Terms and Conditions

General Terms and Conditions Scheers Advocatuur (Scheers Advocacy)

Article 1
Scheers Advocatuur  is the trade name of mr. E.T.P. (Erik) Scheers, exercising the practice of lawyer as a sole proprietor, all this in the broadest sense.

Article 2.
These General Terms and Conditions shall apply to every assignment granted to Scheers Advocatuur, including every follow-up assignment or altered or supplementary assignment. All provisions contained in these terms and conditions have been drawn up also for anyone involved in the execution of the contract and/or anyone who could be liable in that connection.

Article 3
All assignments shall be deemed to have been exclusively granted to and accepted by Scheers Advocatuur, even assignments that are expressly or tacitly intended to be executed by a specific person. The applicability of the provisions contained in Articles 7:404, 7:407.2 and 7:409 of the Dutch Civil Code are excluded. Everyone that is working for Scheers Advocatuur is neither personally bound nor personally liable.

Article 4.
The client is not allowed to disclose, duplicate, exploit or distribute in any form whatsoever, whether to or through the engaging of a third party, the advice, contracts, or other products of the mind produced by Scheers Advocatuur, without prior written permission from Scheers Advocatuur.

Article 5
Scheers Advocatuur will always exercise due care in engaging third parties. However Scheers Advocatuur is not liable for the failure of such parties to perform. Scheers Advocatuur has been authorised by the client to accept on the client’s behalf any limitations of liability of such parties. If reasonably possible, Scheers Advocatuur will consult with the client about engaging a third party. The duty of consultation will not apply at any rate to the engagement of couriers, bailiffs and attorneys of record.

Article 6
Assignments granted to Scheers Advocatuur shall be executed exclusively for the benefit of the client. Third parties shall not be able to derive any rights from the content of the work carried out, nor more generally from the manner in which such assignments have or have not been executed.

Article 7
If, during the execution of an assignment, an event should occur – including an act of omission – which results in a liability, such liability shall be limited to the amount or amounts that can be claimed under the professional liability insurance policy concluded by Scheers Advocatuur, to be increased by the policy excess borne by Scheers Advocatuur under the terms of that professional liability insurance policy. A copy of the policy terms of the liability insurance can be requested from Scheers Advocatuur.

Article 8
If for any reason whatsoever no benefits are payable under this insurance, liability is limited to a maximum of EUR 25,000,-. A limitation or exclusion of liability within the meaning of this article does not apply to loss or damage resulting from deliberately reckless or intentional misconduct on the part of the Scheers Advocatuur.

Article 9
Any rights of action and other rights against Scheers Advocatuur in connection with the services rendered by it will expire at any rate one year after the date on which the party concerned became aware of or could reasonably have become aware of the existence of those rights.

Article 10
Scheers Advocatuur will be due fees and disbursements. Understood as part of retainers are: payment of costs to be specified, such as court registration fees, travel and lodging costs, valuation costs, legal fees, registration fees as well as costs of solicitors, bailiffs, couriers, etc. Payment of non-specified office costs such as post, telephone, telefax and copying, etc. will be cumulatively calculated as 5% of the fees. The agreement of applicable fees between Scheers Advocatuur and client shall be confirmed in writing or     e-mail by Scheers Advocatuur. In all other cases, the fee will be calculated according to the standard annual hourly fees of Scheers Advocatuur. The hourly rates will be adjusted annually. All amounts are exclusive of VAT, unless it is explicitly stated that the amount includes VAT.

Article 11
Scheers Advocatuur has the right to charge for any out-of-pocket expenses (such as court registry, procurator litis and bailiff fees) separately and immediately. Scheers Advocatuur has the right to require an advance payment (for the fee and/or out-of pocket expenses) prior to the performance of her services, plus general office costs and VAT, which will be deducted from the final fee statement. Scheers Advocatuur has the right to suspend and/or terminate her services if and for as long as the client has not made an advance payment to cover said costs and/or fees.

Article 12
Scheers Advocatuur does not have a trust account at it’s disposal. As far as payments are concerned that are not intended for Scheers Advocatuur, but for the principal or third party, instruction will be given to pay the sum directly to the principal party/ entitled third party.

Article 13
Complaints regarding an invoice must be submitted, under penalty of expiry, in writing before the payment terms as stated in Art. 13. ends. As long as the assignment is not completed, Scheers Advocatuur is entitled to continue invoicing. If an invoice is not settled within the payment term as stated in Art. 13, Scheers Advocatuur has the legal right to suspend and/or terminate the work activities on the specific case as well as any other assignments that involve that client. Scheers Advocatuur is not liable for damage, material or intangible, which results from the suspension of work activities

Article 14
Invoices must be settled within 14 days after the date of issuance. Failure to do so will result in the client and the assignor being in default and will be charged a legal interest rate on the amount owed.  If steps must be taken for fee collection, the collection fees will be charged to the client.

Article 15
Not only Scheers Advocatuur, but any and all persons – including those who are associated with Scheers Advocatuur in any capacity, as well as third parties – who are engaged in the execution of an assignment granted by a client shall be entitled to appeal to these General Terms and Conditions.

Article 16
Lawyer mr. E.T.P. Scheers will personally carry out assignments given to Scheers Advocatuur, possibly making use of office staff. In case of unplanned/long-term illness/absence of mr. E.T.P. Scheers, Scheers Advocatuur will be observed by lawyer Jeroen Maas, who works at the law firm Delissen Martens in The Hague. If a case arises in which observation is necessary, mr. E.T.P. Scheers or the acting lawyer will  communicate this to the client.

Article 17
Scheers Advocatuur retains digital files and original documents from physical files that have been closed for five years. After this time, they will be destroyed. If there are documents in the file that the client wants back, Scheers Advocatuur must be informed about this within the aforementioned period and these documents will be returned to the client. Copies of documents originating from third bodies, such as copy files from the IND, will be destroyed after the file has been closed and can therefore not be requested from Scheers Advocatuur, but can be requested by the client from those bodies if desired.

Article 18
The client consents to use in communicating all currently usual communication tools, in particular internet and email applications. Their use is entirely at the risk of the client, except in cases of gross negligence.

Article 19
These general conditions are drawn up in the Dutch and English language. The Dutch text is binding. This version was drafted on 6 April 2022.