General Terms and Conditions

1. Definitions
   1. Advocatenkantoor El Hannouche B.V. (El Hannouche Law Firm B.V.): a private limited liability company under Dutch law (besloten vennootschap) whose objective is to practise law (“El Hannouche”).
   2. Client: the natural person or legal person who engages El Hannouche to carry out work.
   3. Fee: the financial remuneration payable by the client to El Hannouche for work carried out by El Hannouche on the basis of the letter of engagement, exclusive of value added tax (VAT) and disbursements.
   4. Disbursements: all costs incurred by El Hannouche in the performance of the engagement, including but not limited to the costs in respect of:
      1. court fees;
      2. witnesses and experts;
      3. extracts from public registers;
      4. telegrams, international telex, international fax messages and international telephone calls;
      5. cause-list actions in cases dealt with by the sub-district court of the District Court;
      6. bailiffs’ activities;
      7. interpretation and translation services;
      8. couriers’ services;
      9. registered mail; and
      10. travel expenses, set at a fixed rate of EUR 0.45 per kilometre.
2. Applicability
   1. These General Terms and Conditions apply to all instructions to be carried out by El Hannouche, including additional, supplementary and follow-up instructions, and to all legal relationships of El Hannouche with third parties.
   2. These General Terms and Conditions have also been drawn up for the benefit of those who work or have worked for or with El Hannouche, whether or not under an employment contract, and third parties who have been engaged by or on behalf of El Hannouche for the performance of the engagement.
3. Engagement
   1. All engagements are exclusively accepted by El Hannouche on the basis of a letter of engagement. The engagement will only come into effect after El Hannouche has accepted it in writing.
   2. The engagement is performed exclusively for the benefit of the client. Third parties may not derive any rights from the activities of El Hannouche or the results thereof.
4. Performance of the engagement
   1. El Hannouche is free to determine which of its personnel or third parties will be engaged for the performance of the engagement. The applicability of Article 7:404 of the Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek) is hereby expressly excluded.
   2. The client shall ensure that all information and documents that El Hannouche considers necessary for the performance of the engagement are provided in good time.
   3. All fees, costs and loss resulting from delays in the performance of the engagement, as well as the expiry of time limits caused by the failure to provide the required information and documents in a timely or proper manner, shall be borne by the client.
   4. El Hannouche retains the right to suspend the performance of the engagement until the client has fulfilled the obligations referred to in Article 4.2.
5. Fee
   1. The agreed fee, together with the disbursements and VAT relating to the performance of the engagement, shall be paid by the client.
   2. El Hannouche is at all times entitled to require the client to pay an advance for work to be carried out and costs to be incurred. The advance will be set off during or at the end of the engagement.
6. Payment
   1. Payment of invoices shall be made, without any deduction, discount, set-off or suspension, within the period indicated on the invoice and, in the absence thereof, within 7 days of the invoice date.
   2. If payment is not made on time, the client shall be in default without further notice from El Hannouche being required. In that event, the client shall be obliged to pay all additional costs, including extrajudicial collection costs, which will be charged in accordance with the Extrajudicial Collection Costs (Fees) Decree (Besluit vergoeding voor buitengerechtelijke incassokosten).
   3. If payment is not made on time, El Hannouche is also entitled to suspend performance of the engagement or terminate it, with a right of retention in respect of all items held for the client, with due observance of Rule 14(3) of the Rules of Conduct for Lawyers 2018 (Gedragsregels advocatuur 2018). Any liability of El Hannouche for the expiry of time limits or damage resulting from such suspension or termination is excluded.
7. Liability
   1. Any liability of El Hannouche arising out of or related to the performance of the engagement is limited to the amount paid under its professional liability insurance, plus the amount of the deductible payable by El Hannouche under that insurance.
   2. If the professional liability insurer does not make a payment, El Hannouche’s liability is limited to the amount charged as a fee in relation to the engagement in question, with a maximum of EUR 19,200.
   3. El Hannouche shall exercise due care when engaging third parties and will consult the client in advance as far as reasonably possible. Any liability for shortcomings of such third parties is excluded.
8. Complaints
   1. The Complaints Procedure of El Hannouche (“the Complaints Procedure”) applies to all agreements concluded between El Hannouche and the client.
   2. The Complaints Procedure is available free of charge upon request and can be consulted via the Complaints Procedure page.
9. Applicable law
   1. The legal relationship to which these General Terms and Conditions apply shall be governed exclusively by Dutch law.
   2. Any disputes arising out of this legal relationship shall be submitted exclusively to the Amsterdam District Court.