Unfair terms in B2B contracts - a practical guide

1 December 2020 marks a major turning point for business-to-business contracts (B2B), as that is the date on which the law prohibiting unfair contract terms will enter into force.

Over the last few months, our team has been working on a practical guide to help businesses through the maze of new principles that are often very hazy.

The Law on unfair terms (B2B law) applies to almost all contracts concluded between businesses, irrespective of the nature of the contract.

The B2B law inevitably has an important effect on the general terms and conditions of your agreements. In this section of our practical guide we explain why. You will find out how important it is to review your general terms and conditions (or have them reviewed) as soon as possible and, if necessary, adapt them to the B2B law. 

As the B2B law applies to all contracts between businesses, it will generally concern contracts for the provision of services and commercial distribution that are common in business life. These contracts sometimes reflect a certain imbalance between the parties and will therefore be a potentially important target for the application of the principles of the B2B law.