Derdenbescherming
Protection of third parties
Third-party protection is the statutory protection enjoyed by third parties who have acquired rights in good faith on the basis of an apparently valid legal act or register entry.
Third-party protection prevents third parties from being prejudiced by defects in a prior legal act concluded between other parties. In Dutch law, this protection is provided for, inter alia, in Book 3 of the Dutch Civil Code, which affords precedence to the interests of the third party over those of the original rightholder.
The regime is of particular importance as it enhances legal certainty in commercial dealings and in transactions involving immovable property. Absent such protection, purchasers or pledgees would be exposed to the ongoing risk that their acquired rights might subsequently be impaired.
In practice, third-party protection is frequently relied upon in connection with entries in the land register or the commercial register, enabling a third party to rely on the appearance created by those registers.
“The bank was able to successfully invoke third-party protection because it had relied in good faith on the registration in the land register.”
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