General Terms of Business

Rutger Heringa Immigration Lawyer

Mr. R. Heringa is the sole proprietor of Rutger Heringa Immigration Lawyer, hereafter: ‘RHIL’.
All orders are exclusively excepted and executed by RHIL. The applicability of article 7:407 lid 2 B.W. (Dutch Civil Code) is excluded.
RHIL accepts no liability if, and for as long as the principal does not meet his obligations. RHIL’s liability is limited to the amount paid out in the relevant case by the occupational liability insurer. Information on the (coverage of) the occupational liability insurance taken out by RHIL is available on request.
On bringing in third parties, RHIL will as much as possible consult in advance with the principal or his representatives, on whose behalf the third parties are brought in. RHIL is not liable for shortcomings of whatever nature of these third parties, and he is authorized, also on behalf of the principal, to accept a possible limitation of liabilities of the third parties brought in by him without prior consultation.
Unless it has been determined otherwise and in writing, RHIL owns and holds the intellectual (property) rights to all his productions, included in these are letters, records, advice, notes, articles and all concepts thereof.
The contract with RHIL is subject to the professional secrecy of the lawyer. Privacy and discretion are vouched for. The principal agrees that RHIL informs him from time to time about his services and the general legal matters that may be of importance to the principal, even after the contract has finished. The principal can nevertheless at all times request to be removed from the mailing list.
RHIL does not have a trust account at it’s disposal. As far as payments are concerned that are not intended for RHIL, but for the principal or third party, instruction will be given to pay the sum directly to the principal party/entitled third party
The hourly rate of RHIL can be adapted annually. RHIL’s expense accounts are send by e-mail or regular postal services and claimable after fourteen days of invoice. If the invoiced amounts are not paid to RHIL’s bank account number within that period, this means that the principal is deemed to be in default without a need of being held to proof of default and without being allowed an appeal for suspension, retention or settlement. All activities by RHIL are suspended for as long as the default continues.
Unless another agreement is made between attorney and client, the case files will be stored in the archives for five years. After this time, they will be destroyed.
The legal relationship (rechtsverhouding) between the firm and the client is subject to Dutch law. Any dispute arising out of such a legal relationship shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts in the Netherlands, unless it concerns a case in which the Dutch Bar Dispute Regulation (Geschillenregeling Advocatuur) is applicable and sets jurisdiction for the Geschillencommissie Advocatuur. In these cases, disputes are settled in accordance with the Reglement Geschillencommissie, that can be obtained with the Clerk of the Dispute Commission (P.O. Box 90600, 2509 LP The Hage) or can be obtained from the firm. Complaints and disputes regarding the services of RHIL must be submitted in writing with the internal claims commission of RHIL (RHIL, t.a.v. klachtencommissie), within 3 months immediately after the moment the plaintiff learned to know or may reasonably be considered to have known the act or negligence causing the complaint The complaints commission decides on the complaint in accordance with the internal complaint regulation. This regulation will be furnished upon request.
These general conditions are available in Dutch and English. In case of a dispute regarding their contents or intention, the Dutch language and version is binding.