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Member Publications
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Social Security Agreement Between India and Belgium
Altius/Tiberghien, December 2009, Belgium
On 1 September 2009, the long-anticipated Social Security Agreement between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of India (the “SSA”) entered into force. The SSA was signed in New Delhi on 3 November 2006 and is considered as a landmark agreement as it was the first treaty of its kind to be signed by the Indian authorities. Therefore it is likely to serve as a benchmark for similar agreements between India and other countries...
| The ECJ Sea Judgement: Some Further Guidance on the “in house” Exemption
Altius/Tiberghien, December 2009, Belgium
In its Sea Judgement of 10 September 2009 (C-573/07), the European Court of Justice (ECJ) further clarifies its “in-house” jurisprudence. More specifically, it goes more deeply into the notion of control...
| Five pitfalls to Avoid in your Belgian Contracting Agreements
Altius/Tiberghien, December 2009, Belgium
In Belgium, contracting agreements are subject to the Belgian Civil Code (‘BCC’) plus several other regulations. In this article, we briefly discuss five rules which foreign investors or principals may be surprised apply to Belgian contracting agreements. Make sure you avoid these pitfalls!1...
| ECJ Holds that a Single Award Procedure is Sufficient for IPPP’s
Altius/Tiberghien, December 2009, Belgium
The Acoset judgment of the ECJ dated 15 October 2009 (C-196/08) was related to a dispute about an institutionalised public-private partnership (IPPP). A local authority wanted to grant a concession to a newly-created semi-public company, whose minority shareholder would be a private company selected by an open tender procedure. The minority shareholder would be responsible for the operations of the semi-public company...
| Belgian Council of State pierces the veil of a PPP project
Altius/Tiberghien, November 2009, Belgium
In the Horizon Pleiades case, the Council of State was confronted with an interesting question: if a public authority organises a procedure to select its partner for a PPP company, which will perform works or services which would normally be covered by the Procurement Directives, does the selection procedure have to comply with the rules laid down in the Procurement Directives or can a “light” selection procedure be used? In its ruling, dated 19 June 2009, the Council of Stat
| Audit Committee Required for Belgian Listed Companies and Financial Undertakings
Altius/Tiberghien, July 2009, Belgium
IntroductionAs of 8 January 2009, Belgian listed companies and financial undertakings are required to have an audit committee. The Law of 17 December 2008 on the establishment of an audit committee in listed companies and financial undertakings (the “Law”) then enters into force...
| New Belgian Rules on Financial Assistance
Altius/Tiberghien, July 2009, Belgium
1. IntroductionThe Royal Decree of 8 October 2008 amending the Belgian Companies Code (“BCC”) has amended the rules on financial assistance. The new rules entered into force on 1 January 2009. The Royal Decree implements European Directive 2006/68/EC amending the Second Company Law Directive. The Belgian rules on financial assistance apply to public limited-liability companies (NV/SA), private limited-liability companies (BVBA/SPRL), partnerships limited by shares (Comm...
| “In-house exemption” and “Capacity Awaps”: Clarity and New Clouds
Altius/Tiberghien, July 2009, Belgium
In two recent cases (Coditel and Stadtreinigung Hamburg), the ECJ dealt with the so-called “in-house exemption” in procurement matters...
| Combating Collusion Between Tenderers: the ECJ Clarifies the Limits
Altius/Tiberghien, July 2009, Belgium
What are the limits on national public procurement law to prevent collusion between tenderers in award procedures? This was the question the ECJ dealt with in its recent Assitur judgment (C-538/07).The facts of the Assitur case were as follows. Three tenderers passed the qualitative selection phase and were admitted to the final procedure...
| New Belgian Rules on Contributions in Kind and Acquisition of Own Shares (share buy-back)
Altius/Tiberghien, June 2009, Belgium
IntroductionDirective 2006/68/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 6 September 2006 has amended the Second Company Law Directive in relation to maintenance of capital.On 8 October 2008, the Royal Decree (hereafter the “Royal Decree 10/2008”) implementing the Directive was adopted and substantially modified the Belgian Companies Code (hereafter “BCC”) in respect of contributions in kind, purchase of own shares and financial assistance...
| Competition Act Amendments: Greater Scope for Policy Decisions in Investigations
Altius/Tiberghien, June 2009, Belgium
On May 6, 2009, the Belgian legislature amended the Belgian Competition Act. Most of the amendments are of a procedural nature and are of minor importance. However, the clarification of the prescription rules and the option of dismissing cases on policy grounds catch the eye. The amendments entered into force on May 29, 2009.The Belgian Competition Act was the subject-matter of a thorough reform in 2006...
| Grey and Counterfeit Goods in Transit: Trademark Law in No-man’s Land.
Altius/Tiberghien, June 2009, Belgium
Trademark owners often try to stop grey-market and counterfeit goods while in external transit through an EU member state. However, ECJ rulings are unclear as to the extent to which this is possible.Parallel traders purchase trademarked goods outside Europe and import them into the European Community, where higher prices apply. These grey-market goods put pressure on the trademark owner’s profit margins, as they are sold at below market price...
| The New Timesharing Legislation
Altius/Tiberghien, May 2009, Belgium
Things change over time. This is also the case in the timesharing business. The European legislator, who is well aware of this and already dealt with this type of business by adopting a directive on 26 October 1994, has recently adopted a new legislative act dealing with timesharing, thus bringing European legislation up-to-date. It was deemed necessary to modify the former European legislation to the evolutions in the business...
| Real Estate Outsourcing: A Trend That is Here to Stay?
Altius/Tiberghien, May 2009, Belgium
Companies (listed and unlisted) spinning off real estate at Belgian or at both Belgian and European level is common practice. In comparison to the U.S. market, the trend is only just in its early stages here. Outsourcing often conceals widely varying realities:- a company shareholder may want to divide his corporate assets among his future heirs...
| Dominant Pharmaceutical Companies Can Refuse to Sell to Pure Exporters
Altius/Tiberghien, May 2009, Belgium
In recent years parallel trade in the pharmaceutical sector has been a hot topic. On September 16 2008 the European Court of Justice published its eagerly anticipated judgment on the refusal to supply by dominant pharmaceutical companies in the Syfait II Case. Recently, the Belgian competition authorities have also addressed this subject when dismissing an appeal by Bofar, an exporter of pharmaceutical products...
| New Belgian legislation - Continuity of Enterprises Act
Altius/Tiberghien, April 2009, Belgium
IntroductionThe Act of 31 January 2009 on the Continuity of Enterprises entered into force on 1 April 2009 (the “Act”). The disappointing results of the Act of 17 July 1997 on Judicial Composition Proceedings (‘gerechtelijk akkoord’ / ‘concordat judiciaire’) led the Belgian legislature to reform the framework of measures available to undertakings encountering (financial) difficulties (of the type where Chapter 11 is used in the USA)...
| Belgian Posters & Clear Channel vs. JC Decaux Belgium and the Brussels-Captial Regional Government
Altius/Tiberghien, April 2009, Belgium
In two recently published decisions, the College of Prosecutors (‘Auditorat’) ruled on requests for interim measures from Belgian Posters and Clear Channel against the granting by the Brussels-Capital Region of a public tender contract to JC Decaux (‘JCD’). Belgian Posters and Clear Channel claimed that JCD had a dominant position (or even a monopoly) in the market for theprovision of so-called ‘urban advertisement furniture' (e.g...
| Vertical Agreements: Regulation of Distribution Practices in Belgium
Altius/Tiberghien, March 2009, Belgium
Carmen Verdonck and Stefanie Vyncke wrote the chapter onBelgian Law in the 2009 edition of 'Getting The Deal Through: VerticalAgreements'. This updated edition examines the regulation of distribution practices in jurisdictions worldwide.Antitrust law1...
| A Few Legal Comments on Spamdexing
Altius/Tiberghien, February 2009, Belgium
What is spamdexing? The Internet contains a lot of information. In 2002, the total number of web pages was estimated at 2.024 million; by 2005 this estimate had risen to 11.5 billion2. The ever- increasing amount of information found on the Internet also has disadvantages. In this jungle of information, it is getting harder and harder to see the wood for the trees...
| International Acquisition Finance in Belgium
Altius/Tiberghien, February 2009, Belgium
ALTIUS contributed to a publication on International Acquisition Finance accross mutiple jurisdictions. The volume provides counsel with a full insight into the law and regulation across numerous jurisdictions. Johan De Bruycker, Caroline Wildemeersch and Kasper Van Landeghem from ALTIUS' Banking & Finance team untangle the complications of debt funding regimes for the Belgian jurisdiction. 1...
| Mind Your Belgian Distributor! FAQ on Distribution Law in Belgium
Altius/Tiberghien, February 2009, Belgium
Mind Your Belgian Distributor! FAQ on the Belgian Law of 27 July 1961 on the Unilateral Termination of Exclusive Distribution Agreements of Indefinite Duration. Belgium is one of the very few countries in the world with a specific legal regime for the termination of certain distribution agreements, in addition to a law on agency contracts...
| FAQ on e-Commerce Law in Belgium
Altius/Tiberghien, February 2009, Belgium
GENERAL 1. How can the government’s attitude and approach to internet issues best be described? The attitude of the Belgian government can be described as positive and their approach is proactive. In 2003, the Belgian authorities announced the introduction of ‘e-government’. The most important initiatives were the introduction of electronic identity cards (e-ID) for all Belgian citizens over 12, and the federal government’s information web-portal...
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