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1. These General Terms and Conditions apply to all agreements for services between Ruby Nefkens Legal – the trade name of Ruby Nefkens B.V. in Amsterdam – and the client, including additional commissions and follow-up commissions, whether or not from legal entities or natural persons affiliated with the client.
    

2. Only Ruby Nefkens Legal accepts and performs commissions, even if it is the express or implied intention that a specific person will perform a commission. Articles 404, 407(2), and 409 of Book 7 of the Dutch Civil Code are thus excluded. An agreement for services between the client and Ruby Nefkens Legal is concluded only because a director or authorised representative of Ruby Nefkens Legal accepts a commission from the client on Ruby Nefkens Legal’s behalf.
    

3. The client must provide Ruby Nefkens Legal with all information that it requires to comply with its obligation to establish the identity of its clients and related persons. Ruby Nefkens Legal is obliged to report unusual transactions to the competent authorities under the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act (; Wwft).
    

4. If several clients have commissioned Ruby Nefkens Legal, they are all jointly and severally liable for the obligations arising from and/or relating to that instruction.
    

5. Any liability of Ruby Nefkens Legal, its lawyers and affiliated entities, and any persons who work or have worked for it is limited to the amount paid in that case under its professional indemnity insurance, plus the excess applicable to Ruby Nefkens Legal in that case. Ruby Nefkens Legal has cover up to €500,000 per claim and €1,000,000 per insurance year under its professional indemnity insurance. If Ruby Nefkens Legal is not covered under its professional indemnity insurance for whatever reason, its liability is limited to €10,000 or, if lower, the total amount of the invoices (excluding VAT) sent for the commission concerned. Any claim for compensation that the client may have against Ruby Nefkens Legal lapses six (6) months after the day on which the client became aware, or reasonably could have been aware, of the damage. In any case, the right to claim compensation lapses twelve (12) months after the event from which the loss directly or indirectly results and for which Ruby Nefkens Legal is liable, notwithstanding the provisions of Book 6, Article 89 of the Dutch Civil Code.
    

6. The client must also report any breach to Ruby Nefkens Legal without delay, at the risk of forfeiting the right to claim compensation and/or specific performance. Liability for indirect damage, such as lost turnover and profits, lost savings and/or any other form of consequential damage is excluded. If the commission originates from several clients, the limitation of liability set out in these conditions applies to all clients jointly and not to each client separately. If liability applies, it is up to the clients how they divide the amount paid between them.
    

7. The client indemnifies Ruby Nefkens Legal, the lawyers working for it, and its affiliated entities against any damage suffered in connection with the performance of an agreement for services with the client, insofar as the damage is not covered by any insurance, and the damage has not been caused by Ruby Nefkens Legal’s intent or wilful recklessness.
    

8. Ruby Nefkens Legal is authorised to hire third parties in its name or as an authorised representative of the client during the performance of the agreement for services and to charge the costs of this third party to the client. Ruby Nefkens Legal will consult with the client in advance as much as possible for this purpose and exercise due care when selecting third parties. Ruby Nefkens Legal is not liable for the breaches of these third parties. If third parties whom Ruby Nefkens Legal hires limit their liability when accepting their commission, Ruby Nefkens Legal may accept this limitation of liability, insofar as necessary on behalf of the client. All stipulations in these General Terms and Conditions are also made for the benefit of all persons whom Ruby Nefkens Legal hires during the performance of a commission.
    

9. The commission is performed exclusively on behalf of the client. Third parties cannot derive any rights from the content of the work performed (such as opinions). The client may provide the contents of the work performed by Ruby Nefkens Legal to a third party only if (i) Ruby Nefkens Legal has given its prior approval in writing, and (ii) this third party has accepted the applicability of these General Terms and Conditions in respect of Ruby Nefkens Legal, and the client has pointed out to this third party that the work was performed under the applicability of these General Terms and Conditions.
    

10. The client owes Ruby Nefkens Legal the agreed fee. If no fee has been agreed, the client will owe the usual hourly rate that Ruby Nefkens Legal charges for a lawyer/legal assistant or other employee with that number of years of experience multiplied by the number of hours worked. When instructing Ruby Nefkens Legal, the client accepts that Ruby Nefkens Legal will adjust its rates periodically, including in line with wage and price movements. Disbursements, including, but not limited to, court fees, courier costs, and costs charged by the Land Registry or Chamber of Commerce are payable by the client.
     

11. Ruby Nefkens Legal invoices its fees every month. Unless a different payment term has been expressly agreed in writing in advance, invoices are payable within two (2) weeks. The client must pay by way of transfer into Ruby Nefkens Legal’s bank account and is not authorised – unless agreed otherwise in writing – to pay in cash or by way of setoff. If payment is not made within the specified period, the client will be in default, with no need for a notice of default, and the client will owe default interest at 1% of the principal sum per month. Part of a month will count as one month for this purpose. In addition, the client will owe extrajudicial collection costs at 15% of the principal sum plus default interest.
     

12. If invoices are not paid or are not paid on time, regardless of whether they relate to the work in progress, Ruby Nefkens Legal may suspend or terminate the work, notwithstanding the client’s obligation to pay the outstanding invoices and those yet to be sent. Ruby Nefkens Legal reserves the right to request an advance payment for work and any additional work. The client may not suspend and/or set off any payment obligation.
     

13. If the client does not agree with an invoice sent by Ruby Nefkens Legal, they would need to notify Ruby Nefkens Legal of their objections in writing, accompanied by proper substantiation, within four (4) weeks of the relevant invoice being sent. If the client does not object, the invoice will be deemed accepted and the client will forfeit their right to dispute the invoiced amount is owing on any grounds.
     

14. Ruby Nefkens Legal will keep the agreement for services with the client and everything related to it confidential unless disclosure is required by law, a binding decision of a judicial authority or a government body, or if disclosure must reasonably be considered appropriate for the purpose of performing the commission.
     

15. The client may terminate the agreement for services in writing with immediate effect. Ruby Nefkens Legal may terminate the agreement for services in writing with due observance of a reasonable period. A period of two (2) weeks will be considered reasonable in any case. If the agreement is terminated, the client must pay the fee due for the work that Ruby Nefkens Legal has performed up to the date of termination, and for the work performed from that date for the purpose of transferring the case file.
     

16. Only Dutch law applies to the agreement between the client and Ruby Nefkens Legal and to all related matters in the broadest sense. All commissions given to Ruby Nefkens Legal are subject to its complaints procedure, which can be consulted on its website. If a dispute falls outside this complaints procedure, the competent court in Amsterdam has exclusive jurisdiction to take cognisance of disputes between the client and Ruby Nefkens Legal.
     

17. The client acknowledges and accepts the risks associated with electronic communication, including, but not limited to, interception, manipulation, virus infection, misdirection (forwarding), including because of viruses and spam filters, delays, and data corruption. Ruby Nefkens Legal and any persons and/or entities working or having worked for it will not be liable for any loss resulting from the use of these means of communication. The same applies to communications with third parties. If the client pursues professional or commercial activities, the applicability of Book 6, Articles 227b(1) and 227c of the Dutch Civil Code is excluded. These provisions relate to providing information and to e-commerce transactions and how e-commerce transactions are concluded.
     

18. Ruby Nefkens Legal reserves the right to amend these General Terms and Conditions.
    
    These General Terms and Conditions were drawn up in June 2023.