International debt collection and debt management

Because pre-payment or credit redemption cannot always be agreed on in competitive markets, you will naturally deliver on open account whenever the client seems to be financially strong. But waiting for payment on outstanding accounts can seriously harm small and medium-sized enterprises.

If your client does not settle during the agreed term of payment, we are at your disposal with our years of experience in the field of debt collection in Belgium.

Commercial Law

Due to the continuing European integration and the internationalisation of economic transactions, you need to deal with a growing interweaving of different national and international legal systems ? especially in the field of commercial law.

Our office is experienced in providing legal support to Belgian and foreign small and medium-sized enterprises for all legal questions concerning their international commercial transactions.

Economic Criminal Law

When participating in international business, you need to be aware of the various national and supra-national regulations and rules. This is most obvious in the fields of environmental protection and fiscal law. Moreover, whenever these different national laws collide − or when national and international laws contradict each other − it’s difficult to know how to act correctly, and a small or medium-sized enterprise can easily find itself embroiled in a criminal investigation procedure.

Building Law

The local markets within the European Union are becoming more and more transparent and open to the cross-border provision of services. Big building companies have been international players for a long time, especially in the field of plant engineering and construction. Today, small and medium-sized enterprises, operating only on a regional level, face international competition (especially in border areas), but they are also taking the opportunity to expand their activities into foreign markets.

Public Procurement

Public procurement is an important sector of the European economy: each year, the European authorities, the member states of the EU, their regions, municipalities and other public corporations award contracts for more than one trillion euro. This is equivalent to 16% of the European Community’s GDP. However, public authorities tend to award their procurement contracts or construction projects to local industry.

Real Estate Law

In regard to international real estate transactions, in particular, we advise buyers, sellers, contractors, architects and other design consultants.

In principle, there are no restrictions on a non-Belgian purchasing property in Belgium. Nevertheless, you should be aware of very important differences between the national legal systems in Europe concerning the transfer of property. There are also differences in the owner’s duty to insure his property.

Renting Property

The rental of commercial or business property accounts for a major portion of a business’s operational costs. Therefore, the leasing of business premises is a common cause of law suits that can endanger the existence of an enterprise. Qualified legal advice in this field is of utmost importance.

Privacy Policy - Confidentiality

Privacy

APS Lawyers (APS) may collect data relative to the visitors of its website in accordance with the privacy and confidentiality statement set out herein. As a data controller, APS is firmly committed to protect the privacy of its clients and of the visitors of its website, in compliance with the Belgian Privacy Act which implements Directive 95/46/EC. APS reserves the right to modify this privacy and confidentiality statement at any time.

All modifications come into force as of the publication thereof on the website.

This privacy statement is without prejudice to APS’s right to identify persons who inadvertently attempt to disable, hack, flood or otherwise harm the APS website or its underlying systems in whole or in part.

Statistical data

By accessing the website, you agree that APS may collect and store the data listed hereinafter for statistical purposes: your IP address; searches performed through the website’s search function; the precise time and date you have accessed the website; which sections of the website you have visited and in what order; the location from which you have accessed the website; and the url through which you have reached the APS website. The data will be used to monitor what sections of the website are of interest to its visitors and to improve the navigation and the accessibility of information on the website. The data will not be used to identify you as an individual.

APS makes use of Google Analytics (see also the Google privacy policy).

Information submitted to APS

In case you submit personal data to APS through the available web-based forms or by e-mail, APS will keep record of this data. By providing personal data in the aforementioned manner, you grant APS your explicit and unambiguous consent to process the data for the purposes mentioned on the web-based form or for the purposes mentioned in the email or directly related thereto.

APS does not collect sensitive data such as information regarding race, sexual orientation, ethnicity and political or religious beliefs. APS strongly encourages job applicants or other correspondents not to communicate such data. However, should you choose to submit any information to APS that directly or indirectly relates thereto (e.g. in the framework of a job application), such will unavoidably inform APS of certain sensitive data and the information may end up in our records. APS will not transfer personal data to any third party without the individual’s prior consent. Information will be stored on a secure server and APS undertakes to take all reasonable measures to avoid unauthorized access to the data.

At any time, the person who has submitted personal data to APS may direct requests to access, verify, correct and/or remove the personal data to the Privacy Officer at info@apsadvocaten.be. The Privacy Officer will respond to such requests as soon as possible.

Confidentiality

Information submitted to APS and/or its attorneys and personnel by clients and prospective clients fall within the scope of legal privilege. APS shall keep such information and correspondence strictly confidential. However, please be advised that exceptional circumstances may require APS to disclose certain information to third parties.

The Belgian Act of 11 January 1993 on the Prevention of Use of the Financial System for Money Laundering in conjunction with judgment nr.10/2008 of the Constitutional Court requires attorneys to report certain suspicious financial or property-related transactions to the Head of the Bar Association, who may in turn report such transactions to the financial authorities. This obligation does not extend to information that has been obtained to advise or assist clients in respect of actual, potential or pending legal proceedings.

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