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Derk Christiaans

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Derk Christiaans is an associate in Baker McKenzie's London office and advises (multi)national companies on EU, competition and trade matters in various industries, including healthcare and life sciences, TMT, and consumer goods and retail.

Although often viewed as one of the most open economies in Europe, the broader European policy push for more foreign direct investment (FDI) screening has also given momentum to the Dutch legislature to design and implement the very first Dutch cross-sector FDI screening regime. On 1 June 2023, the Act on Security Screening of Investments, Mergers, and Acquisitions (“Vifo Act”) entered into force.

In a judgment of 10 January 2023, the Dutch Supreme Court confirmed that the applicable standard of proof for “intentional” violations of EU sanctions under Dutch law is generally low. The judgment confirmed that, although the intent of the accused with regard to the constituent elements of the relevant sanctions prohibition must be sufficiently proven to establish an intentional violation, intent does not need to be proven as to the unlawfulness of the conduct.