Terms & Conditions

1. Racine BV (‘Racine’) is a limited liability company whose purpose is to practise law. Racine is registered with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises under number 0430.140.164.
2. All lawyers and other employees of Racine act exclusively on behalf of and at the risk of Racine in the performance of their professional duties.
3. These general terms and conditions apply to every assignment accepted by Racine, including any follow-up assignments and new assignments, as well as to Racine’s website, with the express exclusion of any other (purchase) terms and conditions of the client. They are drawn up in Dutch, French and English. In the event of a dispute about the content or meaning of these general terms and conditions, only the Dutch text shall be binding. The most recent version of these general terms and conditions can be consulted on Racine’s website: www.racinebrussels.eu.
   Any conflicting general terms and conditions of the client shall only apply if Racine has expressly accepted them in writing in advance.
   These general terms and conditions may be amended from time to time, so it is advisable to check Racine’s website regularly for updates.
4. All assignments are accepted and carried out exclusively by Racine, unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing. This also applies if the client expressly or tacitly instructs a specific person. Racine accepts responsibility for and is solely and exclusively liable for the services provided by its partners, lawyers and employees. No one other than Racine has or will have any obligation towards the client or any other person in relation to these services and no one other than Racine has or will therefore have any personal responsibility for the services provided on behalf of Racine.
   The client agrees not to bring any claim against any person other than Racine in relation to these services. When Racine is instructed, the extra-contractual liability provided for in Book VI (new) of the Civil Code is expressly excluded, to the extent permitted by law. This does not limit any liability for intent or for physical damage or death.
5. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 4, these general terms and conditions apply not only to Racine, but also to all persons involved in the performance of the assignment and/or to whom any liability rests or could in any way rest in connection therewith, including former employees, lawyers and/or partners, including their heirs.
6. Racine acts solely on the regular instructions of the client and is only responsible for legal advice and not for business, commercial, financial, technical, accounting or other advice. Any liability on the part of Racine is limited to the amount covered in the relevant case by the applicable liability insurance policy or policies taken out by Racine. If and insofar as, for any reason whatsoever, no payment is made under the aforementioned liability insurance policy or policies, any liability in principal, costs and interest shall be limited to the amount of the fees paid by the client for the services provided by Racine that give rise to the liability, with a maximum of 100.000 EUR.
   In any case, any claim for compensation shall lapse if it is not brought before the competent authority within one year of the facts on which the claim is based being known or reasonably known to the client.
   The aforementioned limitations of liability apply not only to Racine but also to its shareholders, partners, managers, lawyers and employees. Racine only carries out assignments on behalf of the client, and advice or Documents are only for the client and only the client may rely on them. Any liability towards parties other than the client is therefore excluded, unless expressly accepted in advance and in writing by Racine.
7. Racine is authorised to engage third parties in the name and on behalf of the client in the performance of its work. Racine will exercise due care in the selection of third parties. Racine is not liable for any acts or omissions of third parties. Racine is authorised by the client to accept any limitations of liability of third parties on behalf of the client.
8. Any funds received by Racine from or on behalf of the client will be placed in a third-party account at a credit institution chosen by Racine. Racine may deduct sums from the amounts it receives on behalf of the client to cover the amounts owed to it by the client. It will inform the client of this in writing. Racine accepts no liability towards the client or any other person for the bankruptcy, any other form of insolvency or any legal act or omission on the part of a credit institution with which Racine holds funds or through which funds are transferred. Consequently, Racine cannot be held liable for repaying or transferring amounts that the credit institution in question is unable to repay or transfer.
9. Any advice, contract, note, procedural document, document, etc. (hereinafter referred to as “Documents”) produced by Racine is intended solely for the use of the client and is provided solely in connection with the matter for which it was produced. These Documents may not be used by third parties. Nor may third parties invoke them. The client agrees not to disclose these Documents to third parties without Racine’s prior written consent (unless, if necessary, to other professional advisers of the client, but without any obligation or liability on the part of Racine towards them). Racine’s duty of care applies only to the client and does not extend to third parties, unless Racine expressly accepts this responsibility in writing. Racine retains all (copyright) rights in these Documents. With respect for the confidentiality of the client’s information, Racine may also use these Documents for other advice. The client acquires a licence to use the Documents within the framework of the assignment specifically entrusted to Racine.
10. Racine shall retain information and documents belonging to the client or received in the context of the assignment as required by law or in line with its ethical obligations. Racine may destroy documents that it deems no longer necessary to retain in light of the above. Racine may charge archive costs for this. At the end of an assignment, the file will be archived and original documents may be returned to the client, or archive costs may be charged for this.
11. The client indemnifies Racine against all claims from third parties that are in any way related to or arise from the assignment, instructions or assumptions of the client and/or the work performed for the client. The compensation shall also include the costs of defence.
12. Unless otherwise agreed, our fees will be calculated on the basis of the number of hours worked multiplied by the hourly rates set annually by Racine for each lawyer. Racine reserves the right to charge a commission and to suspend (further) execution of an assignment until payment has been made.
13. Expenses paid by Racine on behalf of the client will be charged separately. A percentage of the fee may be charged to cover general office costs (such as postage, telephone, copying and scanning costs, etc.).
14. All amounts are exclusive of VAT and exclusive of any tax, surcharge or similar increase that a client, payer or Racine is obliged to charge on the basis of applicable regulations.
15. Any provisional fee statements and invoices are payable within one month of dispatch. In the absence of timely payment, interest shall be payable by operation of law and without notice of default in accordance with the Law of 2 August 2002 on combating late payment in commercial transactions, starting from the final payment date stated on the invoice. Racine may charge a collection fee of 10% on the unpaid amount. If the client is a consumer, in the event of late payment, the outstanding amount shall be increased by the maximum late payment interest and a fixed increase within the limits of Book XIX of the Economic Law Code relating to consumer debts. The same increases shall apply in this case if Racine owes amounts to the client.
16. Racine is subject to the law of 18 September 2017 on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. Pursuant to this legislation, Racine is obliged to identify its clients and to request and retain a number of documents proving their identity. Failure by the client to provide the necessary information for this purpose may constitute grounds for Racine to refuse, terminate or suspend an assignment.
    Certain suspicious transactions must be reported to the President of the Bar, who will then forward the information to the Financial Intelligence Unit. In principle, this reporting obligation does not apply in the context of a (potential) legal dispute.
17. Racine respects your privacy and only processes personal data in the context of its assignments and the related services and activities, in accordance with the applicable regulations (in particular Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data). This processing is carried out on the basis of your consent, the agreements with the client, to protect your interests and/or to comply with a legal obligation. You acknowledge that the processing of personal data is necessary for Racine to carry out its assignments, which would be prevented if this data were not provided. Racine will retain your data for up to 5 years after the final termination of its assignments for the client, or for a longer period agreed with the client.
    You have the right to be informed about your personal data processed by Racine, as well as to request the correction of incorrect data, the deletion of your data and/or the restriction of processing, insofar as this is provided for by the applicable regulations. You also have the right to object to processing and to request the transfer of your personal data, again in accordance with the applicable regulations. If Racine’s processing is based on your consent, you always have the right to withdraw that consent, without prejudice to the lawful processing in the past. You can exercise these rights by sending a written request to Racine (see contact details below), dated and signed, with a copy of both sides of your identity card attached. In case of problems, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Belgian Privacy Commission or Data Protection Authority (contact@apd-gba.be ; www.gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit.be).
18. Racine and its lawyers are subject to the applicable professional regulations of the Brussels Bar. You can consult these regulations at http://www.baliebrussel.be or http://www.barreaudebruxelles.be.
19. The legal relationship between the client and Racine is exclusively subject to Belgian law. Any dispute must first be submitted to the competent Bar Council. If no solution can be found, the most appropriate party may bring the dispute before the competent court of the judicial district of Brussels (namely the magistrate’s court of the first canton of Brussels, the Dutch-speaking court of first instance in Brussels or the Dutch-speaking Enterprise Court in Brussels).
20. The provisions of these general terms and conditions are severable and, if any provision of these terms and conditions is invalid, it will be replaced by an equivalent provision that comes as close as possible to the common purpose and will have no impact on any other provision of these general terms and conditions.
21. If you have any questions or require further information, please contact us by email at contact.brussels@be.racine.eu or at the following address: Access Building, Keizer Karellaan 586 / bus 9, B – 1082 Brussels.