General Terms and Conditions of Swart Advocaten BV
1. Applicability
a. These General Terms and Conditions shall apply to and are part of all current and future offers, agreements, and all other legally induced acts and reports in which one of the attorneys-at-law or one of the other staff members of Swart Advocaten BV, hereinafter also called: Swart Advocaten, is involved, acting under the name of Swart Legal (registered in the trade register of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under No. 17201374) or otherwise, as well as to all consequences thereof.
b. Any deviations from these General Terms and Conditions shall only be valid if and when such deviations have been expressly agreed upon in writing between the parties. Client cannot derive any rights from any such deviation that was expressly agreed upon in writing with regard to any future agreements. Other General Terms and Conditions, including those of Client, under whatever name and in whatever manner they are referred to, shall not be applicable to the legal relationship between the parties and are dismissed in advance by Swart Advocaten.
2. Execution
a. Swart Advocaten promises to make an effort to perform all assignments commissioned by Client expertly and carefully. However, in view of the nature of the activities, the results as possibly intended by Client can never be guaranteed.
b. Only if Swart Advocaten receives all relevant and correct information in time from Client, will it be able to meet its obligation to perform to the best of its ability. If such information is not provided correctly and/or not in time, Swart Advocaten shall postpone the activities to be performed, and cannot be held liable for any damages or costs. Any additional work caused by such delay shall be paid by the Client.
c. Swart Advocaten shall determine the manner in which the activities and services relating to the assignment given to it or provided by it shall be performed, in consultation with the Client when possible. Swart Advocaten is entitled to use the services of third parties for this.
d. Swart Advocaten is not be liable for any damages caused by any third parties hired by them. All liability clauses included in these General Terms and Conditions fully apply to and are fully applicable to third parties hired by Swart Advocaten for the execution of specific activities or services.
e. If the parties have agreed on a binding term and this term is exceeded, Swart Advocaten shall not be in default until it has been declared in default in writing and was granted a reasonable term to still meet its requirements.
f. When a file has been closed and archived, Swart Advocaten shall archive it for a period of seven years or less. When this term has lapsed, the file will be destroyed, unless the Client informs Swart Advocaten before the expiry of this term and in writing that he wants to receive the file.
3. Liability
a. Any and all liability of Swart Advocaten shall be limited to the amount to be paid by the insurance company at which it has taken out its occupational liability insurance, augmented by the applicable excess under the terms of this insurance. Swart Advocaten guarantees that it has assured an occupational liability insurance in accordance with the minimum directives of the Netherlands Bar Association.
b. If, for whatever reason, the insurance company does not pay for the claimed damages, or the damages are not covered by the insurance company, any liability of Swart Advocaten shall be limited to the fee due by Client for the last six months prior to the circumstance causing the damages.
c. In the event that Client is suffering damages for which Swart Advocaten is liable, Swart Advocaten shall have the right at all times to repair the damages, if and to the extent possible.
d. Client shall indemnify Swart Advocaten to all claims that third parties may pretend to have and exert on Swart Advocaten to compensate for damages, costs made, lost profits, and other expenses in any way connected to or ensuing from the performance of activities or provision of the services by Swart Advocaten.
e. Swart Advocaten is not liable in any way if a mistake or a failure to perform is the consequence of or related to a force majeure.
f. Parties agree that a force majeure has happened e.g. if the attorney-at-law handling a case is prevented to work by a disease or death; a fire within the Swart Advocaten office occurs; telephone, fax and or e-mail of the Client or of the Swart Advocaten office do not work.
4. Payment
a. All rates and prices mentioned in offers by Swart Advocaten do not include VAT, unless it has been expressly stated that prices or rates include VAT, nor do they include any other levies imposed by the government, nor any costs charged by third parties that needed to be hired.
b. Once a year Swart Advocaten shall have the right to an interim adjustment of its hourly rate. A rate change shall not take effect until after Client has been informed in advance of this change. At all times, Swart Advocaten shall have the right to demand an advance to its final fee from Client.
c. Swart Advocaten is entitled at all times to demand payment of an advance on its fee and to put all its services on a hold until this advance has been received. The purpose of an advance is to ensure payment of all invoices of Swart Advocaten and netting will not occur until closing the file, unless Swart Advocaten decides differently.
d. Payments to Swart Advocaten must have been received by Swart Advocaten within 14 days after the date of invoice. When this term of payment is exceeded, Client shall be due interest on the full amount of the invoice to the amount of 1% per calendar month, whereby a part of a month will count as a full month, without the need to give any notice.
e. Swart Advocaten is also entitled to charge all legal and extrajudicial costs made after the term of payment was exceeded by Client. Extrajudicial collection costs may be set by Swart Advocaten at the maximum collection costs permitted by the “Besluit vergoeding voor buitengerechtelijke incassokosten” (Decision compensation for extrajudicial collection costs".
f. In the event that Client or a third party on behalf of Client, on account of payment obligations, accidentally or incorrectly transfers money to the bank account of “Stichting Derdengeldenbeheer” (foundation for the management of funds of others), which is managed by Swart Advocaten, rather than to the office account of Swart Advocaten, Client hereby authorises Swart Advocaten to correct this mistake or error.
g. If Client goes into liquidation; is declared bankrupt, files an application under the Dutch Debt Restructuring of Natural Persons Act, requests suspension of payment or proposes to surrender any claim, all claims that Swart Advocaten has on Client shall become immediately claimable.
h. Client authorises Swart Advocaten to settle any claims it has against Client with any claims Client has against Swart Advocaten. Any rights of Client to settle any claim against Swart Advocaten with whatever claim Swart Advocaten has against Client shall be expressly excluded.
5. Applicable law; disputes
a. All agreements between the parties shall be governed by the laws of the Netherlands exclusively.
b. Swart Advocaten participates in the Complaints & Disputes Arrangement of the Dutch Bar Association. Any and all disputes that might arise from the realisation and/or execution of the services provided by Swart Advocaten, including disputes about expenses, can be settled in accordance with the Complaints and Disputes Arrangement for the Legal Profession which – unless written deviation are agreed upon - are applicable to the services provided by Swart Advocaten. Parties are free to choose whether or not to use this option.
c. All disputes not settled under this Complaints and Disputes Arrangement shall be brought before the competent Dutch court in the district Oost-Brabant, the Netherlands, except to the extent imperatively provided otherwise by the laws of the Netherlands. The Dutch judge shall have exclusive judicial authority. A copy of the afore mentioned Complaints and Disputes Arrangement with relevant explanation shall be sent to Client at his first request.
d. Swart Advocaten has an office-complaints- procedure, which applies to all complaints by a client. This office-complaints- procedure will be sent to the client and on first request and is on also available on our website.
6. Disclaimer
Our courses and trainings are designed to provide participants with knowledge and skills to manage and resolve conflict situations more effectively. By following our courses and trainings you agree to the following disclaimers:
1. No liability: The information, content and advice presented in the courses and training are intended for educational purposes and are based on general principles. They may not apply to specific situations. The creators of these courses and trainings accept no liability for any damage or loss resulting from the use of the information provided. The use of the course and training is entirely at the participant's own risk.
2. No legal advice: The courses and trainings do not provide legal advice. If you have any legal issues relating to conflicts, we recommend that you seek professional legal advice from a qualified lawyer or legal advisor.
3. Personal Responsibility: Success in managing and resolving conflict depends on the commitment and effort of the participant. The course and training may provide guidelines and strategies, but it is up to the participant to put these into practice.
4. No Guarantee of Results: While we strive to provide valuable and useful information, we cannot make any guarantees as to the results participants will achieve after completing our courses and trainings. Achieving success depends on several factors and can vary from person to person.
5. Copyright and Intellectual Property: All content, materials and resources provided in our courses and trainings are protected by copyright. Entrants may use these materials for personal use only and may not distribute, reproduce, or sell them without express written permission from the copyright owner.
By taking this course and/or training, you acknowledge and accept this disclaimer and understand that this course and/or training is not a substitute for professional advice. If you have specific questions about the subject of the course and/or training in your individual situation, we recommend that you seek professional advice from qualified experts.