Beyond Tulips and Cheese: Exporting Mass Securities Claim Settlements from the Netherlands

With the enactment of the 2005 Collective Settlement of Mass Damage Act (WCAM 2005) the Dutch legal system and indeed Dutch society has taken a significant step towards a more efficient resolution of mass damage claims. The WCAM 2005 seems especially promising for attaining relatively swift settlement of mass securities claims in the Dutch context. Since, however, stock traded on the Amsterdam exchange is not exclusively owned by shareholders resident in The Netherlands, the obvious question is to what extent settlements under the WCAM 2005 have cross-border effect. Against this background, this paper has a twofold purpose. First, we aim at providing a general outline of the Dutch legal system concerning the collective settlement of mass damage claims. Secondly, we discuss issues of international jurisdiction, cross-border recognition, res judicata and enforcement of opt-out securities settlements under the WCAM 2005. Have the Dutch found a new export product with the enactment of the WCAM 2005?