturally clients who want to discuss the topic are most welcome to contact us

Foreign investment controls are gaining traction in the EU as well After the prohibition of the SiemensAlstom merger Germany and France have publicly called upon the Commission to overhaul its merger control policies to take into account unfair competition from state backed companies from China and other non-EU countries In March 2019 the EU introduced the Foreign Investment Framework Regulation The regulation primarily provides for certain procedural safeguards but it remains for the member states to design and operate their substantive foreign investment controls In many member states these are still developing The Netherlands for example has no overarching legal framework regulating foreign investments but a bill to prevent undesirable control over our telecommunications sector is pending

Some of the US legislation we referred to notably regarding foreign investment controls is set to go into effect this year As to export controls this may take a bit longer but clients would be well advised to closely monitor the developments before they take effect EU developments are more steady but the trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

15

The trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

NEW DECADE BRINGS CHANGES TO PATENT AND COPYRIGHT REGIMES AT EUROPEAN LEVELALL EYES ON UNIFIED PATENT COURT CHANGING FRAND LANDSCAPE AND COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

2020 will see us inching closer to the launch (or end) of the Unified Patent Court and the creation of a new unitary patents system In addition we might have more clarity on how member states interpret the 2015 European Court of Justice ruling on standard essential patents Finally EU member states will need to start paying serious attention to how they will implement the new European rules for adapting their national copyright law systems to the digital world

UPC FINALLY READY TO LAUNCHProponents of a new unified patent system will need to be patient a little longer but it seems that the wheels will finally be set in motion (again) in 2020 The goal Having an operational system in 2021

Judging by press coverage the biggest hurdle to the UKrsquos ratification of the system in 2016 seemed to be the Brexit vote in June but the real game changer turned out to be Germany In 2017 Germany suspended its ratification process as it waited for the Federal Constitutional Court to decide whether German UPC legislation is compatible with the German Constitution While the case was meant to be decided in 2018 and then 2019 this did not happen In November 2019 however the rapporteur in the case made an unofficial statement in an interview that he intends to issue a decision in early 2020

If the court accepts incompatibility a further delay or ndash dare we say it ndash the end of the new system is inevitable If incompatibility is rejected the UPC launch will depend on how the German government responds and of course on Brexit

16

EXPERTS

What is the UPCThe Unified Patent Court (UPC UPC system) will be a supranational court specialised in patent litigation cases Subject to exceptions during a transitional period it will exclusively hear cases involving European patents and European patents with unitary effect (unitary patents are to take effect in all UPC member states) The system will come into effect four months after the Unified Patent Court Agreement is signed and ratified by several EU member states including Germany and the UK (their ratification is a prerequisite)

The future of the UPC system is in the hands of the UK and Germany

Should the German government give the green light the head of the UPC Preparatory Committee predicts that the UPC system will enter into effect shortly after A provisional application phase will then start within a short timeframe to ensure a smooth transition into the operational phase before the actual launch of the UPC a couple of months later Although the future of the new system is still uncertain we do know that its impact would be huge Interested parties especially patentees should continue preparing for the UPCrsquos arrival This means considering any future patent filing strategies ndash unitary patents European bundle patents andor national patents ndash and paying attention to the opt-out route

FRANDIf one or more patents claim technology involved with the standard ndash known as a standard essential patent (SEP) - the patent holder may have a dominant position on the market and may breach competition rules by enforcing its patents by requesting an injunction or recall SEP holders must therefore commit themselves to being prepared to licence their essential patents to other market players on fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms

Since the ECJrsquos landmark 2015 decision in HuaweiZTE - providing guidance on the enforcement of essential patents and competition law - litigation on the licensing of SEPs has increased in Europe and is expected to continue to be a hot topic in 2020 It will be interesting to see how the interpretation of the ECJrsquos ruling plays out in different EU member states

While case law on FRAND is being created at a frenetic pace throughout various European jurisdictions it is currently too sparse to reveal any conclusive jurisdictional trends What is clear is that member states vary in what they emphasise about FRAND commitment This could mean that it is merely a matter of time before the ECJ is asked to elaborate on its position With several rulings lined up for 2020 it is bound to be an exciting year

What is an SEPA patent can be marked as an SEP if it relates to technical specificati-on adopted by a recognised standardisation body for repeated or continuous application with which compliance is not compulso-ry Standardisation is a pheno-menon mostly seen in the fast-de-veloping telecommunications sector In order to promote interoperability of devices ndash such as smartphones laptops tablets but also cars ndash those should ideally use the same standards for certain technologies and functionalities Examples are the 3G (UMTS) 4G (LTE) 5G WiFi and USB standards

What is the provisional application phasePart of this phase is the ldquosunrise periodrdquo for opting out European patents before the UPC starts operating Patentees will be able to exclude their existing European patents and applications from the UPCrsquos exclusive jurisdiction For more information about the sunrise period and opting out your patents click here

17

Position of the UKThe UK has already completed ratification marking its intention to be a party to the UPC system Recently the European Parliament Think Tank published an in-depth analysis on possible UPC scenarios in the case of Brexit with or without a proper withdrawal agreement It concluded that - some legal challenges aside mainly that the UPC will apply EU law and be bound by ECJ decisions - the UK can be part of the UPC system even if it leaves the EU In a UK press release this month however the UK Prime Minister made clear that ldquoany future partnership must not involve any kind of alignment or ECJ jurisdictionrdquo which might indicate their intention to not be party to the UPC system after allrdquo

Different FRAND regimes across Europe might require ECJ guidance

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

All eyes are on the UK Supreme Courtrsquos imminent ruling in Unwired PlanetHuawei which concerns a global licence In the earlier decision the court of appeal confirmed that the UK courts could determine the terms of a global FRAND licence and grant an injunction for the UK subject to the implementer not accepting such terms Huawei challenged the imposition of a global licence on terms set by a national court The eagerly awaited Supreme Court ruling is bound to turn heads and shed some light on the competency of national courts in global licence disputes

Other cases to watch are the enforcement campaigns of Philips against a number of parties implementing patents from Philipsrsquo 3G 4G patent portfolio Philips is enforcing its portfolio at different courts across Europe and this may provide insight into how different jurisdictions interpret the ECJrsquos 2015 landmark decision Philips for example obtained a number of injunctions (against Asus in May and December 2019 against Wiko in July and December 2019) at the Court of Appeal of The Hague against Wiko and Asus in the Netherlands emphasising the responsibility of implementers of SEPs to be a ldquowilling licenseerdquo Both Wiko and Asus took these cases to the Dutch Supreme Court so this year we may also expect a first decision on FRAND at that level If a ruling should be made wersquoll find out if it agrees with the court of appealrsquos approach In PhilipsWiko a parallel case in Germany the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe was much stricter to Philips as an SEP holder and denied an injunction Recognising that the decision deviates from the Higher Regional Court of Duumlsseldorf ruling it allowed an appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice This is especially interesting since another German court the Mannheim Regional Court in the meantime granted Sisvel an injunction against Wiko thereby following a similar approach as the Dutch courts with respect to FRAND

For the same reasons the Sisvel cases are ones to watch Like Philips Sisvel is involved in a number of cases against multiple parties across Europe regarding its portfolio of essential patents for mobile technologies The cases will shed more light on the extent to which SEPs can be enforced in preliminary injunction proceedings An oral hearing about this question at The Court of Appeal of The Hague is scheduled for February 2020

DSM IMPACT EXPECTEDWith an implementation deadline of 7 June 2021 2020 is likely to be dominated ndash at least from a soft IP community perspective - by the implementation of the directive on copyright in the digital single market (DSM)

As the directive introduces quite a few controversial measures it will be interesting to see how member states will wriggle their way into implementing those in their national regimes The most controversial measures are commonly referred to as the ldquoupload filterrdquo and the ldquolink taxrdquo For more information about these controversial measures click here There is a risk that because the member states hold different views on certain topics ndash including after adoption of the directive ndash there will be diverging implementation at the national levels

In May 2019 Poland brought an action before the ECJ asking the court to annul part of the directiversquos article 17 on the much-debated ldquoupload filterrdquo or even annul the entire article Poland argues that the article infringes the right to freedom of expression and information Other pending cases at the ECJ level are Youtube and Elsevier where the German Federal Court of Justice has requested preliminary rulings The ECJ has joined the cases which centre on the position of internet video platform operators and shared hosting service operators who make content protected by copyright publicly accessible The answers by the ECJ will undoubtedly impact the existing framework under the new directive as the ECJ has requested the parties to address the directiversquos upload filter wording In addition the Dutch Supreme Court has referred questions on the position of a Usenet provider (offering a platform for news groups on which users can post messages and are able to upload content) to the ECJ in BREINNSE

Why a DSM DirectiveThis directive aims to update copyright rules for the 21st century Most copyright rules pre-date the internet and are not well-suited to deal with todayrsquos issues This directive improves protection for copyright holders by creating instruments to monetise their work used by information society service providers and to consequently stimulate the creative industry It also safeguards the use of copyright-protected works for private and scientific or educational purposes For more information on the directiversquos impact click here

Adoption of controversial directive does not end the heated debate on the position of information society

service providers

Regulatory amp Criminal EnforcementInvestment ManagementFinancial InstitutionsCorporate AdvisoryCapital MarketsFields of expertise

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2020 LEGAL ENTITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TO BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT

EXPERTS

UBO REGISTER ndash WHAT WILL LEGAL ENTITIES HAVE TO DOThe UBO register is expected to take effect in the Netherlands in early spring 2020 Listed companies are exempt from registering their UBO in the register as are direct or indirect 100 subsidiaries of listed companies To take advantage of this exemption it may be necessary to file an application with the Dutch Trade Register

Existing legal entities must register their UBO within 18 months after introduction of the UBO register Newly incorporated legal entities must register their UBO when they first apply to the Dutch Trade Register for registration of their business

As from the date of implementation of the UBO register all AML institutions ndash to include banks and lawyers ndash must report any inconsistencies between their CDD records and the data included in the UBO registration to the Dutch Trade Register

REGISTRATION FOR UBOS OF TRUSTS AND FUNDS FOR JOINT ACCOUNT In 2020 a new bill will be introduced to create a UBO register for trusts and ldquofunds for joint accountrdquo Although the concept of ldquoa trustrdquo as a legal entity is not recognised in Dutch law if the trust is the legal owner of real estate in the Netherlands or if the trustee is a Dutch legal entity registration might still be necessary

NEW EUROPEAN AML DIREC-TIVESThe AML Act 2020 will implement the terms of the 5th AML Directives by introducing a registration requirement for the providers of virtual currencies The act may also include stricter rules on AML-related penalties for natural persons and extend the liability of legal persons as set out in the 6th AML Directive

PLANS FOR AML-RELATED EX-CHANGE OF INFORMATION The Dutch government is proposing that ldquoAML Institutionsrdquo exchange information with similar institutions ndash for example banks with banks ndash in relation to enhanced client due diligence and the reporting of unusual transactions The proposals would also enable AML institutions to outsource transaction monitoring to third parties if these arrangements are based on a written agreement

GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONSThere are plans to introduce a publication requirement for donations of EUR 15000 or above (in cash or in kind) made to social organisations foundations associations church organisations and foreign equivalents if they have long-term activities in the Netherlands The objective is to make donations to these social organisations more transparent and to prevent any undesirable influence from abroad via these types of cash-flows

If these proposals become law the social organisation will have to publish an annual overview of donations received including the name and address of the donor and the amount of the donation on its website

19

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 14: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

The US is preparing to subject a whole range of ldquoemerging technologiesrdquo to licence requirements where it concerns export to certain destinations notably China Relevant technologies range from biotechnology to robotics and from artificial intelligence to microprocessor technology and beyond They really cover a broad range of high-tech industries The effect of the export control restrictions is not limited to US parties they also apply to other parties incorporating a certain percentage of US-controlled content in their own products

In the EU the discussion about subjecting these technologies to export controls is less advanced However the US will likely pressure the EU and other jurisdictions to adopt similar restrictions In fact the US is already pressuring the Netherlands to be much more reticent in granting licences for the export of certain technology to China

WHAT IS THE EFFECT ON INTERNATIONAL MampA TRANSACTIONSForeign investment controls may pose substantial restrictions to international MampA quite similar to classic merger control Increasingly clients may be required to file notifications with foreign investment review authorities which may impose mitigating conditions if a transaction is found to impact national security interests Unlike merger control filings where parties can perform detailed substantive analyses in advance foreign investment control filings are sometimes more challenging due to the broad rules and secrecy relating to national security concerns of the host countries

In the US foreign investment controls are already well established However the US is now substantially broadening the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) They will now be able to also review transactions resulting in a non-controlling stake and involving certain critical technology or infrastructure or sensitive data of US citizens

HOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT INTERSTATE STRATEGIC COMPETITION AND HOW IT MAY AFFECT YOUR BUSINESSWe are planning a dedicated master class on the topic on May 28 and 29 of this year We will cover both export and foreign investment controls and their effect on international trade and MampA including US and EU as well as Chinese law developments And naturally clients who want to discuss the topic are most welcome to contact us

Foreign investment controls are gaining traction in the EU as well After the prohibition of the SiemensAlstom merger Germany and France have publicly called upon the Commission to overhaul its merger control policies to take into account unfair competition from state backed companies from China and other non-EU countries In March 2019 the EU introduced the Foreign Investment Framework Regulation The regulation primarily provides for certain procedural safeguards but it remains for the member states to design and operate their substantive foreign investment controls In many member states these are still developing The Netherlands for example has no overarching legal framework regulating foreign investments but a bill to prevent undesirable control over our telecommunications sector is pending

Some of the US legislation we referred to notably regarding foreign investment controls is set to go into effect this year As to export controls this may take a bit longer but clients would be well advised to closely monitor the developments before they take effect EU developments are more steady but the trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

15

The trend is undeniably moving towards more restrictions on international trade and MampA and clients should expect to feel the effect in the next few years

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

NEW DECADE BRINGS CHANGES TO PATENT AND COPYRIGHT REGIMES AT EUROPEAN LEVELALL EYES ON UNIFIED PATENT COURT CHANGING FRAND LANDSCAPE AND COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

2020 will see us inching closer to the launch (or end) of the Unified Patent Court and the creation of a new unitary patents system In addition we might have more clarity on how member states interpret the 2015 European Court of Justice ruling on standard essential patents Finally EU member states will need to start paying serious attention to how they will implement the new European rules for adapting their national copyright law systems to the digital world

UPC FINALLY READY TO LAUNCHProponents of a new unified patent system will need to be patient a little longer but it seems that the wheels will finally be set in motion (again) in 2020 The goal Having an operational system in 2021

Judging by press coverage the biggest hurdle to the UKrsquos ratification of the system in 2016 seemed to be the Brexit vote in June but the real game changer turned out to be Germany In 2017 Germany suspended its ratification process as it waited for the Federal Constitutional Court to decide whether German UPC legislation is compatible with the German Constitution While the case was meant to be decided in 2018 and then 2019 this did not happen In November 2019 however the rapporteur in the case made an unofficial statement in an interview that he intends to issue a decision in early 2020

If the court accepts incompatibility a further delay or ndash dare we say it ndash the end of the new system is inevitable If incompatibility is rejected the UPC launch will depend on how the German government responds and of course on Brexit

16

EXPERTS

What is the UPCThe Unified Patent Court (UPC UPC system) will be a supranational court specialised in patent litigation cases Subject to exceptions during a transitional period it will exclusively hear cases involving European patents and European patents with unitary effect (unitary patents are to take effect in all UPC member states) The system will come into effect four months after the Unified Patent Court Agreement is signed and ratified by several EU member states including Germany and the UK (their ratification is a prerequisite)

The future of the UPC system is in the hands of the UK and Germany

Should the German government give the green light the head of the UPC Preparatory Committee predicts that the UPC system will enter into effect shortly after A provisional application phase will then start within a short timeframe to ensure a smooth transition into the operational phase before the actual launch of the UPC a couple of months later Although the future of the new system is still uncertain we do know that its impact would be huge Interested parties especially patentees should continue preparing for the UPCrsquos arrival This means considering any future patent filing strategies ndash unitary patents European bundle patents andor national patents ndash and paying attention to the opt-out route

FRANDIf one or more patents claim technology involved with the standard ndash known as a standard essential patent (SEP) - the patent holder may have a dominant position on the market and may breach competition rules by enforcing its patents by requesting an injunction or recall SEP holders must therefore commit themselves to being prepared to licence their essential patents to other market players on fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms

Since the ECJrsquos landmark 2015 decision in HuaweiZTE - providing guidance on the enforcement of essential patents and competition law - litigation on the licensing of SEPs has increased in Europe and is expected to continue to be a hot topic in 2020 It will be interesting to see how the interpretation of the ECJrsquos ruling plays out in different EU member states

While case law on FRAND is being created at a frenetic pace throughout various European jurisdictions it is currently too sparse to reveal any conclusive jurisdictional trends What is clear is that member states vary in what they emphasise about FRAND commitment This could mean that it is merely a matter of time before the ECJ is asked to elaborate on its position With several rulings lined up for 2020 it is bound to be an exciting year

What is an SEPA patent can be marked as an SEP if it relates to technical specificati-on adopted by a recognised standardisation body for repeated or continuous application with which compliance is not compulso-ry Standardisation is a pheno-menon mostly seen in the fast-de-veloping telecommunications sector In order to promote interoperability of devices ndash such as smartphones laptops tablets but also cars ndash those should ideally use the same standards for certain technologies and functionalities Examples are the 3G (UMTS) 4G (LTE) 5G WiFi and USB standards

What is the provisional application phasePart of this phase is the ldquosunrise periodrdquo for opting out European patents before the UPC starts operating Patentees will be able to exclude their existing European patents and applications from the UPCrsquos exclusive jurisdiction For more information about the sunrise period and opting out your patents click here

17

Position of the UKThe UK has already completed ratification marking its intention to be a party to the UPC system Recently the European Parliament Think Tank published an in-depth analysis on possible UPC scenarios in the case of Brexit with or without a proper withdrawal agreement It concluded that - some legal challenges aside mainly that the UPC will apply EU law and be bound by ECJ decisions - the UK can be part of the UPC system even if it leaves the EU In a UK press release this month however the UK Prime Minister made clear that ldquoany future partnership must not involve any kind of alignment or ECJ jurisdictionrdquo which might indicate their intention to not be party to the UPC system after allrdquo

Different FRAND regimes across Europe might require ECJ guidance

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

All eyes are on the UK Supreme Courtrsquos imminent ruling in Unwired PlanetHuawei which concerns a global licence In the earlier decision the court of appeal confirmed that the UK courts could determine the terms of a global FRAND licence and grant an injunction for the UK subject to the implementer not accepting such terms Huawei challenged the imposition of a global licence on terms set by a national court The eagerly awaited Supreme Court ruling is bound to turn heads and shed some light on the competency of national courts in global licence disputes

Other cases to watch are the enforcement campaigns of Philips against a number of parties implementing patents from Philipsrsquo 3G 4G patent portfolio Philips is enforcing its portfolio at different courts across Europe and this may provide insight into how different jurisdictions interpret the ECJrsquos 2015 landmark decision Philips for example obtained a number of injunctions (against Asus in May and December 2019 against Wiko in July and December 2019) at the Court of Appeal of The Hague against Wiko and Asus in the Netherlands emphasising the responsibility of implementers of SEPs to be a ldquowilling licenseerdquo Both Wiko and Asus took these cases to the Dutch Supreme Court so this year we may also expect a first decision on FRAND at that level If a ruling should be made wersquoll find out if it agrees with the court of appealrsquos approach In PhilipsWiko a parallel case in Germany the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe was much stricter to Philips as an SEP holder and denied an injunction Recognising that the decision deviates from the Higher Regional Court of Duumlsseldorf ruling it allowed an appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice This is especially interesting since another German court the Mannheim Regional Court in the meantime granted Sisvel an injunction against Wiko thereby following a similar approach as the Dutch courts with respect to FRAND

For the same reasons the Sisvel cases are ones to watch Like Philips Sisvel is involved in a number of cases against multiple parties across Europe regarding its portfolio of essential patents for mobile technologies The cases will shed more light on the extent to which SEPs can be enforced in preliminary injunction proceedings An oral hearing about this question at The Court of Appeal of The Hague is scheduled for February 2020

DSM IMPACT EXPECTEDWith an implementation deadline of 7 June 2021 2020 is likely to be dominated ndash at least from a soft IP community perspective - by the implementation of the directive on copyright in the digital single market (DSM)

As the directive introduces quite a few controversial measures it will be interesting to see how member states will wriggle their way into implementing those in their national regimes The most controversial measures are commonly referred to as the ldquoupload filterrdquo and the ldquolink taxrdquo For more information about these controversial measures click here There is a risk that because the member states hold different views on certain topics ndash including after adoption of the directive ndash there will be diverging implementation at the national levels

In May 2019 Poland brought an action before the ECJ asking the court to annul part of the directiversquos article 17 on the much-debated ldquoupload filterrdquo or even annul the entire article Poland argues that the article infringes the right to freedom of expression and information Other pending cases at the ECJ level are Youtube and Elsevier where the German Federal Court of Justice has requested preliminary rulings The ECJ has joined the cases which centre on the position of internet video platform operators and shared hosting service operators who make content protected by copyright publicly accessible The answers by the ECJ will undoubtedly impact the existing framework under the new directive as the ECJ has requested the parties to address the directiversquos upload filter wording In addition the Dutch Supreme Court has referred questions on the position of a Usenet provider (offering a platform for news groups on which users can post messages and are able to upload content) to the ECJ in BREINNSE

Why a DSM DirectiveThis directive aims to update copyright rules for the 21st century Most copyright rules pre-date the internet and are not well-suited to deal with todayrsquos issues This directive improves protection for copyright holders by creating instruments to monetise their work used by information society service providers and to consequently stimulate the creative industry It also safeguards the use of copyright-protected works for private and scientific or educational purposes For more information on the directiversquos impact click here

Adoption of controversial directive does not end the heated debate on the position of information society

service providers

Regulatory amp Criminal EnforcementInvestment ManagementFinancial InstitutionsCorporate AdvisoryCapital MarketsFields of expertise

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2020 LEGAL ENTITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TO BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT

EXPERTS

UBO REGISTER ndash WHAT WILL LEGAL ENTITIES HAVE TO DOThe UBO register is expected to take effect in the Netherlands in early spring 2020 Listed companies are exempt from registering their UBO in the register as are direct or indirect 100 subsidiaries of listed companies To take advantage of this exemption it may be necessary to file an application with the Dutch Trade Register

Existing legal entities must register their UBO within 18 months after introduction of the UBO register Newly incorporated legal entities must register their UBO when they first apply to the Dutch Trade Register for registration of their business

As from the date of implementation of the UBO register all AML institutions ndash to include banks and lawyers ndash must report any inconsistencies between their CDD records and the data included in the UBO registration to the Dutch Trade Register

REGISTRATION FOR UBOS OF TRUSTS AND FUNDS FOR JOINT ACCOUNT In 2020 a new bill will be introduced to create a UBO register for trusts and ldquofunds for joint accountrdquo Although the concept of ldquoa trustrdquo as a legal entity is not recognised in Dutch law if the trust is the legal owner of real estate in the Netherlands or if the trustee is a Dutch legal entity registration might still be necessary

NEW EUROPEAN AML DIREC-TIVESThe AML Act 2020 will implement the terms of the 5th AML Directives by introducing a registration requirement for the providers of virtual currencies The act may also include stricter rules on AML-related penalties for natural persons and extend the liability of legal persons as set out in the 6th AML Directive

PLANS FOR AML-RELATED EX-CHANGE OF INFORMATION The Dutch government is proposing that ldquoAML Institutionsrdquo exchange information with similar institutions ndash for example banks with banks ndash in relation to enhanced client due diligence and the reporting of unusual transactions The proposals would also enable AML institutions to outsource transaction monitoring to third parties if these arrangements are based on a written agreement

GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONSThere are plans to introduce a publication requirement for donations of EUR 15000 or above (in cash or in kind) made to social organisations foundations associations church organisations and foreign equivalents if they have long-term activities in the Netherlands The objective is to make donations to these social organisations more transparent and to prevent any undesirable influence from abroad via these types of cash-flows

If these proposals become law the social organisation will have to publish an annual overview of donations received including the name and address of the donor and the amount of the donation on its website

19

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 15: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

NEW DECADE BRINGS CHANGES TO PATENT AND COPYRIGHT REGIMES AT EUROPEAN LEVELALL EYES ON UNIFIED PATENT COURT CHANGING FRAND LANDSCAPE AND COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

2020 will see us inching closer to the launch (or end) of the Unified Patent Court and the creation of a new unitary patents system In addition we might have more clarity on how member states interpret the 2015 European Court of Justice ruling on standard essential patents Finally EU member states will need to start paying serious attention to how they will implement the new European rules for adapting their national copyright law systems to the digital world

UPC FINALLY READY TO LAUNCHProponents of a new unified patent system will need to be patient a little longer but it seems that the wheels will finally be set in motion (again) in 2020 The goal Having an operational system in 2021

Judging by press coverage the biggest hurdle to the UKrsquos ratification of the system in 2016 seemed to be the Brexit vote in June but the real game changer turned out to be Germany In 2017 Germany suspended its ratification process as it waited for the Federal Constitutional Court to decide whether German UPC legislation is compatible with the German Constitution While the case was meant to be decided in 2018 and then 2019 this did not happen In November 2019 however the rapporteur in the case made an unofficial statement in an interview that he intends to issue a decision in early 2020

If the court accepts incompatibility a further delay or ndash dare we say it ndash the end of the new system is inevitable If incompatibility is rejected the UPC launch will depend on how the German government responds and of course on Brexit

16

EXPERTS

What is the UPCThe Unified Patent Court (UPC UPC system) will be a supranational court specialised in patent litigation cases Subject to exceptions during a transitional period it will exclusively hear cases involving European patents and European patents with unitary effect (unitary patents are to take effect in all UPC member states) The system will come into effect four months after the Unified Patent Court Agreement is signed and ratified by several EU member states including Germany and the UK (their ratification is a prerequisite)

The future of the UPC system is in the hands of the UK and Germany

Should the German government give the green light the head of the UPC Preparatory Committee predicts that the UPC system will enter into effect shortly after A provisional application phase will then start within a short timeframe to ensure a smooth transition into the operational phase before the actual launch of the UPC a couple of months later Although the future of the new system is still uncertain we do know that its impact would be huge Interested parties especially patentees should continue preparing for the UPCrsquos arrival This means considering any future patent filing strategies ndash unitary patents European bundle patents andor national patents ndash and paying attention to the opt-out route

FRANDIf one or more patents claim technology involved with the standard ndash known as a standard essential patent (SEP) - the patent holder may have a dominant position on the market and may breach competition rules by enforcing its patents by requesting an injunction or recall SEP holders must therefore commit themselves to being prepared to licence their essential patents to other market players on fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms

Since the ECJrsquos landmark 2015 decision in HuaweiZTE - providing guidance on the enforcement of essential patents and competition law - litigation on the licensing of SEPs has increased in Europe and is expected to continue to be a hot topic in 2020 It will be interesting to see how the interpretation of the ECJrsquos ruling plays out in different EU member states

While case law on FRAND is being created at a frenetic pace throughout various European jurisdictions it is currently too sparse to reveal any conclusive jurisdictional trends What is clear is that member states vary in what they emphasise about FRAND commitment This could mean that it is merely a matter of time before the ECJ is asked to elaborate on its position With several rulings lined up for 2020 it is bound to be an exciting year

What is an SEPA patent can be marked as an SEP if it relates to technical specificati-on adopted by a recognised standardisation body for repeated or continuous application with which compliance is not compulso-ry Standardisation is a pheno-menon mostly seen in the fast-de-veloping telecommunications sector In order to promote interoperability of devices ndash such as smartphones laptops tablets but also cars ndash those should ideally use the same standards for certain technologies and functionalities Examples are the 3G (UMTS) 4G (LTE) 5G WiFi and USB standards

What is the provisional application phasePart of this phase is the ldquosunrise periodrdquo for opting out European patents before the UPC starts operating Patentees will be able to exclude their existing European patents and applications from the UPCrsquos exclusive jurisdiction For more information about the sunrise period and opting out your patents click here

17

Position of the UKThe UK has already completed ratification marking its intention to be a party to the UPC system Recently the European Parliament Think Tank published an in-depth analysis on possible UPC scenarios in the case of Brexit with or without a proper withdrawal agreement It concluded that - some legal challenges aside mainly that the UPC will apply EU law and be bound by ECJ decisions - the UK can be part of the UPC system even if it leaves the EU In a UK press release this month however the UK Prime Minister made clear that ldquoany future partnership must not involve any kind of alignment or ECJ jurisdictionrdquo which might indicate their intention to not be party to the UPC system after allrdquo

Different FRAND regimes across Europe might require ECJ guidance

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

All eyes are on the UK Supreme Courtrsquos imminent ruling in Unwired PlanetHuawei which concerns a global licence In the earlier decision the court of appeal confirmed that the UK courts could determine the terms of a global FRAND licence and grant an injunction for the UK subject to the implementer not accepting such terms Huawei challenged the imposition of a global licence on terms set by a national court The eagerly awaited Supreme Court ruling is bound to turn heads and shed some light on the competency of national courts in global licence disputes

Other cases to watch are the enforcement campaigns of Philips against a number of parties implementing patents from Philipsrsquo 3G 4G patent portfolio Philips is enforcing its portfolio at different courts across Europe and this may provide insight into how different jurisdictions interpret the ECJrsquos 2015 landmark decision Philips for example obtained a number of injunctions (against Asus in May and December 2019 against Wiko in July and December 2019) at the Court of Appeal of The Hague against Wiko and Asus in the Netherlands emphasising the responsibility of implementers of SEPs to be a ldquowilling licenseerdquo Both Wiko and Asus took these cases to the Dutch Supreme Court so this year we may also expect a first decision on FRAND at that level If a ruling should be made wersquoll find out if it agrees with the court of appealrsquos approach In PhilipsWiko a parallel case in Germany the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe was much stricter to Philips as an SEP holder and denied an injunction Recognising that the decision deviates from the Higher Regional Court of Duumlsseldorf ruling it allowed an appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice This is especially interesting since another German court the Mannheim Regional Court in the meantime granted Sisvel an injunction against Wiko thereby following a similar approach as the Dutch courts with respect to FRAND

For the same reasons the Sisvel cases are ones to watch Like Philips Sisvel is involved in a number of cases against multiple parties across Europe regarding its portfolio of essential patents for mobile technologies The cases will shed more light on the extent to which SEPs can be enforced in preliminary injunction proceedings An oral hearing about this question at The Court of Appeal of The Hague is scheduled for February 2020

DSM IMPACT EXPECTEDWith an implementation deadline of 7 June 2021 2020 is likely to be dominated ndash at least from a soft IP community perspective - by the implementation of the directive on copyright in the digital single market (DSM)

As the directive introduces quite a few controversial measures it will be interesting to see how member states will wriggle their way into implementing those in their national regimes The most controversial measures are commonly referred to as the ldquoupload filterrdquo and the ldquolink taxrdquo For more information about these controversial measures click here There is a risk that because the member states hold different views on certain topics ndash including after adoption of the directive ndash there will be diverging implementation at the national levels

In May 2019 Poland brought an action before the ECJ asking the court to annul part of the directiversquos article 17 on the much-debated ldquoupload filterrdquo or even annul the entire article Poland argues that the article infringes the right to freedom of expression and information Other pending cases at the ECJ level are Youtube and Elsevier where the German Federal Court of Justice has requested preliminary rulings The ECJ has joined the cases which centre on the position of internet video platform operators and shared hosting service operators who make content protected by copyright publicly accessible The answers by the ECJ will undoubtedly impact the existing framework under the new directive as the ECJ has requested the parties to address the directiversquos upload filter wording In addition the Dutch Supreme Court has referred questions on the position of a Usenet provider (offering a platform for news groups on which users can post messages and are able to upload content) to the ECJ in BREINNSE

Why a DSM DirectiveThis directive aims to update copyright rules for the 21st century Most copyright rules pre-date the internet and are not well-suited to deal with todayrsquos issues This directive improves protection for copyright holders by creating instruments to monetise their work used by information society service providers and to consequently stimulate the creative industry It also safeguards the use of copyright-protected works for private and scientific or educational purposes For more information on the directiversquos impact click here

Adoption of controversial directive does not end the heated debate on the position of information society

service providers

Regulatory amp Criminal EnforcementInvestment ManagementFinancial InstitutionsCorporate AdvisoryCapital MarketsFields of expertise

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2020 LEGAL ENTITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TO BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT

EXPERTS

UBO REGISTER ndash WHAT WILL LEGAL ENTITIES HAVE TO DOThe UBO register is expected to take effect in the Netherlands in early spring 2020 Listed companies are exempt from registering their UBO in the register as are direct or indirect 100 subsidiaries of listed companies To take advantage of this exemption it may be necessary to file an application with the Dutch Trade Register

Existing legal entities must register their UBO within 18 months after introduction of the UBO register Newly incorporated legal entities must register their UBO when they first apply to the Dutch Trade Register for registration of their business

As from the date of implementation of the UBO register all AML institutions ndash to include banks and lawyers ndash must report any inconsistencies between their CDD records and the data included in the UBO registration to the Dutch Trade Register

REGISTRATION FOR UBOS OF TRUSTS AND FUNDS FOR JOINT ACCOUNT In 2020 a new bill will be introduced to create a UBO register for trusts and ldquofunds for joint accountrdquo Although the concept of ldquoa trustrdquo as a legal entity is not recognised in Dutch law if the trust is the legal owner of real estate in the Netherlands or if the trustee is a Dutch legal entity registration might still be necessary

NEW EUROPEAN AML DIREC-TIVESThe AML Act 2020 will implement the terms of the 5th AML Directives by introducing a registration requirement for the providers of virtual currencies The act may also include stricter rules on AML-related penalties for natural persons and extend the liability of legal persons as set out in the 6th AML Directive

PLANS FOR AML-RELATED EX-CHANGE OF INFORMATION The Dutch government is proposing that ldquoAML Institutionsrdquo exchange information with similar institutions ndash for example banks with banks ndash in relation to enhanced client due diligence and the reporting of unusual transactions The proposals would also enable AML institutions to outsource transaction monitoring to third parties if these arrangements are based on a written agreement

GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONSThere are plans to introduce a publication requirement for donations of EUR 15000 or above (in cash or in kind) made to social organisations foundations associations church organisations and foreign equivalents if they have long-term activities in the Netherlands The objective is to make donations to these social organisations more transparent and to prevent any undesirable influence from abroad via these types of cash-flows

If these proposals become law the social organisation will have to publish an annual overview of donations received including the name and address of the donor and the amount of the donation on its website

19

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 16: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

Should the German government give the green light the head of the UPC Preparatory Committee predicts that the UPC system will enter into effect shortly after A provisional application phase will then start within a short timeframe to ensure a smooth transition into the operational phase before the actual launch of the UPC a couple of months later Although the future of the new system is still uncertain we do know that its impact would be huge Interested parties especially patentees should continue preparing for the UPCrsquos arrival This means considering any future patent filing strategies ndash unitary patents European bundle patents andor national patents ndash and paying attention to the opt-out route

FRANDIf one or more patents claim technology involved with the standard ndash known as a standard essential patent (SEP) - the patent holder may have a dominant position on the market and may breach competition rules by enforcing its patents by requesting an injunction or recall SEP holders must therefore commit themselves to being prepared to licence their essential patents to other market players on fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms

Since the ECJrsquos landmark 2015 decision in HuaweiZTE - providing guidance on the enforcement of essential patents and competition law - litigation on the licensing of SEPs has increased in Europe and is expected to continue to be a hot topic in 2020 It will be interesting to see how the interpretation of the ECJrsquos ruling plays out in different EU member states

While case law on FRAND is being created at a frenetic pace throughout various European jurisdictions it is currently too sparse to reveal any conclusive jurisdictional trends What is clear is that member states vary in what they emphasise about FRAND commitment This could mean that it is merely a matter of time before the ECJ is asked to elaborate on its position With several rulings lined up for 2020 it is bound to be an exciting year

What is an SEPA patent can be marked as an SEP if it relates to technical specificati-on adopted by a recognised standardisation body for repeated or continuous application with which compliance is not compulso-ry Standardisation is a pheno-menon mostly seen in the fast-de-veloping telecommunications sector In order to promote interoperability of devices ndash such as smartphones laptops tablets but also cars ndash those should ideally use the same standards for certain technologies and functionalities Examples are the 3G (UMTS) 4G (LTE) 5G WiFi and USB standards

What is the provisional application phasePart of this phase is the ldquosunrise periodrdquo for opting out European patents before the UPC starts operating Patentees will be able to exclude their existing European patents and applications from the UPCrsquos exclusive jurisdiction For more information about the sunrise period and opting out your patents click here

17

Position of the UKThe UK has already completed ratification marking its intention to be a party to the UPC system Recently the European Parliament Think Tank published an in-depth analysis on possible UPC scenarios in the case of Brexit with or without a proper withdrawal agreement It concluded that - some legal challenges aside mainly that the UPC will apply EU law and be bound by ECJ decisions - the UK can be part of the UPC system even if it leaves the EU In a UK press release this month however the UK Prime Minister made clear that ldquoany future partnership must not involve any kind of alignment or ECJ jurisdictionrdquo which might indicate their intention to not be party to the UPC system after allrdquo

Different FRAND regimes across Europe might require ECJ guidance

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

All eyes are on the UK Supreme Courtrsquos imminent ruling in Unwired PlanetHuawei which concerns a global licence In the earlier decision the court of appeal confirmed that the UK courts could determine the terms of a global FRAND licence and grant an injunction for the UK subject to the implementer not accepting such terms Huawei challenged the imposition of a global licence on terms set by a national court The eagerly awaited Supreme Court ruling is bound to turn heads and shed some light on the competency of national courts in global licence disputes

Other cases to watch are the enforcement campaigns of Philips against a number of parties implementing patents from Philipsrsquo 3G 4G patent portfolio Philips is enforcing its portfolio at different courts across Europe and this may provide insight into how different jurisdictions interpret the ECJrsquos 2015 landmark decision Philips for example obtained a number of injunctions (against Asus in May and December 2019 against Wiko in July and December 2019) at the Court of Appeal of The Hague against Wiko and Asus in the Netherlands emphasising the responsibility of implementers of SEPs to be a ldquowilling licenseerdquo Both Wiko and Asus took these cases to the Dutch Supreme Court so this year we may also expect a first decision on FRAND at that level If a ruling should be made wersquoll find out if it agrees with the court of appealrsquos approach In PhilipsWiko a parallel case in Germany the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe was much stricter to Philips as an SEP holder and denied an injunction Recognising that the decision deviates from the Higher Regional Court of Duumlsseldorf ruling it allowed an appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice This is especially interesting since another German court the Mannheim Regional Court in the meantime granted Sisvel an injunction against Wiko thereby following a similar approach as the Dutch courts with respect to FRAND

For the same reasons the Sisvel cases are ones to watch Like Philips Sisvel is involved in a number of cases against multiple parties across Europe regarding its portfolio of essential patents for mobile technologies The cases will shed more light on the extent to which SEPs can be enforced in preliminary injunction proceedings An oral hearing about this question at The Court of Appeal of The Hague is scheduled for February 2020

DSM IMPACT EXPECTEDWith an implementation deadline of 7 June 2021 2020 is likely to be dominated ndash at least from a soft IP community perspective - by the implementation of the directive on copyright in the digital single market (DSM)

As the directive introduces quite a few controversial measures it will be interesting to see how member states will wriggle their way into implementing those in their national regimes The most controversial measures are commonly referred to as the ldquoupload filterrdquo and the ldquolink taxrdquo For more information about these controversial measures click here There is a risk that because the member states hold different views on certain topics ndash including after adoption of the directive ndash there will be diverging implementation at the national levels

In May 2019 Poland brought an action before the ECJ asking the court to annul part of the directiversquos article 17 on the much-debated ldquoupload filterrdquo or even annul the entire article Poland argues that the article infringes the right to freedom of expression and information Other pending cases at the ECJ level are Youtube and Elsevier where the German Federal Court of Justice has requested preliminary rulings The ECJ has joined the cases which centre on the position of internet video platform operators and shared hosting service operators who make content protected by copyright publicly accessible The answers by the ECJ will undoubtedly impact the existing framework under the new directive as the ECJ has requested the parties to address the directiversquos upload filter wording In addition the Dutch Supreme Court has referred questions on the position of a Usenet provider (offering a platform for news groups on which users can post messages and are able to upload content) to the ECJ in BREINNSE

Why a DSM DirectiveThis directive aims to update copyright rules for the 21st century Most copyright rules pre-date the internet and are not well-suited to deal with todayrsquos issues This directive improves protection for copyright holders by creating instruments to monetise their work used by information society service providers and to consequently stimulate the creative industry It also safeguards the use of copyright-protected works for private and scientific or educational purposes For more information on the directiversquos impact click here

Adoption of controversial directive does not end the heated debate on the position of information society

service providers

Regulatory amp Criminal EnforcementInvestment ManagementFinancial InstitutionsCorporate AdvisoryCapital MarketsFields of expertise

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2020 LEGAL ENTITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TO BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT

EXPERTS

UBO REGISTER ndash WHAT WILL LEGAL ENTITIES HAVE TO DOThe UBO register is expected to take effect in the Netherlands in early spring 2020 Listed companies are exempt from registering their UBO in the register as are direct or indirect 100 subsidiaries of listed companies To take advantage of this exemption it may be necessary to file an application with the Dutch Trade Register

Existing legal entities must register their UBO within 18 months after introduction of the UBO register Newly incorporated legal entities must register their UBO when they first apply to the Dutch Trade Register for registration of their business

As from the date of implementation of the UBO register all AML institutions ndash to include banks and lawyers ndash must report any inconsistencies between their CDD records and the data included in the UBO registration to the Dutch Trade Register

REGISTRATION FOR UBOS OF TRUSTS AND FUNDS FOR JOINT ACCOUNT In 2020 a new bill will be introduced to create a UBO register for trusts and ldquofunds for joint accountrdquo Although the concept of ldquoa trustrdquo as a legal entity is not recognised in Dutch law if the trust is the legal owner of real estate in the Netherlands or if the trustee is a Dutch legal entity registration might still be necessary

NEW EUROPEAN AML DIREC-TIVESThe AML Act 2020 will implement the terms of the 5th AML Directives by introducing a registration requirement for the providers of virtual currencies The act may also include stricter rules on AML-related penalties for natural persons and extend the liability of legal persons as set out in the 6th AML Directive

PLANS FOR AML-RELATED EX-CHANGE OF INFORMATION The Dutch government is proposing that ldquoAML Institutionsrdquo exchange information with similar institutions ndash for example banks with banks ndash in relation to enhanced client due diligence and the reporting of unusual transactions The proposals would also enable AML institutions to outsource transaction monitoring to third parties if these arrangements are based on a written agreement

GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONSThere are plans to introduce a publication requirement for donations of EUR 15000 or above (in cash or in kind) made to social organisations foundations associations church organisations and foreign equivalents if they have long-term activities in the Netherlands The objective is to make donations to these social organisations more transparent and to prevent any undesirable influence from abroad via these types of cash-flows

If these proposals become law the social organisation will have to publish an annual overview of donations received including the name and address of the donor and the amount of the donation on its website

19

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 17: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

Intellectual PropertyFields of expertise

All eyes are on the UK Supreme Courtrsquos imminent ruling in Unwired PlanetHuawei which concerns a global licence In the earlier decision the court of appeal confirmed that the UK courts could determine the terms of a global FRAND licence and grant an injunction for the UK subject to the implementer not accepting such terms Huawei challenged the imposition of a global licence on terms set by a national court The eagerly awaited Supreme Court ruling is bound to turn heads and shed some light on the competency of national courts in global licence disputes

Other cases to watch are the enforcement campaigns of Philips against a number of parties implementing patents from Philipsrsquo 3G 4G patent portfolio Philips is enforcing its portfolio at different courts across Europe and this may provide insight into how different jurisdictions interpret the ECJrsquos 2015 landmark decision Philips for example obtained a number of injunctions (against Asus in May and December 2019 against Wiko in July and December 2019) at the Court of Appeal of The Hague against Wiko and Asus in the Netherlands emphasising the responsibility of implementers of SEPs to be a ldquowilling licenseerdquo Both Wiko and Asus took these cases to the Dutch Supreme Court so this year we may also expect a first decision on FRAND at that level If a ruling should be made wersquoll find out if it agrees with the court of appealrsquos approach In PhilipsWiko a parallel case in Germany the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe was much stricter to Philips as an SEP holder and denied an injunction Recognising that the decision deviates from the Higher Regional Court of Duumlsseldorf ruling it allowed an appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice This is especially interesting since another German court the Mannheim Regional Court in the meantime granted Sisvel an injunction against Wiko thereby following a similar approach as the Dutch courts with respect to FRAND

For the same reasons the Sisvel cases are ones to watch Like Philips Sisvel is involved in a number of cases against multiple parties across Europe regarding its portfolio of essential patents for mobile technologies The cases will shed more light on the extent to which SEPs can be enforced in preliminary injunction proceedings An oral hearing about this question at The Court of Appeal of The Hague is scheduled for February 2020

DSM IMPACT EXPECTEDWith an implementation deadline of 7 June 2021 2020 is likely to be dominated ndash at least from a soft IP community perspective - by the implementation of the directive on copyright in the digital single market (DSM)

As the directive introduces quite a few controversial measures it will be interesting to see how member states will wriggle their way into implementing those in their national regimes The most controversial measures are commonly referred to as the ldquoupload filterrdquo and the ldquolink taxrdquo For more information about these controversial measures click here There is a risk that because the member states hold different views on certain topics ndash including after adoption of the directive ndash there will be diverging implementation at the national levels

In May 2019 Poland brought an action before the ECJ asking the court to annul part of the directiversquos article 17 on the much-debated ldquoupload filterrdquo or even annul the entire article Poland argues that the article infringes the right to freedom of expression and information Other pending cases at the ECJ level are Youtube and Elsevier where the German Federal Court of Justice has requested preliminary rulings The ECJ has joined the cases which centre on the position of internet video platform operators and shared hosting service operators who make content protected by copyright publicly accessible The answers by the ECJ will undoubtedly impact the existing framework under the new directive as the ECJ has requested the parties to address the directiversquos upload filter wording In addition the Dutch Supreme Court has referred questions on the position of a Usenet provider (offering a platform for news groups on which users can post messages and are able to upload content) to the ECJ in BREINNSE

Why a DSM DirectiveThis directive aims to update copyright rules for the 21st century Most copyright rules pre-date the internet and are not well-suited to deal with todayrsquos issues This directive improves protection for copyright holders by creating instruments to monetise their work used by information society service providers and to consequently stimulate the creative industry It also safeguards the use of copyright-protected works for private and scientific or educational purposes For more information on the directiversquos impact click here

Adoption of controversial directive does not end the heated debate on the position of information society

service providers

Regulatory amp Criminal EnforcementInvestment ManagementFinancial InstitutionsCorporate AdvisoryCapital MarketsFields of expertise

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2020 LEGAL ENTITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TO BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT

EXPERTS

UBO REGISTER ndash WHAT WILL LEGAL ENTITIES HAVE TO DOThe UBO register is expected to take effect in the Netherlands in early spring 2020 Listed companies are exempt from registering their UBO in the register as are direct or indirect 100 subsidiaries of listed companies To take advantage of this exemption it may be necessary to file an application with the Dutch Trade Register

Existing legal entities must register their UBO within 18 months after introduction of the UBO register Newly incorporated legal entities must register their UBO when they first apply to the Dutch Trade Register for registration of their business

As from the date of implementation of the UBO register all AML institutions ndash to include banks and lawyers ndash must report any inconsistencies between their CDD records and the data included in the UBO registration to the Dutch Trade Register

REGISTRATION FOR UBOS OF TRUSTS AND FUNDS FOR JOINT ACCOUNT In 2020 a new bill will be introduced to create a UBO register for trusts and ldquofunds for joint accountrdquo Although the concept of ldquoa trustrdquo as a legal entity is not recognised in Dutch law if the trust is the legal owner of real estate in the Netherlands or if the trustee is a Dutch legal entity registration might still be necessary

NEW EUROPEAN AML DIREC-TIVESThe AML Act 2020 will implement the terms of the 5th AML Directives by introducing a registration requirement for the providers of virtual currencies The act may also include stricter rules on AML-related penalties for natural persons and extend the liability of legal persons as set out in the 6th AML Directive

PLANS FOR AML-RELATED EX-CHANGE OF INFORMATION The Dutch government is proposing that ldquoAML Institutionsrdquo exchange information with similar institutions ndash for example banks with banks ndash in relation to enhanced client due diligence and the reporting of unusual transactions The proposals would also enable AML institutions to outsource transaction monitoring to third parties if these arrangements are based on a written agreement

GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONSThere are plans to introduce a publication requirement for donations of EUR 15000 or above (in cash or in kind) made to social organisations foundations associations church organisations and foreign equivalents if they have long-term activities in the Netherlands The objective is to make donations to these social organisations more transparent and to prevent any undesirable influence from abroad via these types of cash-flows

If these proposals become law the social organisation will have to publish an annual overview of donations received including the name and address of the donor and the amount of the donation on its website

19

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

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Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 18: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

Regulatory amp Criminal EnforcementInvestment ManagementFinancial InstitutionsCorporate AdvisoryCapital MarketsFields of expertise

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN 2020 LEGAL ENTITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TO BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT

EXPERTS

UBO REGISTER ndash WHAT WILL LEGAL ENTITIES HAVE TO DOThe UBO register is expected to take effect in the Netherlands in early spring 2020 Listed companies are exempt from registering their UBO in the register as are direct or indirect 100 subsidiaries of listed companies To take advantage of this exemption it may be necessary to file an application with the Dutch Trade Register

Existing legal entities must register their UBO within 18 months after introduction of the UBO register Newly incorporated legal entities must register their UBO when they first apply to the Dutch Trade Register for registration of their business

As from the date of implementation of the UBO register all AML institutions ndash to include banks and lawyers ndash must report any inconsistencies between their CDD records and the data included in the UBO registration to the Dutch Trade Register

REGISTRATION FOR UBOS OF TRUSTS AND FUNDS FOR JOINT ACCOUNT In 2020 a new bill will be introduced to create a UBO register for trusts and ldquofunds for joint accountrdquo Although the concept of ldquoa trustrdquo as a legal entity is not recognised in Dutch law if the trust is the legal owner of real estate in the Netherlands or if the trustee is a Dutch legal entity registration might still be necessary

NEW EUROPEAN AML DIREC-TIVESThe AML Act 2020 will implement the terms of the 5th AML Directives by introducing a registration requirement for the providers of virtual currencies The act may also include stricter rules on AML-related penalties for natural persons and extend the liability of legal persons as set out in the 6th AML Directive

PLANS FOR AML-RELATED EX-CHANGE OF INFORMATION The Dutch government is proposing that ldquoAML Institutionsrdquo exchange information with similar institutions ndash for example banks with banks ndash in relation to enhanced client due diligence and the reporting of unusual transactions The proposals would also enable AML institutions to outsource transaction monitoring to third parties if these arrangements are based on a written agreement

GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONSThere are plans to introduce a publication requirement for donations of EUR 15000 or above (in cash or in kind) made to social organisations foundations associations church organisations and foreign equivalents if they have long-term activities in the Netherlands The objective is to make donations to these social organisations more transparent and to prevent any undesirable influence from abroad via these types of cash-flows

If these proposals become law the social organisation will have to publish an annual overview of donations received including the name and address of the donor and the amount of the donation on its website

19

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 19: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

InnovationValue Delivery

20

When it comes to legal technology trying to predict future trends could seem pointless Fuelled by societal changes brought on by globalisation and emerging new technologies legal questions can leave us breathless as we try to remain one step ahead of issues that are increasingly more complex multi-faceted and ever-changing As a frontrunner in the high-end legal sector De Brauw embraced legal tech and innovation early on and so too did our clients In 2019 our client delivery became faster and easier by using the right legal tech solutions This will continue in 2020 We also expect data analytics and AI tools to be innovation drivers for our clients After thorough testing we expect the quality of our services to further improve against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal environment

A MATURING LEGAL TECH SECTORIn 2019 we saw clear signs of this in the form of solution consolidation integration of ldquopoint solutionsrdquo in existing software and platforms Examples of this include the acquisitions of Workshare and Doxly by Litera Microsystems and the acquisition of HighQ by ThomsonReuters Another signal that the market is maturing is the level of investment in legal tech According to Forbes 2018 had a record 713 increase in legal tech investment 2019 is expected to significantly exceed 2018 investments with a total of USD 12 bln by September already

We believe this trend will continue in 2020 More mergers and acquisitions will follow and more investment is expected This means two things First legal tech tools will become more sophisticated and aligned to legal workflows We see the beginning of this already such as collaboration platforms being heavily used in matters document automation becoming routine and digital signing becoming the market practice Second further consolidation will lead to big changes in the market Some start-ups and smaller suppliers will be acquired by larger vendors and will be integrated into other solutions By the same token other start-ups will

EXPERT

By combining our legal and non-legal expertise we expect to service our clients in high-end matters even better in 2020 Gazing into our crystal ball we predict that the three trends identified below will have a big (and positive) impact on our clients

A MATURING LEGAL TECH MARKET IN 2020 GETTING EVER MORE INTELLIGENT

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 20: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

21

WHAT CAN YOU DObull Devote most of your energy into adopting tools that offer

direct value to your daily business The legal tech tools that are available for legal departments have matured significantly These tools can often be easily integrated in existing software packages and deployed off the shelf

bull In non-standard matters we recommend that you initially focus on legal tech tools that are expected to win the race for dominant design It is advisable to monitor the market build a good understanding of the legal tech landscape and remain flexible in choosing a supplier

bull The more advanced legal tools regularly involving AI and machine learning often need experimental time to learn and tailor the tool to the specific (local) market and goal Client ndash Firm co-creation and collaboration is a good alternative solution

flourish while some will come to an end With the fickle nature of technology todayrsquos favoured innovation can often become tomorrowrsquos discarded burden Which means that some of todayrsquos promising start-ups are going to disappear

BROADER USE AND VALUE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TOOLSArtificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been around for some time but this market shows no signs of ebbing On the contrary the global legal AI software market is expected to grow to USD 12 bln in 2024 AI tools are already quite common in some legal service areas such as eDiscovery tools in large litigation matters For other practices however AI tools are not yet common AI-powered solutions can help analyse documents and clauses Kira Systems Seal Software eBrevia and Luminance are great examples in this area Although these AI-based document review tools initially focused on due diligence they have shown their added value in more generic matters to compare review and check extensive sets of documents In 2020 we expect those tools to further develop towards specific niche legal markets (for example local languages more complex clause review and compare functionalities) Although training and tailoring these tools to cater to local markets and specific client needs takes time we expect high-end legal practices to increasingly adapt and apply these and other AI tools hellip and prove their value

Another AI trend we see for 2020 lies just below the surface one that our clients will probably be unaware of law firms will further develop the usability of data and AI More precisely development will centre around projects aimed to help lawyers and clients handle process and assess the increasing amount of data documentation and information in matters In 2020 more in-house data experts and data scientists will help law firms make data more easily accessible and improve the utilisation of data analytics and AI Internally and on the back of these developments we expect our lawyers with the help of data scientists to start leveraging the abundance of information and data from internal and external sources to further improve the quality of advice we give to our clients

STRONGER AND MORE INTERCONNECTED COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT LAW FIRM AND LEGAL TECH SUPPLIERS 2020 will see a rise in this collaboration to develop more tailored solutions for complex matters or projects While there is a lot of ready-to-use technology out there that is practical and easy for law firms to fold into their practices sometimes off-the-shelf solutions do not address the dynamics of a specific matter or project In 2019 we saw more incubators and accelerators than ever before all aiming to co-create solutions that actually match the client needs and deliver real value instead of only a promise Outside these labs many law firms work with suppliers and clients to create tailored solutions that deliver direct value because shelf solutions often fall short

In 2020 we expect to see more of this collaboration and co-creation in and outside labs We seem to be over Gartnerrsquos peak of inflated expectations (ldquolegal tech is going to solve all my problemsrdquo) and we also seem to be past the disillusionment (ldquoLegal tech does not work for merdquo) In 2020 we expect to reach enlightenment ndash wersquoll actually know how to make legal tech work in practice The key to this lies in collaboration

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 21: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

EXPERTS

Financial Markets RegulationCorporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

22

EU ACTION PLAN ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCE MOVES FORWARDIn its 2018 action plan the European Union strongly encouraged member states to make the transition to a financial system that supports sustainable growth This encouragement shows no signs of abating in 2020 Not surprisingly the disclosure of non-financial ESG information will continue to be a priority

Implementation of ESG-related regulations and requirements and developing tools to measure ESG-related risks will likely be a focus point for asset owners and asset managers in 2020 In 2019 the European Commission updated its non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting and specifically referred to climate-related information In light of this the focus for companies will be twofold disclosing how climate change could influence performance and how performance impacts climate change By doing so investors and other stakeholders will have more insight into the ESG factors risks and performance of investments The European Commission has also agreed on the introduction of ESG benchmarks and a unified classification system (ldquotaxonomyrdquo) so that there can be consensus about what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity This regulation is expected to be adopted in 2020

ESG INVESTINGldquoTHERE CAN BE NO PLAN B BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET Brdquo

ESG FACTORS BECOMES HARD LAW IN EU MEMBER STATESWith the implementation of the revised Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) ESG factors are becoming hard law requirements in EU member states This underlines the importance of these topics and of the developing role and responsibilities of institutional investors in this area The directive aims at enhancing shareholder engagement with how listed companies in Europe are governed New statutory disclosure requirements will apply for institutional investors including pension funds They will now need to publish an engagement policy detailing how they incorporate ESG factors when investing in companies and how they exercise voting rights in connection with their investments If an institutional investor appoints an asset manager the institutional investor will need to disclose how it incentivises the asset manager to take the investorrsquos long-term interests into consideration Investor interests include ESG factors voting rights and transaction costs (that is turnover range of the investment portfolio and duration of the investment management agreement) Asset managers must report on how their investment strategy aligns with their investment management agreement with institutional investors and how it contributes the medium and long-term return of the investment portfolio SRD also requires that asset managers report on the policy and implementation of their securities lending strategy if any An institutional investor or asset manager may decide not to execute an engagement policy provided that it publishes a clear and reasoned explanation on its website (ldquocomply or explainrdquo)

It doesnrsquot need gazing into a crystal ball to see that Environ-mental Social and Governance (ESG) factors will be a hot topic for companies and investors in 2020 As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put it ldquoWe have only one planet hellip there is no planet Brdquo Given this sobering thought ndash and because ESG-related financial risks have become more apparent ndash the financial and business service sector will need to continue to transform

In this article we cover the four most eye-catching develop-ments for 2020 the EU action plan on sustainable finance the Dutch implementation of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive the Dutch Stewardship Code and the focus points of other stakeholders Itrsquos clear that ESG is here to stay ndash both in 2020 and beyond This is both a challenging and promising thought

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 22: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

23

DUTCH STEWARDSHIP CODE GROWS IN IMPACTBuilding on the Shareholder Rights Directive asset owners and asset managers are expected to apply the principles of the first Dutch Stewardship Code and to report on its implementation from financial year 2019 on The Code ndash introduced by Dutch pension funds insurers and asset managers in collaboration with corporate governance forum Eumedion ndash sets out the underlying principles of institutional shareholder engagement Among other things the DSC aims to stimulate institutional investors to cast informed votes at shareholder meetings engage with listed companies on their strategy performance and ESG topics and be transparent on voting policy and history We foresee that the impact of the new Code will continue to grow in 2020 Although it is a self-regulating soft-law instrument it is a useful tool in guiding and measuring how institutional investors make decisions in the transition towards a more sustainable financial industry The financial sector and society in general see institutional investors as more than an instrument to generate economic and financial asset owners It is now expected more and more that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

It is increasingly expected that institutional investors actively engage in the companies in which they invest

STAKEHOLDER INTEREST IN ESG INCREASESThe transformation towards a more sustainable way of investing is not only a key point for legislation and regulation In its Focus Letter 2020 corporate governance forum Eumedion explicitly urges Dutch listed companies to disclose material information on climate change-related impact how they achieve carbon emission reduction and how they contribute to energy transition Also the disclosure of this non-financial information is one of ISSrsquos focus points in its EU 2020 Benchmark Policy Updates The EU Green deal as currently proposed also clearly points to the need for change and the importance of implementing the EU action plan on sustainable finance In addition the Dutch financial sector has signed the Dutch Climate Deal a promising effort by the sector to take concrete steps towards further integration and implementation of ESG factors in investment portfoliosFurthermore a growing number of supervisory authorities underline the importance of ESG factors in financing Recently the Network for Greening the Financial System ndash established in 2017 by a group of central banks (including the Dutch Central Bank) and

supervisors ndash explicitly qualified that climate change as a source of financial risk (see A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banksrsquo Portfolio Management) and of Value at Risk Additionally the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is focusing on new strategies for sustainable investing in its Trend Monitor 2020 The AFM is in the process of developing reports and guides on (i) transition scenarios (ii) risk assessment methodologies and (iii) integration of climate-related risks in supervision Supervisors and the Dutch Central Bank in particular are focusing on the financial consequences of ESG and distinct ESG-related physical transition and litigation risks Although litigation risk is difficult to measure there is no doubt that stakeholder interest in ESG is growing These stakeholders now not only include supervisors but also shareholders pensioners retail investors consumers the media and civil courts Five to ten years ago no one could have imagined that the Urgenda case would be successfully litigated in the Dutch courts Now similar cases are being seen in other jurisdictions

Would you like to know more A recently published article of Reneacute Maatman provides an overview of the current ESG requirements and expectations of pension funds (in Dutch only)

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 23: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

MODERNISING COMPANY LAW IN 2020 AND BEYOND

Corporate AdvisoryFields of expertise

24

It has been a year since the Minister for Legal Protection sent a letter to parliament on progress made in modernising company law in the Netherlands In the meantime significant progress has been made on the topics mentioned in that letter and our Corporate Advisory practice is preparing for a number of significant modernising measures in 2020 for Dutch legal entities

INCORPORATING AND REGISTERING DUTCH BVs ONLINEEU countries are currently in the implementation phase of an EU directive aimed at digitalising the formation of companies limited by shares and their registration in the commercial registers In the Netherlands this means that incorporating and registering private limited liability companies (BVs) online must be possible based on harmonised rules as of 1 August 2021

The directive also seeks to harmonise the information that must be included in the commercial register and the details that can be accessed online by third parties

In the Netherlands a public consultation (available in Dutch only) on the directive took place in 2018 The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) is currently developing a pilot project to simplify the incorporation of BVs Online incorporation by means of a digital notarial deed is one of the options being considered In response to the public consultation the KNB has stated that civil law notaries can easily fully register companies online with the use of video conferencing digital means of identification accompanied by the socially

EXPERTS

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 24: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

25

We expect the legislative process to implement the directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers in the Netherlands to start in 2020

relevant notarial guarantees of fraud prevention and legal certainty and the introduction of a digital notarial deed A pdf file with a digital signature could be considered (such as a digital copy of a deed of incorporation that is included in the register of deeds kept by the KNB) The original deed will then become digital obviously a paper copy may be issued The government intends to send a bill to parliament in the fourth quarter of 2020

CORPORATES CROSSING BORDERSThe need for digitalisation is also reflected in the EU directive on cross-border conversions mergers and demergers This directive entered into force on 1 January 2020 and must be implemented by 31 January 2023

The directive aims to promote freedom of establishment within the EU ndash making it easier for companies to carry out cross-border conversions mergers or demergers ndash while also safeguarding the legal and contractual rights of stakeholders such as shareholders creditors and employees

The directive requires that certain procedural steps in a cross-border conversion merger and demerger be completed online in their entirety without applicants having to appear in

person before any competent authority We expect the legislative process to implement the directive in the Netherlands to start in 2020

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF LEGAL ENTITIESIn November 2018 we published an article entitled ldquoDutch bill on management and supervision of legal entities back on trackrdquo In a letter to parliament in May 2019 the responsible minister responded to critical feedback about the bill but the bill will not be amended before being debated in parliament However an amendment aiming to evaluate the bill within five years of entry into force was subsequently submitted by members of parliament A parliamentary committee will discuss the bill with the minister this month

TAKING PARTNERSHIPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURYTo modernise the law on partnerships and improve the business climate in the Netherlands the government published a draft bill and consulted the public in 2019 While the consultation elicited over thirty extensive responses we are hopeful that legislative progress will be made in 2020 on modernising Dutch partnerships ndash as the current regime dates back to the 19th century

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 25: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

Energy Infrastructure amp EnvironmentConstruction

EXPERTS

Competition amp RegulationFields of expertise

HIGH TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE TO DEAL WITH COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESLegal experts are sometimes reproached for lacking a sense of reality Several decisions by our highest courts throughout 2019 show just how difficult it is to tackle complex societal problems through legal reasoning Flawless argumentation in court rulings or well-meant legislation may result in unworkable situations for various industries from a practical perspective We have seen this trend with climate change nitrogen emissions poly- and perfluoroalkylic substances (PFAS) magnetic fields and the discharge of unknown substances in waste water to name a few examples

In the next decade each industry should share their expertise on a permanent basis with public authorities and non-governmental organisations be alert about societal factors when negotiating contracts and clearly communicate with regulators the judiciary and the broader public on the issues that need addressing and the effects of any actions taken to remedy those issues

In late 2019 the Dutch Council of State responded to the governmentrsquos draft Climate Plan The response illustrates the complexity of societyrsquos current challenges The Climate Plan formulates the governmentrsquos key actions on climate policy up to 2030 The Council of State contended that these climate goals cannot be met by separate pieces of legislation Instead it

called for a ldquorestructuring of production and consumption in all sectors of society and economyrdquo According to the Council of State what is needed is central leadership clear choices legislation and policies that are fully integrated cooperation with public and private sectors and a harnessing of the publicrsquos commitment For each of these points the Council of State expressed concerns

In early 2019 the Council of Statersquos judgment on nitrogen (PAS judgment) illustrated the difficulty government has in developing solutions that address current problems stemming from different and sometimes conflicting interests adequately and in a workable way Both the PAS and attempts to arrive at practical solutions to deal with its negative ruling (for example emergency legislation and threshold values) demonstrate the need to find a balance between what is acceptable from a legal perspective (also by the courts) and what works in practice Finding this balance requires leadership including the taking of difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions by public authorities as well as commitment from society

26

Poor leadership creates legal uncertainty for ordinary citizens as well as industry leaders and other private parties

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 26: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

The Supreme Courtrsquos recent judgment in Urgenda shows that general interest litigation can succeed in forcing the hand of the Dutch government In this case Urgenda increased the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 (leading to a reduction of at least 25 of 1990 levels by the end of 2020) as agreed in policy documents in 2007 instead of the official 20 reduction of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 which had been agreed by parliament both at the national and EU level in 2011 The Supreme Court based its judgment on protecting human rights under the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the right to life and residentsrsquo well-being) Notwithstanding the reasons behind the ruling questions remain about the scope of the obligations concerned

In the October issue of In context we discussed the Council of Statersquos ruling that companies with a water permit were in breach of the Dutch Water Act if unknown and unmeasurable substances were detected in waste water that they discharged The Council of State further held that unknown and unmeasurable substances justified immediate enforcement action However because waste water can contain substances which are unknown or incapable of being measured - irrespective of whether one has a permit under the Dutch Water Act - this ruling creates legal uncertainty and an unworkable situation for the industrial sector Practically it is impossible to detect substances if they are unmeasurable and not all substances are ldquoknownrdquo Legally however someone has to bear responsibility Within this legal framework the Council of State found it both reasonable and logical that the permit holder be held responsible Again this may seem logical from a legal perspective but the question is whether itrsquos realistic and workable

LAW AS A MEANS NOT A PANACEAThese cases show that having a law in place is not necessarily a cure Difficulties arise when one tries to determine the scope of obligations and what practical workable steps one has to take to comply For example where the legislature has issued lsquorsquoopen normsrsquorsquo leaving it to the parties to implement concrete measures Or where legislation cannot be made more specific either from a legal and practical point of view or from a political point of view Any resulting court action will suffer as a result as the judiciary or public authorities when ruling on cases struggle to define concrete obligations that government or industry has to meet This could result in a mismatch between legal reality and actual reality and in unrealistic solutions and unforeseeable obligations Transposing legal reality into workable effective and enforceable obligations calls for a balance between a legal and a realistic approach That balance should be struck by the legislature

WHAT TO DOThe complexity of societal challenges will not diminish in the short term On the contrary there is no easy way to address problems such as climate change nitrogen emissions or PFAS If clear choices are not made individuals and public interest groups may demand that the judiciary issue rulings Even if such legal actions are against the State or other competent public authorities they may directly impact private parties

HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY1 Communicate clearly with public authorities the wider

public and the judiciary about any potential obligations and what they would require for their practical execution Try to translate or contextualise complex issues or norms into understandable and tangible examples

2 Actively formulate ndash even more than before ndash adequate solutions or turn norms into workable obligations to make sure that new unachievable norms are not forced upon industry by public authorities or the judiciary

3 Share expertise and practical knowledge with public authorities and advisory bodies

4 Be aware that when concluding or negotiating contracts clauses which imply unforeseen circumstances or liability may or may not apply (anymore) due to rapidly changing legislation or policy

27

Regulatory amp Criminal Enforcement

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 27: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

28

In 2019 the various Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) were the key players in monitoring the use of data in compliance with the GDPR Data protection fines have risen ndash both in terms of the sheer number and the monetary amount of the fines themselves But with limited resources they can only address the proverbial ldquotip of the icebergrdquo As a result individuals ndash and the non-governmental organisations that represent their interests ndash are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by claiming damages under the GDPR to defend their rights

An increase in civil litigation will become a growing threat for companies dealing with consumer data This will affect big tech and smaller scale companies with a large consumer base such as those active in e-commerce telecommunications or online advertising Clients must communicate these risks to senior management and implement strategies to minimise their exposure to litigation This includes taking GDPR compliance seriously ndash beyond the areas of the enforcement priority of the various DPAs ndash and adopting effective mitigation measures in the aftermath of GDPR violations

EXPERTS

CLASS ACTION EXPOSURE A GROWING THREAT TO COMPANIES DEALING WITH CONSUMER DATA

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 28: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

29

DAMAGE COMPENSATION AS GDPR ENFORCEMENT TOSignificant administrative fines for a GDPR violation can total up to 4 of an undertakingrsquos worldwide net turnover However these fines are not the only penalties under the GDPR To further its objectives the GDPR allows any individual who has suffered material or non-material damage to receive ldquofull and effectiverdquo compensation Damages under the GDPR are not just a compensatory measure in monetary terms but rather a mechanism of enforcing the fundamental right to personal data protection

Although the possibility to recover damages for a data protection breach already existed the GDPR significantly

extends this possibility to virtually any GDPR violation and allows claims for damages not only against data controllers but also against data processors Furthermore by facilitating individualsrsquo access to information about how their personal data is used the GDPR provides for a simple tool to collate the evidence necessary for a claim Thus individuals do not depend on public authorities in proving that there has been a GDPR breach Indeed GDPR-related damage claims are increasingly initiated in parallel with or independently of DPA enforcement actions

Although many EU jurisdictions already provide for class actions or similar mechanisms that individuals can use to

combine their damage claims in consumer cases including data protection the GDPR presses EU member states to legislate on collective damage compensation

MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS FOR GDPR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISEIn stark contrast with the United States until recently consumer class action suits have not typically presented a significant threat in Europe However in the last couple of years we have seen a gradual change

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal four consumer organisations launched collective damages claims against Facebook

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 29: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

Privacy amp Data SecurityLitigationInformation amp Communication TechnologyFields of expertise

30

currently representing around 250000 individuals each demanding a minimum of EUR 200 for violation of data protection and consumer law in Belgium Italy Spain and Portugal In June 2019 following a EUR 50 million fine by the French DPA a consumer group representing 200 users sued Google for EUR 1000 in damages per user involved Similarly a group of 500000 British Airways customers (whose personal data was compromised in an earlier data breach) initiated a mass damages claim against the company That claim coincided with the UK Information Commissionerrsquos Officersquos (ICO) investigation of the same data breach leading to a potential fine in the region of EUR 215 million

Unlike mass claims individual damages claims have mostly fallen off of the mediarsquos radar Individuals however continue to increasingly seek compensation for the misuse of their personal data For example last year two Dutch district courts awarded EUR 250 and EUR 500 for immaterial damage for arguably relatively minor GDPR violations A regional court in Austria awarded EUR 800 compensation of immaterial damage for misuse of sensitive personal data on political affinities which the court considered a ldquoseriousrdquo GDPR violation The level of individual compensation is perhaps just a drop in the ocean Yet when multiplied by the number of affected individuals the damages can quickly run up to millions (or even billions) of euro

THE NETHERLANDS - ATTRACTIVE VENUE FOR MASS DAMAGE CLAIMS UNDER GDPRAlthough the right to claim damages under the GDPR applies equally across EU member states the likelihood of success and the amount of any damages awarded varies for two reasons First whether damage has

occurred (and the amount of this damage) is for domestic courts to decide In making this assessment the courts apply not only the GDPR but also domestic civil and civil procedure rules which are different across the jurisdictions Second the procedures governing the admissibility of mass damages claims and the rules on representation of individuals are also set by the individual EU member states

In both respects according to our own Axel Arnbak the Netherlands is an attractive jurisdiction to bring mass damages claims for GDPR violations Indeed recent case law demonstrates that Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations ndash compared to for example their German counterparts When personal data protection is at stake Dutch courts tend to depart from the existing case law as recently confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court which allows compensation for only ldquosevererdquo immaterial damage Instead the courts rely on the broad notion of damage in the GDPR and hold that loss of control over personal data is in itself damage

Although the Dutch class action regime has already been more favourable than other EU regimes the new law ndash in effect since 1 January 2020 - broadens it even further The courts are now able to award damages in class action cases where previously they could only rule on liability Furthermore the Netherlands Commercial Court allows litigation of complex international civil or commercial matters in English

CLASS ACTION THREAT WILL INTENSIFYMany of the individual or collective damages claims under the GDPR are still pending or under appeal But 2020 will shed more light on how courts will deal with the hard legal questions on when immaterial damage for a GDPR breach must be compensated and if so to what degree

Growing awareness of data protection rights and the possibility of receiving monetary compensation for any GDPR violation is likely to further encourage individuals to seek damages from companies who profit from using their personal data Furthermore mounting GDPR investigations of DPAs could be conducive to bringing those claims New European legislation setting up a pan-European framework for cross-border class actions aiming to facilitate international damage claims is yet another indication that collective actions against the GDRP violations are here to stay The EU Directive can be adopted as early as the second half of 2020

The courts are likely to increasingly relax the high threshold for damages as mentioned above Dutch courts have already made the first steps in this direction A similar trend is taking place in the UK In deciding all of these cases the courts will continuously weigh in the growing societal frustration against companies monetising personal data without paying their fair share to individuals and similarly the limited capacity of the DPAs to curtail unlawful practices

Dutch courts are typically more generous when it comes to awarding damages ndash even for relatively ldquominorrdquo GDPR violations

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

  • Pag_03 INDEX
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  • PAG06
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  • PAG34
  • PAG36
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Page 30: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

31

BALANCING ACT NEW LABOUR LAW IN 2020The much-anticipated Labour Market in Balance Act which came into force at the start of the year will bring significant changes allowing for dismissal to be based on a combination of grounds In the course of 2020 new legislation will allow

employers to seek compensation for transition payments to employees with a long-term incapacity Also on the horizon in 2020 new rules aim to clarify the legal position of indepen-dent contractors and protect them from underpaid work

EMPLOYERS CAN COMBINE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSALWhile the new Labour Market in Balance Act brings with it more changes the one that has received the most fanfare is the new cumulative ground for dismissal Under the new law employers can combine various grounds to dismiss an employee ndash something that previous legislation did not allow This means that an employer in specific circumstances no longer needs to meet the full criteria for one particular dismissal ground Instead employers can combine several ldquoincompleterdquo grounds for example if an employee is underperforming and

the working relationship is damaged the employer can combine the two

grounds and form one full ground for dismissal This new combined ground aims to make it easier to terminate an employment agreement It remains to be seen whether that will be the case in practice as everything will depend on how easily the courts will apply the new ground For now the

expectation is that this may very well differ between the courts In

terms of additional compensation a court can award up to 50 of the

statutory transition payment to the employee if the court terminates the

Cumulative ground for dismissal

Transition payment as of

first day

Same rights for

payrolling

Changes to unemployment benefit

contributions

More safeguards for on-call employees

Three-year maximum for

chain of contracts LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE

Stefan SagelPartner+31 20 577 1951stefansageldebrauwcom

Janneke van der KroonCounsel+31 20 577 1862jannekevanderkroondebrauwcom

Barbara Kloppert Partner+31 20 577 1965barbarakloppertdebrauwcom

CHANGES AS OF 1 JANUARY 2020

NEW CUMULATIVE GROUND FOR DISMISSAL As of 1 January 2020 the courts can combine different grounds for dismissal while deciding on a request for dissolution of an employment agreement If the employment is terminated under this lsquorsquoi-groundrsquorsquo (after the

clause it falls under) the court can award additional compensation up to 50 of the transition payment

TRANSITION PAYMENT Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment instead of after two years

Long-term employment will no longer lead to a higher transition payment per year of service Instead employees will accumulate a third of their monthly salary per year of service

CHAIN OF TEMPORARY CONTRACTS The maximum period for successive temporary employment contracts is extended from two to three years

The number of temporary contracts allowed in this period remains three

PAYROLLING The government intends to improve the legal position of ldquopayrollrdquo employees by introducing statutory

restrictions Payroll employees are entitled to the same employment conditions as those employees directly employed by the client and to an adequate pension scheme (as of 2021)

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS The contributions to be made by employers will now be lower for employees with permanent contracts and

higher for employees with flexible contracts

ON-CALL EMPLOYEES On-call employees have to be notified at least four days in advance Otherwise they are not required to

respond to the request Employees will remain entitled to the wages over the period for which they were called if their employers withdraw the call within four days of the work starting

OUR TEAM

LABOUR MARKET IN BALANCE ACT

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

  • Pag_03 INDEX
  • PAG05
  • PAG06
  • PAG08
  • PAG10
  • PAG12
  • PAG14
  • PAG17
  • PAG18
  • PAG20
  • PAG22
  • PAG24
  • PAG27
  • PAG28
  • PAG31
  • PAG34
  • PAG36
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Page 31: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

Employment amp Employee Benefits Fields of expertise

32

employment agreement on the basis of the cumulative ground It remains to be seen if courts will consider such additional compensation to be a fair compensation for a combined dismissal ground We will keep a close eye on any new developments throughout 2020

COMPENSATING EMPLOYERS FOR TRANSITION PAYMENTSThe law requires an employer to also pay a transition payment if the employer terminates the employment agreement of an employee for long-term sickness (over two years) Many employers were reluctant to terminate the employment agreement of long-term sick employees and kept them ldquodormantrdquo which led to much debate On 8 November 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must in principle terminate dormant employment agreements by mutual consent and make a transition payment at the employeersquos request Under the Transition Payment Reimbursement Act that takes effect on 1 April 2020 and is retroactive to 1 July 2015 employers can request the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency to reimburse them for transition payments made to employees dismissed after two years of sickness With the new compensation rules the government wants to accommodate employers who face having to pay a transition payment to the employee on top of two years of continued salary during sickness

DISMISSAL FOR BUSINESS-ECONOMIC REASONSThere is now a possibility to include clauses in collective labour agreements allowing employers to compensate employees in a way that differs from the

statutory transition payment for dismissals based on business-economic reasons Briefly put compensation no longer has to be an equivalent of the transition payment on an individual level in each case as was required by previous rules Instead the collective labour agreement can stipulate that the employee does not need to be paid the transition payment if the employee is entitled to (a) an arrangement that contributes to the reduction of unemployment (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation or (c) a combination of the two If according to the collective labour agreement the employee is only entitled to (b) a reasonable amount of financial compensation such compensation is in principle only reasonable if the amount is the same as the transition payment With these new rules the government aims to lighten the financial burden for employers required to make a transition payment to employees who need to be dismissed for business-economic reasons The new rules make it possible to agree on alternative compensation only if the dismissal is based on business-economic reasons

MORE CLARITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSThe position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020 A new draft bill on independent contractors was available for public consultation in NovemberDecember 2019 The Dutch government is currently preparing the consultationrsquos outcome and an impact assessment the latter of which will be finalised in early 2020

This bill will pave the way for several new measures that will give independent contractors more certainty on their legal status and protect them from underpaid work The government wants to prevent independent contractors from in reality working as employees ndash the latter of whom of course are entitled to ldquostandardrdquo employment law protections First a statutory minimum fee of EUR 16 (excluding

EXPERTS

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 32: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

With all of this therersquos no doubt that 2020 will be another important year for independent contractor legislation

33

VAT) per hour will be introduced Second independent contractors with a fee of EUR 75 (excluding VAT) or more per hour who work for one client for a maximum of one year will be able to obtain ndash together with the company for which they work ndash a declaration that the worker is performing activities for the company as an independent contractor To obtain this declaration the contract between the independent contractor and the company must state that the parties do not intend to enter into an employment agreement The self-employed personrsquos declaration ensures ndash if the conditions for obtaining the declaration have been met ndash that the agreement between the company and the independent contractor will not be seen as an employment agreement As a result no wage tax will have to be paid If it turns out that the criteria for the existence of an employment agreement have been met certain

employment law rules such as the continued payment during sickness will still not apply It remains to be seen whether these proposed rules will become legislation

The government has also made clear that enforcement of the Act on Deregulation of Working Relationships Assessments is suspended until 1 January 2021 However as was the case in 2019 the act may be enforced against companies which purposely and maliciously avoid paying wage tax by stating that employees are independent contractors As of 1 September 2019 the Dutch tax authorities may give instructions to companies who act without malice in violation of the act In addition as of 1 January 2020 the Dutch tax authorities may now take enforcement measures if those companies do not comply with these instructions within a reasonable period of time

The position of independent contractors will again be the centre of attention in 2020

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

  • Pag_03 INDEX
  • PAG05
  • PAG06
  • PAG08
  • PAG10
  • PAG12
  • PAG14
  • PAG17
  • PAG18
  • PAG20
  • PAG22
  • PAG24
  • PAG27
  • PAG28
  • PAG31
  • PAG34
  • PAG36
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Page 33: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

Place story titles on the top margins

Place headers or bodytext below the lower margin

Collumn Structure

The same goes for the collumn structure within the 6 collumns you can play around with different widths MAX width 5 collumnsMINIMUM width 2 collumns

Not every page needs to have the same collumn structure let the amount of content be te factor to decide whether you need a single text block with 5 collumn width or double blocks of 3 collumn width or maybe a double block consisting of a 2 collumn and 3 collumn width combina-tion

These margins provide guidance to find a spot to start or continue the story after for example an image was inserted on the page

The margins purpose are to create a consistent line throughout the booklet yet also provide a playfullness

InsolvencyFinance amp RestructuringFields of expertise

34

THE NETHERLANDS SET TO CONTINUE EU FOCUS

ON BUSINESS RESCUE

WHAT TREND DO YOU SEE IN THE RESTRUCTURING SECTOR FOR 2020REINOUT If I were pressed to pick one it would be the ongoing attention on the various ways to extend a companyrsquos lifecycle and make it more resilient during a downturn FERDINAND I agree various initiatives taken by both the EU and the Dutch legislature support this trend Last yearrsquos adoption of the EU directive on restructuring and insolvency provides viable companies facing financial difficulties with an effective national preventive restructuring framework This is great for companies because by using this framework they can avoid bankruptcy proceedings The Directiversquos objective is similar to that of the Dutch bill on Court confirmation of extrajudicial restructuring plans (CERP)

An interview with our experts

Also worth mentioning are the draft EU Directive on credit servicers credit purchasers and the recovery of collateral and the Dutch prepack

DO YOU EXPECT THESE DRAFTS TO AFFECT COM-PANIES OPERATING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN 2020FERDINAND The implementation period for the Restructuring Directive is two years but while drafting the CERP bill the Dutch legislature took the text into account We expect the bill to become effective in the second half of 2020 The same applies to the prepack and the related bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings Each of these initiatives is likely to affect ndash and benefit ndash companies starting this year

IF YOUR EXPECTATIONS MATE-RIALISE WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF THIS NEW LEGIS-LATION LETrsquoS START WITH CERP AND THE PREPACK REINOUT In a booklet we published on CERP we explained how companies can restructure their debt through a debtor-in-possession procedure This results in a binding court-confirmed restructuring plan for all affected creditors and shareholders including for opponents of the plan In the Netherlands and most of continental Europe this is now only possible through insolvency proceedings

FERDINAND The prepack is another tool for debtors preparing for a restructuring outside the public eye This is similar to CERP but an important difference is that the prepack

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

  • Pag_03 INDEX
  • PAG05
  • PAG06
  • PAG08
  • PAG10
  • PAG12
  • PAG14
  • PAG17
  • PAG18
  • PAG20
  • PAG22
  • PAG24
  • PAG27
  • PAG28
  • PAG31
  • PAG34
  • PAG36
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Page 34: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

35

anticipates the debtor going bankrupt whereas CERP proceedings take place outside insolvency proceedings

REINOUT The bill on the transfer of undertakings in bankruptcy proceedings addresses the fear that a prepack will be detrimental to employees All employee rights and all employer obligations are transferred alongside the undertaking except for existing financial obligations (such as unpaid salaries) and jobs which become obsolete due to the business conditions of the transfer

AS FOR EU INITIATIVES WHAT IS THE DIREC-TIVE ON CREDIT SERVICERS CREDIT PUR-CHASERS AND THE RECOVERY OF COLLATERAL ABOUTFERDINAND This draft directive brings much-needed relief to the financial markets In addressing the recovery of non-performing loans it deals with the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans and mechanisms for accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DIRECTIVEREINOUT Considering the EUrsquos efforts to strengthen the European Economic and Monetary Union the final text will probably be agreed upon in the second half of this year The implementation period will begin soon after

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NPL DIRECTIVE FOR THE NETHERLANDSFERDINAND The accelerated extrajudicial collateral enforcement (AECE) under this directive will require a significant change to the Dutch legal framework for the enforcement of security rights Implementation of AECE will allow professional parties to agree to a private sale of all secured assets right from the start which is currently not possible This will save time and improve sales proceeds as a private sale is almost always the preferred option for enforcing any security right

THE EU AND THE NETHERLANDS SEEM TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RESCUE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY DO YOU EXPECT FEWER INSOL-VENCY PROCEEDINGS IN 2020 AND BEYONDREINOUT The number of bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands has steadily declined over the last six years even though 2019 saw 34 more bankruptcy proceedings than 2018 FERDINAND Considering the economic slowdown the number of bankruptcies may go up a bit But the overall drop in bankruptcies will probably continue and this is something to applaud Bankruptcies have a negative spill-over effect and lead to loss of business value While a restructuring can be painful it ultimately preserves going-concern value for

shareholders creditors employees and other stakeholders Therefore a restructuring tend to be preferable over bankruptcy proceedings so it may be a good development if bankruptcies continue to give way to restructurings

DESPITE A DECLINE ARE THERE NEW DEVEL-OPMENTS IN THE BANKRUPTCY SECTORREINOUT Yes last year the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted a model law on enterprise group insolvency This provides a framework for the management and coordination of multiple insolvency proceedings of affiliated companies belonging to a single enterprise group FERDINAND And jurisdictions can adopt the model law regardless if they have adopted the UNCITRAL model law on cross-border insolvency or that on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgements

THE NETHERLANDS HAVE NOT YET ADOPTED THESE MODEL LAWS HAVE THEYFERDINAND No but the Justice Department has announced the installation of a commission to look at the possibility of amending the Dutch Bankruptcy Act to implement parts of the model law on cross-border insolvency That will probably take place this year

THAT SOUNDS GOOD ARE THERE MORE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES IF THEY CANNOT AVOID BANKRUPTCYREINOUT Yes another helpful tool is a legislative guide on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency published by UNCITRAL in 2019 This provides directors with unprecedented guidance during a bleak period in a companyrsquos lifecycle the one directly before insolvency

ANY FINAL THOUGHTSREINOUT 2020 will undoubtedly be a year full of new developments in the restructuring and insolvency area FERDINAND We look forward to getting our hands on these new tools and using them to increase restructuring value for our clients

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

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Page 35: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

TaxFields of expertise

36

DUTCH TAX CLIMATE TO TURN COLDER THIS YEAR WILL IT BE AN ANNUS HORRIBILIS FOR MULTINATIONALS

2019 is likely to go down in history as their ldquoannus horribilisrdquo for the Dutch Tax Authorities The body drifted from scandal to scandal culminating in the resignation of the Dutch Undersec-retary of Finance According to an independent commission report the tax authorities had seemingly ldquolost all sense of perspective and operated with tunnel visionrdquo in their desire to combat fraud affecting thousands of innocent taxpayers

But the tax authorities wonrsquot be spending all of their time making amends in the new year Multinationals based in the Netherlands will be seeing a curtailing of provisions in the Dutch tax regime that has allowed them to pay little or no corporate tax on their Dutch income This move comes after a hearing organised by the Dutch parliament last year ndash resulting in widespread public and political condemnation of the current system

For its part the European Commission is busy reviewing if certain rulings granted by the Dutch tax authorities to IKEA and Nike constitute illegal state aid A final decision in the IKEA case is expected in 2020 NEW FISCAL UNITY REGIME

In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that certain parts of the Dutch fiscal unity regime were not in line with EU law Emergency amendments were made with a pre-consultation taking place in 2019 In the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will issue a letter outlining the new fiscal unity regime A public consultation is likely to take place later in 2020 after which a bill will head to the Dutch parliament For now the Dutch government has stated that the new regime will not enable the formation of a cross-bor-der fiscal unity

STUDIES ON AT ARMrsquoS LENGTH PRICING AND HOLDING COMPANIES WITHOUT SUBSTANCEDuring the first quarter of 2020 the Dutch government will release two studies on topics that may be relevant to foreign multinationals operating in or through the Netherlands

The first looks at whether the Netherlands should unilaterally amend the ldquoat armrsquos lengthrdquo principle particularly if it leads

EXPERTS

- +

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

  • Pag_03 INDEX
  • PAG05
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  • PAG08
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  • PAG12
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  • PAG31
  • PAG34
  • PAG36
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Page 36: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

37

to a downward adjustment of taxable income for Dutch tax purposes Over the years a widespread practice has developed where structures exploit the different views held by states on what is an armrsquos length price This has led to untaxed income In many cases the tax implications of these structures were confirmed in advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch Tax Authorities The study will report on whether the possibility to make a downward adjustment to taxable income needs to change

The second study reviews the applying of the participation exemption to Dutch holding companies with little or no substance which belong to a group with no other activities in the Netherlands The study is part of the Dutch governmentrsquos policy of combatting the use of the Netherlands in aggressive international tax planning structures and it will issue recommendations The difficulty with new legislation will be that ldquogood guysrdquo will also be caught and making such rules EU-proof will be a challenge

MEASURES SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT NETHERLANDS-BASED MULTINATIONALSThe head offices of multinationals in the Netherlands often pay little or no tax on income from their Dutch operations as they often have significant head-office costs which cannot be charged to their subsidiaries External borrowing also often takes place in the Netherlands and it is possible to deduct losses from a subsidiaryrsquos liquidation

This has led to public and political uproar and has prompted the government to set up a commission to report on how to ensure that Netherlands-based multinationals pay a reasona-ble amount of tax on their Dutch income while at the same time keeping the Netherlands attractive as a location for these multinationals While the commission was due to report on this before the end of 2019 it is now expected to do so in 2020

The Dutch government has also embraced a bill to limit the possibility of claiming losses once a subsidiary is liquidated

If passed a liquidation loss will only be allowed for the EU subsidiaries with EU activities where the taxpayer holds a 25 stake provided that the liquidation is completed within three years from when the subsidiaryrsquos activity stopped The bill has the governmentrsquos full support and is expected to become effective in 2021

In its annual plan for 2020 the Ministry of Finance also announced that the horizontal monitoring system (governing the relationship between most Dutch listed companies and the Dutch tax authorities) will be revised in 2020 It is not yet clear what the revisions will entail

END TO EXITING WIHOUT DIVIDEND WITHHOLDING TAXIn December a member of the Groenlinks opposition party in the Dutch Parliament announced the intent to submit a proposal to close loopholes in the Dutch dividend withholding tax legislation These loopholes allow companies to exit the Netherlands without paying withholding tax Under current law a cross border merger is not subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax and leads to the permanent loss of the dividend withholding tax claim of the Netherlands on the earnings of the disappearing company The same is true if a company becomes a resident of another jurisdiction on the basis of a tie-breaker provision in a double taxation treaty Similarly distributions by certain cooperatives are not currently subject to dividend withholding tax According to a press release the proposal would eliminate these opportuni-ties The idea is to impose dividend withholding tax instead A text of the proposal is anxiously awaited

It will be a challenge to make all the new rules EU proof

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

  • Pag_03 INDEX
  • PAG05
  • PAG06
  • PAG08
  • PAG10
  • PAG12
  • PAG14
  • PAG17
  • PAG18
  • PAG20
  • PAG22
  • PAG24
  • PAG27
  • PAG28
  • PAG31
  • PAG34
  • PAG36
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Page 37: CRYSTAL BALL GAZING 2020 - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek€¦ · core principles of the Dutch 2016 Corporate Governance Code. In pursuing this, companies must carefully weigh up the

Claude Debussylaan 80 1082 MD AmsterdamThe Netherlands

wwwdebrauwcom

  • Pag_03 INDEX
  • PAG05
  • PAG06
  • PAG08
  • PAG10
  • PAG12
  • PAG14
  • PAG17
  • PAG18
  • PAG20
  • PAG22
  • PAG24
  • PAG27
  • PAG28
  • PAG31
  • PAG34
  • PAG36
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