General Terms & Conditions de Familiekamer

1. Applicability 1.1 De Familiekamer is a private company with limited liability (hereinafter referred to as de Familiekamer). 1.2 These general terms & conditions apply to all services of lawyers, associates and employees of de Familiekamer. 1.3 These general terms & conditions are further stipulated for the benefit of those legal entities/natural persons and third parties that directly or indirectly are involved – in whatever way – in the services provided by de Familiekamer and/or actions by all legal entities/natural persons for which de Familiekamer could be liable.
2. Assignment 2.1 All assignments are deemed to be given to and accepted by de Familiekamer. This further applies if the express or implicit intention is that a particular natural person performs the assignment. The effects of Article 404 of Book 7 of the Dutch Civil Code and Article 407 paragraph 2 of Book 7 of the Dutch Civil Code are expressly excluded. 2.2 The accepted assignment constitutes a best efforts obligation and not a result obligation. 2.3 The client indemnifies de Familiekamer against (further) claims by third parties, including reasonable costs for legal assistance, that – in whatever way – are connected to activities performed on behalf of the client, unless the consequences thereof are caused by gross negligence or intent.
3. Client/commissioning party Client/commissioning party is the one on whose behalf activities are performed. If the assignment is provided by a different party than the client/commissioning party, we are able to request an assignment in writing by the client.
4. Fee and disbursements 4.1 The costs of performing of the contract by de Familiekamer include the fee, 21% VAT (if applicable) and disbursements. 4.2 If a special form of payment has not been agreed by lawyer and client, the fee charged is based on a base hourly rate, excluding VAT. All our activities related to a case are recorded and accounted for on the invoice. The lawyer reserves the right to adjust the fee on an annual basis in line with public price trends. 4.3 We can demand an advance payment prior to the commencement of activities.
5. Payment 5.1 The costs mentioned under Article 4(1) for the execution of the assignment are in principle invoiced to the client on a monthly basis (in arrears). 5.2 The payment term is fourteen (14) days after the invoice date. The client is not authorised to suspend the obligation to pay invoices of de Familiekamer and/or claim for settlement. 5.3. If an invoice is not paid within the payment term, the client is in default by operation of law and the statutory interest is owed. The client is obliged to discharge the judicial and extrajudicial costs, related to the recovery of the amount payable, de facto made in the debt collection process. In addition, the client is obliged to reimburse the paid disbursements, such as costs incurred with regard to relevant information from the population register/commercial register. 5.4 If an invoice, despite repeated reminders, is not discharged, activities can be suspended, after the client has been notified in writing. We are not liable for damage caused because of the suspension of activities on this ground. 5.5 The client grants de Familiekamer, as well as the “Stichting Beheer Derdengelden de Familiekamer”, for which de Familiekamer thereto is authorised, express, irrevocable and unconditional permission to settle any amount received from or on behalf of the client (on the aforementioned client’s account held by the “Stichting”) or employ for payment all the client owes de Familiekamer.
6. Client’s funds Money received on behalf of the client is deposited in the bank account of the “Stichting Beheer Derdengelden” (client’s account). The interest received by the “Stichting” on the money is the entitled party’s if the money has been outstanding for more than eight days, reduced by any bank costs charged and a compensation amounting to ¼ per cent of the amount concerned, calculated on an annual basis.
7. Indemnity 7.1 Any liability of the lawyer is limited to the amount that, including the excess that the lawyer covers based on the insurance, in the relevant case is paid by the professional liability insurance. 7.2 The professional liability is covered by a professional liability insurance. 7.3 If third parties engaged in association with the execution of an assignment of the client limit their liability, client provides us the authority to accept such liability limitations on their behalf. We will exercise the necessary due care in the engagement of third parties. We are not liable for any failure of these third parties. 7.4 Without prejudice to the provisions in Article 89 of Book 6 of the Dutch Civil Code, a claim for compensation will lapse if a claim is not submitted to the competent court within six months after the facts relating to the claim have become known or reasonably could have been known. 7.5 Liability for indirect damage or consequential damage is excluded under all circumstances. 7.6 The execution of the agreement of assignment occurs exclusively on behalf of the client. Third parties do not derive any right from the contents of the previously mentioned agreement nor of the executed activities, not even if they are directly or indirectly considered an interested party. De Familiekamer disclaims any liability for damage whatsoever against third parties for activities executed on behalf of a client.
8. Settlement of complaints In the performance of all work de Familiekamer shall observe all required care. In the event of complaints of the client de Familiekamer shall endeavour to remove these complaints by means of consultation or to reach a settlement with the client. For a careful handling of complaints de Familiekamer uses an internal complaints procedure. A copy thereof will be sent to the client on request. If, after consultation the client’s complaints have not been removed, the client shall be empowered to submit the complaint to the Legal Complaints Board (Geschillencommissie Advocatuur). The Regulations of the Legal Complaints Board may be requested from the secretary of the Board (address: Bordewijklaan 46, 2nd floor, 2591 XR The Hague, P.O. Box 90600, 2509 LP The Hague, telephone 070-3105310).
9. Complaints and Disputes Settlement Scheme for the Legal Profession 9.1 In case of a complaint by a client about the work carried out, it shall be submitted in writing at de Familiekamer for the attention of the office manager. The office manager will after examining the complaint and the file as soon as possible consult the client in order to see in what way the complaint may be resolved. 9.2 In the event of a liability by a client for the proceedings by de Familiekamer, it must be in writing to the Family room, for the attention of the office manager, be addressed. 9.3 In the unlikely event that we do not succeed in resolving the clients complaint in relation to the services, the client can submit its complaint to the Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession, located in (2591 XR) The Hague, Borderwijklaan 45. The client agrees to the applicability of the Complaints and Dispute Settlement Scheme for the Legal Profession. TheComplaints and Dispute Settlement Scheme for the Legal Profession apply to our services. All disputes likely to develop in association with the formation and/or execution of our services, including all invoice disputes, as well as resulting damage claims (with a maximum of €10,000) will be settled pursuant to the Legal Profession Disputes Committee Rules. These rules provide arbitrage, on the understanding that in certain cases a judgement of binding opinion can be chosen
10. Termination of services At all times you are entitled to terminate your assignment to our office. Our office will always cooperate. It does retain the right to solely hand the files to the subsequent lawyer after all invoices have been discharged. The relationship between lawyer and client is governed by mutual trust. If one of the two parties loses trust in the other, the representation of interests should be terminated with immediate effect.
11. Archives After the case has been concluded, all original documents in the case file provided by the client will be returned and the remainder of the case file will be electronically stored for a period of seven (7) years. Subsequently it will be destroyed.
12. Applicable law / competent Court 12.1 The legal relationship between de Familiekamer and its client(s) is governed by Dutch law. 12.2 Solely the Court of The Hague, the Netherlands, is competent to hear any dispute between de Familiekamer and a client. However, de Familiekamer is entitled to submit disputes to a competent court in the place of domicile or business of the client. 12.3 The General Terms & Conditions are drawn up in different languages; the Dutch text will take precedence in the event of any difference (in the interpretation) with regard to the contents and meaning.
13. Conclusion These general terms & conditions apply from the start date 1 January 2015 and are available for inspection at the company of the office. Simultaneously with the assignment confirmation, they are handed to the client, or as the case may be electronically sent by e-mail. If in reason this is impossible, the general terms & conditions are sent to the client by regular mail.