Terms and conditions

1. Definitions

1.1. The law firm Amrani Advocaten is a partnership (maatschap) whose object is to practise as lawyers (“Amrani Advocaten”).

1.2. Client: the natural person or legal entity that instructs Amrani Advocaten to carry out work.

1.3. Fee: the financial remuneration owed by the client to Amrani Advocaten for work carried out by Amrani Advocaten under the contract for services, exclusive of value added tax (VAT) and disbursements.

1.4. Disbursements: all costs incurred by Amrani Advocaten in carrying out the engagement, including but not limited to costs relating to:

1. court fees;
2. witnesses and experts;
3. extracts from public registers;
4. international fax and international telephone calls;
5. procedural steps in cases heard by the subdistrict section (kantonrechter) of the district court;
6. bailiff’s services;
7. interpreting and translation services;
8. courier services;
9. registered mail; and
10. travel expenses, set at a flat rate of € 0.35 per kilometre.

2. Applicability

2.1. These general terms and conditions apply to all engagements to be carried out by Amrani Advocaten, including additional, amended and follow-up engagements, and to all legal relationships between Amrani Advocaten and third parties.

2.2. These general terms and conditions have also been drawn up for the benefit of those who work or have worked for or at Amrani Advocaten, whether or not under an employment contract, and of third parties engaged by or on behalf of Amrani Advocaten in carrying out the engagement.

3. Engagement

3.1. All engagements are accepted by Amrani Advocaten exclusively on the basis of a contract for services. This contract is only concluded once Amrani Advocaten has accepted it in writing.

3.2. The engagement is carried out exclusively for the benefit of the client. Third parties cannot derive any rights from the work of Amrani Advocaten or its results.

4. Performance of the engagement

4.1. Amrani Advocaten is free to decide which of its staff or which third parties are engaged in carrying out the engagement. The applicability of article 7:404 of the Dutch Civil Code is expressly excluded.

4.2. The client shall ensure that all information and documents which, in the opinion of Amrani Advocaten, are needed to carry out the engagement or are otherwise needed, are provided in good time.

4.3. Fees, costs and missed discounts resulting from delay in the engagement, as well as the expiry of time limits, caused by the requested information and documents not being provided, not being provided in time or not being provided properly, are for the account of the client.

4.4. Amrani Advocaten is entitled to suspend the performance of the engagement until the client has met the obligations set out in article 4.2.

5. Fee

5.1. For the performance of the engagement, the client owes the agreed fee, plus disbursements and VAT.

5.2. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the work is charged at a fixed rate, payable by the client at the start of the engagement. The fixed rate is based on the applicable hourly rate multiplied by the estimated time required.

5.3. If the actual time spent exceeds twice the estimated time, a variable rate will be charged in addition to article 5.2, based on the applicable hourly rate multiplied by the time spent in excess of that limit.

5.4. Amrani Advocaten 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 is settled during or at the end of the engagement.

6. Subsidised legal aid

6.1. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, a client who is entitled to it will be assisted on the basis of subsidised legal aid. The conditions for subsidised legal aid, including the amount of the personal contribution and the income and asset thresholds, can be consulted at: rvr.org.

6.2. A client who is assisted on the basis of subsidised legal aid only owes the personal contribution set by the Legal Aid Board (Raad voor Rechtsbijstand, “the RvR”) and the disbursements listed in article 1.4 under a to e, subject to changes in legislation and regulations.

6.3. By way of derogation from article 6.2, until the date on which subsidised legal aid takes effect, the client owes a fee equal to the applicable hourly rate multiplied by the time spent up to that date.

6.4. A client who is assisted on the basis of subsidised legal aid pays an advance equal to the (estimated) personal contribution and disbursements. The advance is settled during or at the end of the engagement.

6.5. If the RvR rejects or withdraws the application for subsidised legal aid, the client owes the fee referred to in article 5 and the disbursements in full after all.

6.6. Where applicable, the client will submit any notice of objection, request for review or request for a change of reference year (peiljaarverlegging) to the RvR. The client is also responsible for obtaining a diagnosis document from the Legal Services Counter (Juridisch Loket).

7. Payment

7.1. Invoices must be paid without any deduction, discount, set-off or suspension within the period stated on the invoice and, failing that, within 7 days of the invoice date.

7.2. In the event of late payment, the client is in default without any notice of default from Amrani Advocaten being required. The client then owes all additional costs, including extrajudicial collection costs charged in accordance with the Extrajudicial Collection Costs (Compensation) Decree (Besluit vergoeding voor buitengerechtelijke incassokosten).

7.3. In the event of late payment, Amrani Advocaten is also entitled to suspend or terminate the performance of the engagement, with a right of retention over everything it holds on behalf of its client, with due observance of rule 14(3) of the Rules of Conduct for Lawyers 2018 (Gedragsregels 2018). Any liability of Amrani Advocaten for the expiry of time limits and for damage resulting from such suspension or termination is excluded.

8. Liability

8.1. The liability of Amrani Advocaten arising from or in connection with the performance of an engagement is limited to the amount paid out under its professional liability insurance, increased by the amount of the deductible that is for the account of Amrani Advocaten under that insurance.

8.2. If the professional liability insurer does not pay out, the liability of Amrani Advocaten is limited to the fee it has charged for the engagement concerned, up to a maximum of EUR 15,000.

8.3. Amrani Advocaten will exercise due care when engaging third parties and, where possible, will consult the client in advance. However, any liability for shortcomings of these third parties is excluded.

9. Complaints and disputes

9.1. The firm’s complaints procedure (kantoorklachtenregeling) of Amrani Advocaten applies to every engagement given to Amrani Advocaten. This procedure is published on the website of Amrani Advocaten and will be sent to the client free of charge on request. A complaint about the services is first handled in accordance with the complaints procedure.

9.2. Amrani Advocaten participates in the Complaints and Disputes Scheme for the Legal Profession (Klachten- en Geschillenregeling Advocatuur) of the Netherlands Bar (“the Disputes Scheme”).

9.3. All disputes concerning the formation and/or performance of the services of Amrani Advocaten, including all disputes about invoices, are settled in accordance with the Rules of the Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession (Reglement Geschillencommissie Advocatuur, “the Rules”).

9.4. If the dispute concerns an engagement by a private client, the Rules provide for a binding opinion, unless the client turns to the ordinary courts within one month after the complaint has been dealt with. In the case of the collection of a claim against a private client, a binding opinion only applies if the client deposits the outstanding amount with the Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession (Geschillencommissie Advocatuur, “the Disputes Committee”). If the client does not do so, arbitration applies to the collection.

9.5. If the dispute concerns an engagement by a business client, the Rules provide for arbitration.

9.6. If Amrani Advocaten does not succeed in resolving any complaint about its services with the client, the client may submit the complaint to the Disputes Committee.

9.7. The Disputes Scheme becomes applicable when the client signs the engagement confirmation/intake form provided by Amrani Advocaten that refers to the scheme. A further explanation of the Disputes Scheme will be sent to the client on first request.

10. Applicable law

10.1. The legal relationship to which these general terms and conditions apply is governed exclusively by Dutch law.

10.2. Disputes arising from that legal relationship shall, insofar as the Disputes Committee is not competent, be submitted exclusively to and decided by the competent district court.