HomeTerms and conditions
General terms and conditions of Kuyp Baar advocaten
1. Applicability
1.1 Kuyp Baar advocaten is a private limited company incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with the object of practising law. This private limited company is registered with the Chamber of Commerce under number73591254.
1.2 These general terms and conditions apply to all assignments and subsequent assignments entrusted to Kuyp Baar advocaten, as well as to the legal relationships arising therefrom or related thereto.
1.3 These general terms and conditions are also stipulated for the benefit of (legal) entities and third parties that are directly or indirectly involved in any manner whatsoever with regard to the services provided by Kuyp Baar advocaten.
1.4 By giving an assignment, the principal or client expressly declares that he/she has taken cognisance of these general terms and conditions, and agrees to the same. The applicability of the client’s general terms and conditions is expressly rejected.
1.5 The Complaints and Disputes Procedure for the Legal Profession shall apply to the work/services of Kuyp Baar advocaten, except in the case of debt collection disputes (see: The Disputes Committee, Postbox 90600, 2509 LP The Hague (www.degeschillencommissie.nl).
1.6 Kuyp Baar advocaten is a member of the Netherlands Bar Association (NOVA), with its registered office at Prinses Beatrixlaan 5, 2595 AK, The Hague.
1.7 All agreements with Kuyp Baar advocaten shall be governed by the laws of the Netherlands.
2. Assignment
2.1 All assignments shall be deemed to have been entrusted to and accepted by the company. This shall apply even in case of the express or implied intention that the assignment shall be executed by a specific person. The application of Sections 7:404 and 7:407 (2) of the Dutch Civil Code is excluded.
2.2 Assignments entrusted shall be executed exclusively on behalf of the client. Third parties cannot derive any rights from the contents of the work performed.
2.3 Kuyp Baar advocaten shall exercise due care in engaging external third parties and shall consult with the client as much as reasonably possible concerning the selection of such third parties. Any liability for shortcomings of such third parties is excluded.
2.4 Any liability shall be limited to the amount paid out in the concerned case by the professional liability insurance of Kuyp Baar advocaten, together with the amount of the deductible that applies under the insurance policy, and the same shall be borne by Kuyp Baar advocaten according to the policy terms and conditions. If - for any reason whatsoever - no payment is made under the insurance referred to above, all liability shall be limited to the amount of the fee due and paid to the company by the principal/client for the assignment in question. This limitation of liability shall not apply insofar as any loss is caused intentionally or through wilful recklessness on the part of the company and/or its executives, subordinate or otherwise.
3. Invoicing
3.1 In principle, invoices for work performed and costs incurred shall be raised on a monthly basis, except where the parties agree otherwise or a deviation from the same is necessitated on account of the nature and/or quantity of the work performed.
3.2 Except where expressly agreed otherwise between the parties, hours worked shall be invoiced in accordance with the hourly rate applicable to the persons concerned at Kuyp Baar advocaten. No charges shall be levied for office expenses. Kuyp Baar advocaten may periodically (annually) adjust the hourly rate. As regards expenses not included in its fees, such as (but not limited to) courier costs, translation costs and costs of external experts engaged, Kuyp Baar advocaten shall separately charge the client for the same. Travel expenses shall not be charged separately, but shall be deemed to be included in the invoiced travel time. In principle, travel time shall be fully charged, except where explicitly agreed otherwise.
3.3 Work shall only be performed after the client has paid an advance invoice.
3.4 Clients who have been (formerly) imprisoned and clients with a financial capacity below the limits set by the Legal Aid Act may, through the Legal Aid Board, qualify for financed legal aid on the grounds of the provisions of the Legal Aid Act and regulations associated with the said Act. Amongst other things, this would imply that the Legal Aid Board tests the right to state-financed legal aid against the definitive aggregate income of the applicant during the reference year, and - if such aggregate income is not known at the time of the application for a state-financed legal aid - the Legal Aid Board shall take a provisional decision which, after definitive determination of the income by the Tax Authorities, is or may be followed by a new decision by the Legal Aid Board, which may mean that the Legal Aid Board may still revoke the legal aid granted and shall approach the client to itself pay the costs of the legal aid granted.
3.5 Kuyp Baar advocaten and the client may agree that, by way of exception to the above, assistance shall be provided to the client on a payable basis. In such case, the client waives his right to be assisted on the basis of financed legal aid. In the latter case, the invoicing shall be subject to the financial conditions as referred to in Clauses 3.1 to 3.3 and 3.8 to 3.11 of these General Terms and Conditions.
3.6 If work is performed with financed legal aid, Kuyp Baar advocaten shall invoice the client for the own contribution(s) imposed or to be imposed by the Legal Aid Board. Own contributions shall be subject to Clauses 3.8, 3.10 and 3.11 of these general terms and conditions.
3.7 If the client is assisted with financed legal aid, work will only be performed after the client pays the own contribution.
3.8 The client shall be bound to pay the same within 14 days of the invoice date, unless otherwise agreed.
3.9 Unless otherwise agreed, the advance payment will not be set off against interim invoices raised during the performance of the work. The advance paid by the client shall only be settled with the last invoice in connection with the assignment entrusted. Any residual amount remaining from the advance payment shall be returned.
3.10 If the invoice is not paid within the stipulated period, Kuyp Baar advocaten shall have the right to add collection costs to the full invoice amount, in accordance with the Decree on compensation for extrajudicial collection costs.The aforementioned state-financed legal aid shall be a minimum of €40 and shall not exceed €6,775.
3.11 In case an invoice, including an invoice for an advance or own contribution is not raised on time and/or in full, Kuyp Baar advocaten shall have the right to suspend its activities until the payment obligations have been fully met, without prejudice to the obligations arising from the Act on Advocates and related regulations and disciplinary proceedings.
4. State-financed legal aid
4.1 If assistance is provided on the basis of state-financed legal aid (pro bono), Kuyp Baar advocaten shall, when applying for, amending and invoicing for such state-financed legal aid, exercise due care to ensure the accuracy of the information contained therein. However, you remain responsible at all times to verify your own data. You shall also be responsible for filing a timely objection to a decision of the Legal Aid Board. Furthermore, if the Legal Aid Board decides to recover the reimbursed costs of legal aid, this shall be your obligation.
4.2 Unless expressly agreed otherwise, our legal aid does not extend to disputes with the Legal Aid Board concerning the provision or non-provision of state-financed legal aid and/or claims or the collection thereof.
5. Procedural documents / data
5.1 Kuyp Baar advocaten avails of the services/software of Basenet Internet Projects BV for the processing of digital data, including confidential/personal data. Kuyp Baar advocaten stores digital data in the automated work belonging to Basenet Internet Projects BV.
5.2 The client hereby agrees to the processing of his/her data in the automated work referred to in Clause 5.1.
5.3 Kuyp Baar advocaten can provide the client with digital access (by means of a user name and password) to a closed environment within the automated work referred to in Clause 5.1, so that the client has access to the digitalised data relating to him/her.
5.4 The client shall keep the user name and password strictly confidential.
5.5 The client shall have no right - except with the prior written permission of Kuyp Baar advocaten - to copy, send, alter, destroy or otherwise transform data from the environment referred to in Clause 5.3, to take it outside the protected environment and/or to make it available to third parties in any manner whatsoever.
5.6 The client shall not grant anyone access to the environment referred to in Clause 5.3.
5.7 Kuyp Baar advocaten has, after careful consideration, opted to collaborate with Basenet Internet Projects BV.However, Kuyp Baar advocaten accepts no liability whatsoever for any damage arising from the use of or due to errors in the software/services/automated work of Basenet Internet Projects BV. Any liability is hereby expressly excluded.
6. Termination
Each party shall have the right to terminate the agreement by giving termination notice, if so desired with immediate effect, without prejudice to the obligations arising from the Act on Advocates and related regulations and disciplinary proceedings. In case of termination of the agreement by the client, the latter shall be bound to at least pay for the services rendered up to the moment of termination as well as for the work performed and costs incurred after the termination, which must reasonably be borne by the client.
7. Third-party funds
Third-party funds are funds received by the Foundation for the management of third-party funds of Kuyp Baar advocaten in a third party account (CoC: 70373868), for the benefit of the client of Kuyp Baar advocaten.
8. Disputes
8.1 Kuyp Baar advocaten participates in the complaints and dispute settlement scheme for the legal profession.
8.2 All disputes arising with regard to the establishment and/or the provision of our services, including all invoice disputes, shall be settled in accordance with the Rules of the Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession. If the dispute relates to an assignment from a private client, the Rules provide for a binding opinion, unless the client applies to the ordinary court within one month after the complaint has been handled by the lawyer. In case of collection of a claim against a private client, a binding opinion shall only exist if the client deposits the outstanding amount with the Disputes Committee. If the client fails to do so, arbitration shall apply to the collection. If the dispute relates to the assignment from a business client, the Rules provide for arbitration.
8.3 In case we fail to resolve any of your complaints about our services, you may submit them to the Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession.
8.4 The Complaints and Disputes Procedure for the Legal Profession shall apply after we sign the assignment acceptance letter, to be sent to you, containing a reference to the Rules. The Rules and a brief explanation of the Complaints and Disputes Procedure for the Legal Profession can be found on our website.
8.5 In case of disputes not covered by the Complaints and Disputes Procedure for the Legal Profession or if the client applies to the ordinary court as referred to in subclause 2 of the present clause, the District Court of Midden-Nederland shall have jurisdiction.
8.6 In case of a difference in interpretation between the Dutch and English versions of these general terms and conditions, the Dutch version shall be decisive.
9. Confidentiality
Kuyp Baar advocaten may invoke its privilege of nondisclosure and confidentiality obligation irrespective of the position taken by the client in this respect.
Version: March 1st 2022