General terms and conditions

1. Definitions

1.1. The service provider of services (including advice, assistance, mediation, negotiation litigation, etc.) is Bannister BV (hereinafter "Bannister" or "the law firm" or "we"), a private limited liability company, having its registered office at B-2000 (Antwerp, Belgium), Suikerrui 5, KBO 0543.311.054, telephone +32 (0)3 369 28 00 , fax number +32 (0)3 369 28 01, website and office account BE96 6300 6877 7305 (BIC BBRUBEBB), third-party account BE57 6301 1503 9635 (BIC BBRUBEBB).

The lawyers associated with Bannister provide their services in the name and on behalf of Bannister and these lawyers are also affiliated with the Antwerp Bar, and are therefore subject to the rules of the Order of Flemish Bars as well as the Antwerp Bar.

1.2.      Client is the natural person or legal entity that calls upon the services of Bannister BV.

2. Scope

2.1. These general terms and conditions apply to all services provided by Bannister to the Client, and thus form an integral part of the agreement between Bannister and the Client.

2.2. Bannister reserves the right to amend these general terms and conditions.

2.3. A trainee lawyer associated with Bannister may handle cases in his/her own name during the duration of his/her trainee years imposed by the Bar. If the lawyer uses his/her own letterhead in those or other well-defined circumstances, no contractual relationship will be established with Bannister where appropriate, the lawyer in question is the sole contractual party of his/her Client.

2.4. Bannister's acceptance of these general terms and conditions of cooperation is an essential condition for our cooperation, which the Client accepts.  

3. Fee and billing

3.1. The fee covers the services provided by Bannister such as, but not exclusively: representation in court, provision of advice, meetings, correspondence, negotiations, telephone calls, searches, preparation of documents, travel time, etc. Fees are also charged for telephone, written and/or telephonic advice provided by Bannister.

3.2. The file will be handled in accordance with the fees as agreed with Bannister on a case-by-case basis. The fee will be increased by 21% VAT.

3.3. Bannister will invoice the Client for services, expenses and, if applicable, costs paid to third parties. In principle, and unless otherwise agreed, invoices are issued monthly, although Bannister reserves the right to change the invoicing frequency.

3.4. The dominus litis has the discretionary power to allocate the services to be performed in the relevant file among his associates and/or trainee lawyers.

3.5. The cost of the law firm is a flat administrative fee of 5% (this includes secretarial costs, correspondence, briefs, contracts, notes, petition, summons, etc.). This does not include €84.70 for file opening as well as a travel fee of €0.484/km, (incl. 21% VAT).

3.6. The law firm may request one or more advance payments before the commencement of the assignment and during the handling of the case. An advance is the lump sum amount paid by the Client and this prior to a detailed statement of costs and fees. In the final statement of costs and fees, these paid advances are deducted from the total amount.

3.7. The Client must pay advances, invoices and the final statement within 15 calendar days from the date of the payment request, unless otherwise agreed. If the Client does not agree with the requested advance payment or final statement, he must protest them in writing within 8 calendar days of receipt. A detail of the services rendered is available on first demand.

4. Terms of payment

4.1. Regarding consumers:

In the event of non-payment of all or part of invoices and/or fee notes, the provisions of Book XIX of the Economic Law Code shall apply, and the law firm shall send the Client a free reminder to pay the amount due within 14 calendar days.

If the Client does not pay within this period, the outstanding amount shall be increased by an annual interest calculated at the reference interest rate increased by eight percentage points referred to in Article 5, second paragraph, of the Law of 2 August 2002 on combating late payment in commercial transactions calculated from the calendar day following the day on which the free reminder was sent to the Client, and With a flat rate of:

1. 20 euros if the balance due is less than or equal to 150 euros;
2. €30 plus 10 % of the amount due on the tranche between €150.01 and €500 if the balance due is between €150.01 and €500;
3. 65 euros plus 5 % of the amount due on the tranche above 500 euros with a maximum of 2,000 euros if the balance due exceeds 500 euros.

Furthermore, the law firm may - after notice - suspend its services or even terminate the cooperation in case of late payments. In case the services are suspended or the cooperation is terminated because of non-payment by the Client, then in no case the law firm can be blamed for any liability in case any damage would occur as a result of this suspension or termination.

4.2. Regarding professionals/companies:

In the event of non-payment of all or part of the invoices and/or fee notes, the Client shall be liable by operation of law and without notice of default being required:

• an interest compensation equal to that stipulated in article 5 of the Law on combating late payment of 2 August 2002, and
• a conventional compensation, the amount of which is fixed at 10 % of the unpaid amounts.

Furthermore, the law firm may - after notice - suspend its services or even terminate the cooperation in case of late payments. In case the services are suspended or the cooperation is terminated because of non-payment by the Client, then in no case the law firm can be blamed for any liability in case any damage would occur as a result of this suspension or termination.

4.3. The law firm reserves the right to adjust the fees specified in this mandate in accordance with the consumer price index. When calculating the indexation, the starting index will be the index figure of the month preceding the signing of this mandate and the new index will be that of the month preceding the anniversary of the signing of this mandate and the entry into force of the agreement.

4.4. The Client informs the law firm about possible intervention by its (legal-aid) insurer and in case the Client does not have this information he/she will directly address his/her insurer and inform the law firm thereof. Insofar and to the extent that a (legal) insurance company of the Client intervenes, the law firm will be entitled to recover from the Client its fees and expenses that are not covered by a (legal) insurance company or for whatever reason are not charged.

5. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)

The law firm will inform you about the possibility of taking a dispute to court. The law (article 444, 2^the paragraph, Judicial Code) requires us to provide you with information on other possibilities that exist to resolve such dispute, such as, for example, classic direct negotiations, collaborative negotiations, the amicable settlement by the court, mediation, binding third-party decision or arbitration. These are appropriate dispute resolution methods, which may be judicial or extrajudicial.

You should note that when proceedings are initiated before the court, the court may question the parties at the introductory hearing about how they tried to resolve the dispute amicably prior to the court proceedings (article 730/1, §2 Ger. W.). It is also possible for the court to order your personal appearance in this regard. Moreover, the court may order mediation itself in certain circumstances.

6. Money laundering

The undersigned takes note of the applicability of the Money Laundering Prevention Act of 12.01.2004, which entails the legal obligation for the lawyer to identify the clientele and report money laundering to the President of the Bar of Antwerp.

7. Reliance on third parties

7.1. In addition to the usual duties carried out in the law firm, the Client agrees that the law firm may, under its responsibility, call upon other (foreign) lawyers for the execution of his assignment for specific assignments.

7.2. If the execution of the assignment requires the use of a bailiff or a translator, the Client leaves the choice thereof to the law firm.

7.3. The law firm only calls on other third parties, such as notaries, experts or accountants, chosen in consultation with the Client, with the Client's express consent.

7.4. The costs relating thereto shall be charged to the Client at cost price.

8. Liability and limitation of liability

8.1. The lawyers and mediators associated with Bannister are individually insured for their professional liability pursuant to their affiliation to the Bar by means of insurance taken out by the Order of Flemish Bars (policyholder) with MS Amlin Insurance (lead insurer) and KBC Insurance (co-insurer), through the broker Vanbreda Risks & Benefits (broker).

This insurance covers liabilities for events of liability that occurred from 1 January 2013 and were declared during the period of validity of this agreement for those insured who joined from that date. For others, cover applies from their date of affiliation pursuant to notification by the OVB.

The intervention of this insurer - under the specific terms of the underwritten insurance policy - shall not exceed EUR 2,500,000.00 per claim.

This coverage applies to all countries except the US and Canada.

As regards the specific terms of the insurance cover, Bannister refers to the text of the aforementioned insurance policy, which takes precedence over the summary set out above.

A copy of the aforementioned policy will be made available free of charge at the Client's first request.

8.2. Any liability relating to work carried out by or on behalf of us, or otherwise related to an assignment given to us, shall be limited to the extent permitted by law to the amount effectively paid out by the aforementioned professional liability insurance in the case in question, more the exemption that may apply. The Client takes note of and accepts this.

8.3. If the professional liability insurer does not cover the damages, without fault of the law firm or its lawyers or intermediaries, the compensation on account of a professional error of the law firm or its appointees is limited in principal sum, costs and interests to an amount equal to the fees paid to the law firm in the case concerned and with an overall maximum of EUR 50,000.

8.4. The aforementioned limitations of liability do not apply in the event of intent or deceit on the part of Bannister and/or its lawyers or intermediaries. In the event that the Client is a consumer within the meaning of the Code of Economic Law, the aforementioned limitations of liability do not apply to wilful intent, fraud and/or gross negligence on the part of Bannister, its lawyers or intermediaries, its appointees or its agents or, except in the event of force majeure, to the non-performance of an obligation constituting one of the main performances of the contract.

8.5. At the written request of the Client, we may take out additional insurance for a well-defined file whereby the resulting additional costs may be charged to the Client.

8.6. Bannister, its lawyers and/or intermediaries are not liable for any shortcomings of third parties engaged in the performance of their services, even if such third parties would charge their fees and costs directly to Bannister or its lawyers.

9. Third-party funds

The law firm may deduct from the amounts it receives on behalf of the Client sums to cover outstanding commissions or statements of expenses and fees. He shall inform the Client of this in writing. This provision does not affect the Client's right to contest the statements of fees and expenses and to claim payment of these withheld amounts.

10. Legal representation allowance (RPV)

The undersigned acknowledges that he has been informed of the law of 21 April 2007 on recoverability of fees and costs associated with the assistance of the lawyer.

11. Communications

The law firm may communicate with you electronically at the e-mail address you provide. The Client will ensure that it has and maintains control over this e-mail address and to notify if this address should change. You accept the risks associated with this, except in case of gross negligence or wilful default on our part.

12. Information and processing of personal data

12.1. The law firm promptly informs the Client about the execution of its assignment and the progress of the handling of the case.

12.2. The client will punctually and throughout the duration of the assignment, if necessary at the request of the law firm, give all useful information to the law firm.

Client gives the express consent to the law firm to use this information, and if necessary the personal data¹, data relating to criminal convictions and offences²  and the special categories of personal data³  that would be included herein⁴  for one or more well-defined purposes as defined in the object of the service and the law firm's mission under point 1.

12.3. Bannister reserves the right to process this information for the purpose of its legitimate interests or those of third parties, the exercise of the fundamental right to freedom of expression or information and/or the institution, exercise or substantiation of a legal claim.

12.4. Client has the right to address to the lawyer a request for inspection, correction, deletion, data transfer of his/her personal data or request for withdrawal of his/her consent or objection to the processing of his/her personal data⁵.

12.5. Bannister undertakes to provide the Client with a reasoned response to his/her request within a period of one (1) month. Depending on the complexity of the request(s) and on the number of requests, this period may be extended by another two (2) months if necessary⁶. This response should indicate in a reasoned manner why the law firm is (not) responding to the undersigned's requested request(s).

12.6. If necessary, Bannister reserves the right to charge a reasonable fee in light of the administrative costs involved in granting the request(s).

13. Powers

In the event of a dispute, subject to compliance with deontological rules, the courts in Antwerp will have jurisdiction and will apply Belgian law.

14. Termination

14.1 Both the Client and Bannister are entitled to terminate the contract at ek moment with immediate effect without giving any reason. In the event that the Client is a consumer, in the service of the Code of Economic Law, Bannister may only terminate the contract after 2 weeks' notice .

14.2. The contract will be terminated by written notice.

14.3. In the event of termination, the Client shall be obliged to reimburse all services rendered and costs incurred up to the date of termination. Bannister will return the file to the Client upon first request.

14.4. Bannister shall not be liable for any damages resulting from the termination of the agreement with or by the Client.

15. Archiving

All information on the processing, security and storage of personal data is available in the privacy statement.

16. Invalidity/nullification

16.1. Should one or more clauses of these general terms and conditions be void, invalid or unenforceable they shall not affect the validity of the remaining terms and conditions. They will be replaced by clauses with a content as close as possible to the initial intention of the party.

16.2. The Dutch text of the general terms and conditions will always take precedence over translations into English or French.

16.3. In case of contradiction between one of the articles mentioned in the general terms and conditions and the mandate, the text of the mandate shall prevail over the general terms and conditions.

Version applicable from 15 September 2023

^[1] Personal data should be understood within the meaning of Art. 4(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation as "any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person ("the data subject"); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more elements characterising the physical, physiological, genetic, psychological, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person;

² In accordance with Article 10 General Data Processing Regulation.

³ In accordance with Article 9, 1) General Data Protection Regulation, this concerns personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a person, or data concerning health, or data relating to a person's sexual behaviour or sexual orientation.

⁴ In accordance with Article 4, 2) of General Data Processing Regulation, processing is: any operation or set of operations which is performed upon personal data or sets of personal data, whether or not by automatic means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, blocking, erasure or destruction.

⁵ In accordance with Article 12 onwards of the General Data Protection Regulation.

⁶ In accordance with Article 12 of the General Data Protection Regulation.

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