Definitions
Article 1. For the purpose of these general terms and conditions the following is understood as:
a. Client: the contractual party of Janus Notarieel Juristen who awards the engagement
b. Fee: the financial remuneration (time-proportionate or otherwise) excluding disbursements and travelling expenses as intended under c. and d. that Janus Notarieel Juristen stipulated with the client for the performance of the engagement.
c. Disbursements: the expenses incurred by Janus Notarieel Juristen in the interest of the performance of the engagement.
d. Travelling expenses: the reimbursement of travelling expenses incurred in the interest of the performance of the engagement.
e. e. Janus Notarial Lawyers is a trading name of Janus Notarieel Juristen B.V.: the private company with limited liability with trade register number 17214520.
General
Article 2. These general terms and conditions are applicable to each and every agreement for the provision of services or any other legal relationship between Janus Notarieel Juristen and the client, unless expressly stipulated otherwise in writing prior to the conclusion of the relevant agreement.
Acceptance of the engagement
Article 3. If a client awards an engagement to Janus Notarieel Juristen in order to look after his interests then the agreement (for the provision of services) between the client and Janus Notarieel Juristen is only concluded after Janus Notarieel Juristen has accepted it. Janus Notarieel Juristen excludes the effect of Section 404 of Book 7 of the Dutch Civil Code and also excludes the effect of Section 407 Subsection 2 of Book 7 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Performance of the engagement
Article 4. Unless stipulated otherwise in writing, any and all engagements are exclusively accepted as a best efforts obligation on the part of Janus Notarieel Juristen, which shall therefore be held to make an effort to perform the engagement with the required diligence and expertise.
Third parties
Article 5. The client authorises Janus Notarieel Juristen to, on behalf and at the expense of the client, hire third parties for the performance of the engagement. Upon the selection of third parties to be hired Janus Notarieel Juristen shall observe the required diligence, but shall not enter into discussions with the client.
Article 6. Janus Notarieel Juristen shall not be liable for shortcomings of the said third parties and shall be entitled, without prior consultation with the client, to on behalf of the client accept a potential limitation of liability on the part of the said third parties.
Article 7. The client indemnifies Janus Notarieel Juristen against any and all claims of third parties hired by Janus Notarieel Juristen and other third parties, including the expenses incurred by Janus Notarieel Juristen in connection therewith (including the hours spent on it by Janus Notarieel Juristen times the rate), which are in any way whatsoever related to the engagement awarded by the client, barring in the event of intent or gross negligence on the part of Janus Notarieel Juristen.
Information
Article 8. The client commits to communicate any and all facts and circumstances that may be relevant to the correct performance of the engagement. The client guarantees the correctness and completeness of any and all data and information made available to Janus Notarieel Juristen.
Article 9. Changes in the authority of the client or of its representatives or authorised representatives shall, even if relevant registration in the public registers took place, only take effect in respect of Janus Notarieel Juristen after Janus Notarieel Juristen has been informed accordingly in writing. The client commits to forthwith inform Janus Notarieel Juristen of each and every change as intended above in writing.
Electronic means of communication
Article 10. If the client and Janus Notarieel Juristen communicate with each other whilst making use of electronic means of communication, including email and internet, then the client shall bear the risk of transmission of viruses and comparable malware and of the failing, incomplete or incorrect transmission of a message, and a message is only deemed to have reached Janus Notarieel Juristen at the moment that the person who performs services on behalf of Janus Notarieel Juristen for the client has taken note of the said message. The client is held to verify whether the message has actually reached the recipient. The sending of email and other forms of data traffic takes place in an unencrypted fashion, unless the parties expressly stipulate otherwise in writing. Janus Notarieel Juristen shall be neither responsible nor liable in the event that third parties obtain, through unauthorised means, correspondence between Janus Notarieel Juristen and the client in their possession.
Fee
Article 11. The fee to be charged to the client by Janus Notarieel Juristen shall, unless stipulated otherwise in writing, be calculated on the basis of the number of hours worked multiplied by the hourly rates in euros to be established annually for all of the employees by Janus Notarieel Juristen. The fee is exclusive of VAT. Fixed amounts for the disbursements shall be charged separately.
Fee notes
Article 12. A payment term of fourteen (14) calendar days after the date mentioned on the fee note applies to payment of the fee notes of Janus Notarieel Juristen. Within the said time limit, the amount specified on the fee note must, in the same currency as indicated on the fee note and without deduction of costs for remittance, similar costs or any other amount and without setoff of any claim, have been received by Janus Notarieel Juristen. Any and all costs that are related to potential collection, also including any and all extrajudicial costs, shall be at the expense of the client. The said costs arrive at 15% of the amount to be collected with a minimum of one hundred euros (€ 100.00), subject to any and all rights of Janus Executele en Bewindvoering to also claim compensation for any and all actually incurred costs, and therefore also the costs exceeding 15% of the amount to be collected.
Article 13. If the client fails to pay the amount payable by him / her then Janus Notarieel Juristen shall, in addition to the possibility of collection measures as intended in the previous article, be entitled to suspend its activities for the benefit of the client. Janus Notarieel Juristen shall only be authorised to rely on the said right to suspend after it has informed the client accordingly in advance and awarded him / her another short period of time to yet comply with his / her payment obligation. The duration of the aforementioned short period of time shall be in line with the circumstances of the case. Janus Notarieel Juristen does not accept liability for potential damages incurred by the client as a result of a suspension of the activities as intended here.
Liability
Article 14. Each and every liability of Janus Notarieel Juristen shall be limited to the amount that is, as the occasion arises, actually paid by the professional liability insurer of Janus Notarieel Juristen, plus the amount of the excess that is, according to the policy terms and conditions, at the expense of Janus Notarieel Juristen. If so required, information is provided about the professional liability insurance.
Article 15. If and to the extent that – for any reason whatsoever – payment pursuant to the professional liability insurance should not materialise then the liability for the total damages that are related to activities (including omissions) effectuated by Janus Notarieel Juristen shall be limited to the amount that was paid to Janus Notarieel Juristen by the client for the activities in respect of which the damages were inflicted.
Article 16. Any and all claims (claim rights, other rights, authorities, on any account whatsoever) in respect of Janus Notarieel Juristen expire in case they were not submitted to Janus Notarieel Juristen in writing and in a substantiated manner within one (1) year after the moment that the concerned party became or could reasonably have become familiar with the existence of the said claims.
Article 17. The limitation of liability pursuant to this article also applies in the event that Janus Notarieel Juristen (wrongly) refused an engagement and damages were consequently inflicted that are a direct result of the act(s) of Janus Notarieel Juristen.
Article 18. In the event that third parties are hired Janus Notarieel Juristen shall always observe the necessary diligence. Janus Notarieel Juristen shall, however, not be liable for potential shortcomings of the said third parties. The client indemnifies Janus Notarieel Juristen against claims (of third parties) on account of damages that were or shall be inflicted as a result of the circumstance that the client supplied incorrect or incomplete information to Janus Notarieel Juristen.
Termination
Article 19. The client is always authorised to terminate the engagement by giving notice of termination. The said notice must be given in writing. Janus Notarieel Juristen is authorised to terminate the engagement, in consideration of a notice period and in such manner that the interests of the client are served in the best way possible. The fee payable by the client at the time of termination of the engagement must be paid by the client on the basis of fee notes in accordance with the provisions set forth in article 11.
Miscellaneous
Article 20. After the end of the engagement, the original documents present in the dossier are, on request, made available to the client. After conclusion of the case the dossier is retained during the statutory period and is, against payment of the actual costs to be incurred by Janus Notarieel Juristen for removing the dossier from the archive, always available to the client.
Article 21. Any and all provisions in these general terms and conditions were also stipulated for the benefit of all those who are or were active for Janus Notarieel Juristen in or outside employment.
Article 22. The legal relationship between Janus Notarieel Juristen and the client shall be subject to Dutch law. Disputes shall exclusively be settled by the competent court in 's-Hertogenbosch, without prejudice to the authority of Janus Notarieel Juristen to submit a dispute to any other competent court.