Commercial contract lawyer in the Netherlands
Dutch contract lawyer, Remko Roosjen is a Dutch advocate based in Amsterdam and founding partner of MAAK Advocaten N.V. He advises international businesses on Dutch commercial contract law and represents them in commercial litigation before Dutch courts (including the Netherlands Commercial Court), and in domestic and international arbitration. He works in English, German and Dutch, and a substantial part of his practice is for clients outside the Netherlands.
Remko founded MAAK Advocaten in 2016 to serve international businesses that need Dutch-law advice delivered directly by a senior specialist, without the layered structures and handoffs of larger full-service firms. That positioning is still how the firm operates today: clients reach Remko directly, he handles the file personally, and fees are agreed in advance.
Education and bar admission
Remko studied law at Tilburg University in the Netherlands and at the University of Helsinki in Finland, where he specialised in contract law and international business law. He completed further postgraduate training at the Grotius Academy, one of the principal Dutch institutions for advanced legal education.
He is a registered Dutch advocate (advocaat) and a member of the Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten (Dutch Bar Association). His public entry in the Dutch Bar's lawyer directory is available at zoekeenadvocaat.advocatenorde.nl. Remko complies with the mandatory continuing professional education (PO-punten) requirements set by the Dutch Bar.
Contract practice
Contract work sits at the core of Remko's practice. He drafts, negotiates, reviews and enforces commercial agreements under Dutch law for international manufacturers, importers, distributors, commercial agents and their trading partners across the supply chain.
His contract practice covers the full range of commercial drafting work that arises in international B2B trade:
- Sale of goods agreements under Dutch law and under the CISG (Vienna Sales Convention)
- Distribution agreements and commercial agency agreements (including Ingmar goodwill indemnity cases)
- Franchise agreements under the Dutch Franchise Act (Wet franchise)
- Manufacturing, supply and OEM agreements across the supply chain
- Licensing, technology transfer and IP assignment agreements
- General terms and conditions, including battle-of-forms situations
- Settlement agreements, letters of intent and pre-contractual documentation
- Service, consultancy and SaaS agreements
- International contracting: governing law, jurisdiction, force majeure, sanctions and international boilerplate
Within contract law, Remko regularly advises on the substantive issues that generate most commercial disputes: breach of contract and the consequences under articles 6:74 to 6:94 of the Dutch Civil Code, force majeure and hardship, exemption and penalty clauses (including the Dutch court's power of moderation under article 6:94), pre-contractual liability and the rules on nullity and annulment, and the three distinct Dutch termination mechanisms (opzegging, ontbinding and vernietiging). His guide to Dutch contract law explains the framework in plain language for international businesses.
Litigation practice
Remko has more than a decade of experience litigating in Dutch courts. His litigation practice is built around commercial disputes, with a particular focus on contractual non-performance, distribution and agency termination, product liability defence and supply chain disputes.
He represents clients before:
- All eleven Dutch District Courts (rechtbanken)
- The four Courts of Appeal (gerechtshoven)
- The Enterprise Chamber (Ondernemingskamer) of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal
- The Netherlands Commercial Court in Amsterdam, where proceedings run in English
- The Dutch Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) in points-of-law cases
- International commercial arbitration tribunals under NAI, ICC, UNCITRAL and ad hoc rules
Within that forum range, Remko regularly handles breach of contract litigation, summary proceedings (kort geding) for urgent matters, commercial debt collection combined with pre-judgment attachment (conservatoir beslag), enforcement of Dutch and foreign judgments, cross-border jurisdiction and forum disputes, and international commercial arbitration. A detailed walkthrough of how civil litigation actually works in the Netherlands is available in his guide to litigation in the Netherlands.
Publications and contributions
Remko has been selected as one of the guest authors of the Dutch Law Institute, where he publishes articles on Dutch contract law topics including reasonableness and fairness (redelijkheid en billijkheid), rescission for breach, commercial agency agreements, and related commercial subjects. He also contributed to the development of the Dutch Law Institute statutory interest calculator, which computes ordinary and commercial statutory interest under articles 6:119 and 6:119a of the Dutch Civil Code together with extrajudicial collection costs under article 6:96 and the WIK.
Remko serves as secretary of the board of the Vereniging voor Distributie-, Franchise- en Agentuurrecht (DFA), the Dutch professional association for distribution, franchise and agency law. The DFA brings together legal practitioners, academics and in-house counsel active in these fields.
Additional writing and commentary on commercial law topics by Remko is available on the MAAK Advocaten blog, on Medium, and on the firm's international website maak-law.com. A selection of professional profiles and independent listings is maintained at LinkedIn, Crunchbase, and Wikidata.
Languages and working style
Remko works in English, German and Dutch. The majority of his international practice runs in English. For DACH-region clients he works in German, including contract drafting, strategy sessions, correspondence and proceedings where German-language materials are needed. Dutch is the working language of regular Dutch court proceedings and of matters involving Dutch-only parties.
Remko handles client files personally from first call through to final outcome. There are no gatekeepers, no relationship managers, and no junior handoffs. For international clients working across time zones, response times are typically same-day. Fees are agreed in advance on a fixed-fee, hourly or hybrid basis as described on the lawyer fees page.
Contact Remko Roosjen
For a first conversation about a new matter, call +31 (0) 20 210 31 38, email mail@maakadvocaten.nl, or visit the contact page. An initial conversation is at no charge. MAAK Advocaten is based at Kraanspoor 34, 1033 SE Amsterdam.
For the firm's regulatory information, including the Dutch Bar registration entry, professional indemnity insurance, complaints procedure and general terms and conditions, see the legal information page.
Your first contact: Remko Roosjen
"As an English-speaking Dutch commercial lawyer in Amsterdam, I understand that international businesses need more than just legal translation - they require strategic guidance that bridges different legal systems. With over 15 years of experience in Dutch commercial law and civil litigation, I've built MAAK Advocaten specifically to serve the legal needs of international companies in the Netherlands.
My approach is straightforward: focus on practical solutions that protect your business interests while maintaining the relationships that drive your success. Whether you're dealing with complex supply chain agreements, technology contracts, or commercial disputes under Dutch law, I provide the clarity and results-driven strategy you need to operate confidently in the Netherlands.
The majority of my clients are international businesses who value direct communication, pragmatic advice, and measurable outcomes. That's exactly what I deliver - legal expertise that serves your business goals, not just legal theory."
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Last reviewed: April 15, 2026 by MAAK Advocaten N.V.