JD Supra (JD Supra Belgium)

I. INTRODUCTION - (i) Our law firm - & DE BANDT is a law firm with a multidisciplinary approach and a focus on complex litigation. It addresses legal issues within the European economy that are driven by digital innovation, evolving business models, climate sustainability and other significant developments. & DE BANDT's specialization covers key legal areas such as EU law, competition law,...

Belgium has recently implemented a new law which will have direct implications on B2B relationships, in order to address abuse of economic dependence, unfair contractual terms and unfair practices. The aim of the new legislation is to balance the position of the contracting parties, with direct application to franchise agreements.

In a recent judgment of April 26, 2021, the Belgian Data Protection Authority (“DPA”) fined a financial institution (the “Company”) €100,000 for – amongst other things – failure to provide an adequate level of cybersecurity.

In a decision of April 28, 2020, the Belgian Data Protection Authority (DPA) imposed a fine of €50,000  in a case where a data protection officer (DPO) also performed an incompatible function.

Lawmakers push for a framework for mandatory value chain due diligence. On 2 April 2021, a legislative proposal entitled “Proposition de loi instaurant un devoir de vigilance et un devoir de responsabilité à charge des entreprises tout au long de leurs chaînes de valeur” or “Wetsvoorstel houdende de instelling van een zorg- en verantwoordingsplicht voor de ondernemingen, over hun hele...

More than a year into the pandemic, some businesses still have to stay closed because of COVID-19 lockdown measures. Their source of income has dried up, but significant monthly costs, such as rent for business premises, continue to be incurred during the mandatory closure period.

Status – Has any special status been introduced? This overview includes the COVID-19 federal measures implemented in Belgium. Please note that regions, provinces and municipalities can apply additional measures.

On 1 April 2021, the FSMA published a communication containing its final version of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the requirements applicable to advertisements for investment instruments when they are offered to the public, admitted to trading or distributed to retail clients. Visit the following links for the Dutch and French versions of the FAQs. The English version is currently...

While the Belgian Data Protection Authority (“DPA”) is becoming increasingly active in adjudicating GDPR claims and releasing opinions and recommendations, companies are still finding it difficult to implement the complexities of the GDPR in their businesses.

Business to business (“B2B”) agreements are often characterized by an economic imbalance between the parties, particularly in the franchise sector where the franchisor is (seen to) impose contractual clauses that are contrary to normal market practices.

On Friday, 26 March 2021, the Belgian Insolvency Law was amended with the introduction of a pre-packaged insolvency procedure, allowing the debtor to discretely prepare for judicial reorganisation proceedings under the supervision of a judicial administrator. Other noteworthy changes include (i) a lower threshold for the opening of judicial reorganisation proceedings, and (ii) the more flexible...

This overview includes the COVID-19 federal measures implemented in Belgium. Please note that regions, provinces and municipalities can apply additional measures. Please see below for more information.

In November 2020, the right for undertakings to a basic banking service was introduced into the Belgian Code of Economic Law. The adoption of this law follows more than 17 years after the adoption of the law of 24 March 2003 introducing the right for consumers to a basic banking service. As a result, not only consumers but also certain professionals are now guaranteed several financial services,...

By bringing a cease and desist claim for unfair market practices, companies may have an important weapon at their disposal to teach a competitor that does not play by the rules a lesson in privacy, as shown by a Belgian judgment of November 4, 2019.

Most commonly, sanctions and other restrictive measures apply only to persons and entities within the jurisdiction of the issuing country. However, the so-called United States (“U.S.”) “secondary” sanctions have a much wider scope of application in that they have a significant constraining effect on all persons and entities regardless of the location, place of incorporation or national identity.

Belgium has not yet adopted a formal FDI screening mechanism to implement the EU FDI Regulation, but the debate on how to protect certain critical industries remains very relevant, as becomes clear upon assessing the 16 December 2020 proposal for a directive on the resilience of critical entities. In this contribution, we will take a fresh look at the FDI screening mechanism designated in the FDI

We asked our member firms around the globe to provide some insight on employer and employee rights when it comes to requiring the COVID-19 vaccine to return to work. Gaël Chuffart of CMS Belgium shares his views for Belgium.

On 23 November 2020, the Belgian FSMA launched a consultation on its draft Q&As regarding the requirements applicable to advertisements for investment instruments (the Draft Q&As).The Draft Q&As aim to ensure compliance with the substantive requirements on advertisements by providing clear guidance and clarification on good practices.

On July 12, 2020, the EU Platform to Business Regulation 2019/1150 (“P2B Regulation”) entered into force, promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online platforms, such as Airbnb, Amazon, Google, Facebook, etc. According to a recent European Commission study, 46% of all business users experience problems with online platforms in the course of their business relationships, with...

Following the publication in early September of the European Commission (EC)’s Staff Working Document (summarizing the results of the evaluation of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER)), the VBER inception impact assessment, also known as roadmap, was published on October 23. The release of this inception impact assessment marks a milestone in the ongoing review of the rules after a...

The concept of dominance plays a pivotal role in European antitrust law. The creation or strengthening of a dominant position is an example of the “significant impediment to effective competition” that grounds the prohibition of a proposed merger, and the rules on abuse of a dominant position sanction conduct that has exclusionary or exploitative market effects.

In recent years, several European jurisdictions have seen the emergence of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”) on their stock markets. As “blank check companies” formed by sponsors ? usually well-known and experienced investors who serve as the SPACs’ public faces ? SPACs have no mission statement, no intended business operations or even stated targets. Their sole purpose is to use...

In order to allow parties to an ongoing dispute to reach a settlement, and thus reach a more (cost) efficient and faster outcome than a court judgment, the French-speaking Enterprise Court of Brussels has created a chamber for amicable settlement (“chambre de règlement amiable”), which has been launched this month, September 2020.

The Belgian Data Protection Authority (DPA) has published brief guidance concerning the European Court of Justice (ECJ) judgement on the European Commission’s adequacy decision provided by the EU-US data Privacy Shield (Schrems II).

In its judgment of April 28, 2020, the Belgian Data Protection Authority (“DPA”) imposed a fine of €50,000 (the annual turnover of the company was approximately €4 million) for an internal conflict of interest of a data protection officer (“DPO”). According to the DPA, a DPO cannot hold a position within the organization in which he or she has to determine the purpose and/or means for the...

On July 16, 2020, the European Commission (the “Commission”) launched a sector inquiry into the market for consumer products and services linked to the Internet of Things (“IoT”) (see the Press release announcing the launch of the sector inquiry). The sector inquiry will cover products such as smart home appliances (TVs, fridges, lighting systems, etc.), and wearable devices, such as smartwatches

On June 2, 2020, the European Commission (“EC”) launched two parallel public consultations that could mark a turning point in the ongoing battle against ‘Big Tech’ in Europe: The first consultation concerns the introduction of a regulatory framework to tackle the market power of large digital platforms acting as “gatekeepers”, which would be included in the Digital Services Act (“DSA”).

The present note summarizes part of a broader study on investment screening insurance: Teoman Hagemeyer and Jens Hillebrand Pohl, “Managing the Risk of Self-Judging Security Exceptions Through Insurance: How Recent M&A Practice Copes with Investment Screening” (currently under peer-review).

On 10 June 2020, the MDCG issued guidance MDCG 2020-12 on the transitional provisions concerning the consultation of authorities regarding devices incorporating a substance.....

A new European Commission and Parliament is a difficult enough challenge at the best of times. Throw in a global pandemic and it could seem daunting. Advocating to protect your policy interests may not seem an urgent priority at a time of crisis, but it still matters. As the political and business communities continue to focus on managing public concerns and the immediate implications of the...