There is a growing tendency in the EEC countries to harmonise legislation on commercial agents. It has been found necessary to improve the legislation for the protection of commercial agents vis-à-vis their principals.

The present situation is that in five countries of Western Europe (Netherlands, Switzerland, the Federal Republic of Germany, Austria, and France) the position of the commercial agent is regulated by law—in an Act or in a Code—but not in the other countries. In these other countries the courts have built up case law that differs from country to country.

To solve this problem of differences in the national laws concerning the position of the commercial agent, the Benelux countries took a first step toward harmonisation of the legislation on commercial agents. The provisions contained in the Benelux Treaty regarding an Act for (self-employed) commercial agents were arrived at by reconciling the relevant provisions of the Netherlands Commercial Code (arts. 75a to 75p) and Belgian jurisprudence. These provisions have been awaiting ratification by the Parliaments of the three countries for incorporation into the national Codes in the course of 1977 and 1978. In the Netherlands, it was ratified and incorporated into the Commercial Code by an Act of Mar. 23, 1977, and came into effect on July 1,

The Commission of the European Communities has submitted a proposal for a Council Directive to co-ordinate the laws of the Member States relating to (self-employed) commercial agents. This proposal was submitted to the Council of the European Communities on Dec. 17, 1976, and is not expected to be incorporated in any of the national Codes before the middle of 1980. Because the content of this proposal is still under debate and may still be changed considerably, this article will deal only with the Benelux provisions on commercial agents and their incorporation into the Netherlands Commercial Code.

1. Nearly all the provisions of the law have a binding character (art. 19, Benelux Treaty, hereinafter “B.T.”; art. 74r, Netherlands Commercial Code, hereinafter “N.C.C.”).