About Guus Braakman
August J. (Guus) Braakman is a Rotterdam based legal counsel. In 1978, having worked for the European Commission Legal Service for Agriculture for over 4 years, he changed to the legal profession and joined the firm of NautaDutilh, as it is now known.
Guus specialises in European law, and more specifically in European and Dutch competition law, with a special focus on maritime competition law. During his 45 years of practice as an advocate he acquired wide advisory and litigation experience in these areas of law.
Apart from his activities as advocate, Guus issued a wide variety of publications, including a book on the application of European competition law by the courts of the Member States, written and edited by order of the European Commission. With regard to maritime competition law, he issued publications on the P3-alliance, Brexit and the consequences of digitalisation for the maritime industry. Guus was, and still is a sought-after speaker at national and foreign legal fora. He was also, and to some extent remains, an acting committee member for various international organisations, like the Union Internationale des Avocats and the European Maritime Law Organisation.
In 2011 Guus started his own legal practice, having adopted the view that, apart from being client-oriented, specialist legal counsel should also be affordable. In 2024 Guus continued to advise his clients as legal counsel.
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Languages: Dutch, French, German and English (fluent).


Guus Braakman
Professional experience
1974 - 1978 Lawyer at the Commission of the European Union, Brussels
1978 - 2001 Advocate and partner Nauta Dutilh.
2001 - 2011 Advocate and partner RWV Advocaten
2011 - 2023 Guus Braakman Advocaat
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1989 - 1994 Chairman of the Commission on Competition Law of the Union Internationale des Avocats.
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1994 - 1998 Board member of the Union Internationale des Avocats
1994 - 1998 Director for Legal Studies-Committees Business Law Department of the Union Internationale des Avocats.
1994 - 1998 Member of the International Board of the European Maritime Law Organisation.
1998 - 2014 Member Competition Law Committee Dutch Bar Association.
1998 - 2018 Secretary-General of the European Maritime Law Organisation.
2018 - Member of the International Board of the European Maritime Law Organisation
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Offices
Mentions
Quote: Advocaten, wie zijn de beste zakelijke pleiters, 1994.
Quote: Professionals, 1999.
Guide tot the World's Leading Competition and
Antitrust Lawyers, Euromoney Publication PLC; first edition (1995) and second edition (1999).
The GCR 100; A Survey of the World's leading competition
practitioners, Global Competition Review, 1999.
An International Who's Who of Competition Lawyers &
Economists, Global Competition Review, The appr. 300
leading competition lawyers in the world, first edition
(1998), second edition (1999), third edition (2000),
fourth edition (2002), fifth edition (2004), sixth edition (2006).
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Selection of cases
European Court of Justice
Botzen e.a. v RDM, prejudiciële beslissing, zaak 186/83, Jur. (1985) ECR, 519.
Van der Kooy v Commissie, zaken 67, 68&70/85 (1985) ECR 1315; (1989) 2 CMLR 804.
Kühne & Heitz v PVV, prejudiciële beslissing, zaken 354, 355, 356/88, uitspraak van 4 juli 1990, (1990) ECR 1-2753.
Van Sillevoldt v HPA, prejudiciële beslissing, zaak 159/88, vonnis van 6 juni 1990, (1990) ECR 1-2215.
Sea-Land en Nedlloyd v. Inspecteur van de Belastingdienst Douane, district Rotterdam, prejudiciële vraag van de Afdeling Rechtspraak van de Raad van State d.d. 4 november 1999, gevoegde zaken C-430/99 en C-431/99 (2002) ECR 1-5235.
Kühne & Heitz v PPE, prejudiciële beslissing, zaak C-453/00, (2004) ECR 1- 837.
Coxon & Chatterton v Minister van LNV, gev. zaken C-129/05 en C-130/05, (2006) ECR 1-9265.
General Court of the EU
SCK/FNK v Commissie, zaken T-213/95 en T-18/96 vonnis van 2 oktober 1997 (1997) ECRII-1739. Het arrest bevestigt de beschikking van de Commissie van 29 november 1995 (OJ No L312, blz.79) die was gegeven op basis van een klacht van Van Marwijk e.a. tegen SCK/FNK.
Stork v Commission, zaak T-241/97, arrest van 17 februari 2000 (2000) ECR 11-309. Het arrest vernietigt de beschikking van de Commissie van 20 juni 1997.
Supreme Court of the Netherlands
Bevrachtingskantoor Amsterdam BV, arrest van 27 januari 1987, NJ 1987, 813.
VBB e.a. / Staat der Nederlanden, arrest van 14 mei 2004.
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Jac. Meisner / Belastingdienst, arrest van 16 December 2016, Nr 15/02486.
Tribunal of Trade and Industry of the Netherlands
NedLloyd (Selektvracht) v KPN, uitspraak van 17 juli 1998, nrs. AWB 97/964 and 97/1000. (zie ook AB 1994, 429 (m.nt. JHvdV); M&M 1998, nr. 4 p. 134; NJB 1998, 18, p. 1572 (Red.), UCB nr. 52.
Kühne Heitz v PPE, AWB 97/995 B, LJN: AR 3068.
WBE v Productschap Tuinbouw, uitspraak van 5 oktober 2007, AWB 06/261 en 06/267.
DFG e.a v Ministry of Economic Affairs, uitspraak van 10 juli 2018, AWB 15/815 ff.
Dutch Flower Group, Adomex e.a. v Minister van Economische Zaken, uitspraak van 10 juli 2018, ECLI:NL:CBB:2018:392.
Who protects us against the anti-competitive
effects of computer code?
