After more than six years of development, the legislative process concerning new Dutch restructuring legislation (Wet Homologatie Onderhands Akkoord, or “WHOA”) that introduces a Dutch debtor-in-possession proceeding (a “Dutch Scheme”) combining features of chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and the English Scheme of Arrangement was finalized at the end of 2020. The WHOA entered into force January 1, 2021 and is thus available to companies in distress from now onwards.

Since our last White Paper on the Dutch Scheme, the WHOA has been amended in several relevant aspects. Here, we briefly discuss the most notable of these amendments and include a restated version of the original White Paper on the Dutch Scheme.