Martijn van de Hel

Martijn van de Hel is a partner with Maverick Advocaten based in their Amsterdam office. He works as a lawyer in the fields of Dutch and European competition rules, state aid and procurement law. Martijn specialises in assisting companies in investigations of the ACM (Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets) and the European Commission. Over the past twenty years, he has been involved in numerous cartel proceedings (including dawn raids and requests for leniency). Major successes include the high-profile quashing of the fines imposed on traders at foreclosure auctions and the fine imposed on an importer of traction batteries. He also assists companies in cartel damage suits (follow-on cases) and damage suits against the State. Martijn also has extensive experience in investigations by the ACM into compliance with consumer rules. He has been successful in court against the fine imposed on a well-known clothing company, against the fine imposed on an energy company and in challenging an order subject to a penalty for a rental agency. He has also assisted a provider of dating sites in obtaining a commitment decision from the ACM. Martijn furthermore advises companies in a wide range of sectors on potentially anti‑competitive agreements, such as non-compete clauses in joint ventures and e‑commerce issues in distribution, agency and franchise agreements, and on the risks involved in purchasing combinations. Martijn has specific expertise regarding the ban on the abuse of a dominant position. His experience also extends to the regulated sectors (such as healthcare, telecommunications, media, energy, and public transport). Martijn advises and assists companies and government institutions in the fields of state aid and unfair competition by the government, including investigations by the ACM into compliance with the Wet markt en overheid (Public Enterprises (Market Activities) Act). For example, he successfully represented an investment fund in a complaint concerning an infringement by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. He also acts in tender procedures, especially in the field of healthcare procurement. Martijn assists companies on a daily basis in reporting mergers and acquisitions to the ACM, the NZa (Dutch Healthcare Authority) and the European Commission.