Four points of interest when concluding (commercial) agreements

You are negotiating an agreement with your counterparty, for example, a supplier, manufacturer or service provider. What should you consider prior to concluding this agreement?

With every agreement there are certain specifics which require attention. This may differ depending on the type of agreement. Nevertheless, there are at least four points that deserve your attention in every agreement. In the upcoming blog series, we will discuss these four points of interest. Every two weeks, one point of interest will be discussed. The first blog will be published on Wednesday, 16 November. We will discuss the following areas of concern:

1. Term and termination: do you agree on a definite or indefinite term? Do you agree on termination options? And what happens if you do not agree on termination or duration? In this blog we explain the possibilities and impossibilities.
2. Liability: what if the delivered product is not what you had in mind? Or the other way around, you have produced something or provided a service, but your counterparty claims that it does not meet the requirements and believes that he or she has suffered damage as a result? Make sure you clearly agree who, under what conditions, is liable for what damages. We provide tips & tricks.
3. Force majeure: what if you can no longer fulfill your obligations under the agreement? Can you then successfully invoke force majeure? And which situations are covered? In this blog we discuss your options.
4. Choice of law and choice of forum: it is important (especially for international contracts) to include a choice of law in the contract, so that you know which law governs the contract and the rights and obligations arising from it. After all, what is or is not permitted under a legal system may vary from country to country. It is also important to consider in advance who is competent to rule on the dispute. Preferably make a conscious choice in advance for the state court or a form of alternative dispute resolution. We list the pros and cons for you.

Don't want to miss a blog? Or would you like to know more now about an agreement you are planning to conclude? Then contact us at s.poutsma@ploum.nl or b.schoenmaker@ploum.nl  

Also appeared in this blog series:
1. Term and termination
2. Liability
3. Force Majeure
4. Choice of law and choice of forum