General terms & conditions
1. APPLICABILITY
The civil company in the form of a private company (BV) Athos-Advocaten provides services through lawyers and other staff members in accordance with the general terms and conditions set out below. Athos-Advocaten is registered with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE) under number 0464.429.862.
These terms and conditions may only be departed from in writing. These general terms and conditions apply not only to the client’s actual instruction to Athos-Advocaten, but also to all subsequent instructions, unless different arrangements are agreed in writing for a specific matter.
2. MUTUAL DUTY TO PROVIDE INFORMATION
The client undertakes to provide all useful data and information, where appropriate supported by documents. The client guarantees the accuracy and completeness of the information provided to Athos-Advocaten by or on his or her behalf.
Athos-Advocaten shall not be liable for any damage arising from inaccurate or incomplete information provided by the client. Athos-Advocaten informs the client about the performance of its mandate and the progress of the matter.
3. RECOURSE TO THIRD PARTIES
Apart from the usual tasks carried out within Athos-Advocaten, the client agrees that Athos-Advocaten may, for specific assignments and unless otherwise agreed, engage other lawyers, bailiffs and translators for the performance of its mandate without separate prior approval from the client. Unless otherwise agreed, the client leaves the choice of such third parties to Athos-Advocaten.
Athos-Advocaten shall not be liable for any shortcomings of such third parties, regardless of whether their intervention is charged separately to the client and regardless of whether the consulted third parties charge their costs and fees to Athos-Advocaten or to the client.
4. INTELLECTUAL RIGHTS
All rights relating to the intellectual work developed or used by Athos-Advocaten in the performance of the mandate entrusted to it, such as opinions, submissions, petitions, contracts, drafts, etc., belong to Athos-Advocaten.
Unless Athos-Advocaten has given its express prior written consent, the client is prohibited from using, distributing, publishing or exploiting in any manner whatsoever the intellectual creations or their material embodiment.
5. THIRD-PARTY FUNDS
Athos-Advocaten shall transfer to the client, as soon as possible, all amounts received on behalf of the client.
Athos-Advocaten may retain from the amounts received on behalf of the client such sums as are necessary to cover outstanding advances or statements of costs and fees. It shall notify the client thereof in writing. This provision does not affect the client’s right to dispute Athos-Advocaten’s statements of fees and to claim payment of the amounts thus withheld.
Athos-Advocaten shall transfer as soon as possible to such third parties all amounts it receives from the client on their behalf.
6. LIABILITY
The professional liability of the lawyers of Athos-Advocaten is insured by means of professional liability insurance taken out by the Bar Association.
The professional liability of the lawyers of Athos-Advocaten is limited to the net amount actually paid out by the professional liability insurer.
The policy covering professional liability provides worldwide coverage, subject to the clarifications and exclusions contained in the civil liability policy for lawyers.
Athos-Advocaten and its lawyers shall not be liable for any shortcomings of third parties engaged in the performance of their services, regardless of whether such third parties charge their fees and costs to Athos-Advocaten or directly to the client.
If, for whatever reason, no payment were to be made under that insurance, the liability of Athos-Advocaten, its partners, staff and employees shall be limited to the amount of the fees paid by the client for the services provided by Athos-Advocaten that gave rise to the liability.
7. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
All electronic communication sent by Athos-Advocaten is purely indicative and may in no way give rise to liability on the part of Athos-Advocaten.
Athos-Advocaten makes reasonable efforts to keep emails and attachments free from any virus or other defect that could damage a computer or IT system. It nevertheless remains the client’s responsibility to take all necessary measures to protect his or her own computer or IT system.
Athos-Advocaten may not be held liable for any loss or damage that may result from receiving or using electronic documents from Athos-Advocaten.
8. TERMINATION OF THE MANDATE
The client may terminate the mandate entrusted to Athos-Advocaten at any time by notifying Athos-Advocaten thereof in writing. Athos-Advocaten shall then send its final statement of costs and fees to the client. The client is required to pay for all work performed and costs incurred up to the termination of the agreement.
Upon first request, Athos-Advocaten shall return the case documents to the client.
Athos-Advocaten may at any time terminate the mandate entrusted to it by the client, without being liable to pay damages, by notifying the client thereof in writing. In determining the moment at which it ceases its services, Athos-Advocaten must take into account the possibility for the client to obtain the necessary assistance from another lawyer in due time.
9. INVALIDITY OF ONE OR MORE CLAUSES
If one or more clauses should be invalid or void, this shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the other clauses of these general terms and conditions.
10. APPLICABLE LAW AND COMPETENT COURTS
Belgian law shall apply exclusively. In the event of a dispute, the courts of the judicial district of Brussels and, where applicable, the Justice of the canton of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek shall have jurisdiction.
11. ARCHIVING
After the termination of each mandate, Athos-Advocaten archives the file and subsequently retains it for a period of five years. After the expiry of the aforementioned five-year period, the file is permanently destroyed.