1.CEPANI NPO - The Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation is a non-profit association. CEPANI is registered with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises in Brussels under number 0413.975.115, and has its registered office Rue des Sols 8, 1000 Brussels, Belgium.
2. CEPANI’s missions and services are accepted and executed exclusively by CEPANI NPO. “Affiliated person” is deemed to refer to a current or former designated person, advisor, employee or director of CEPANI NPO. Said “affiliated persons” may be natural persons and/or legal persons. CEPANI NPO therefore is solely and exclusively liable for the services rendered by CEPANI NPO and/or all persons affiliated to CEPANI NPO. As such, no person or entity other than CEPANI NPO has or will have any obligation vis-à-vis a user and/or any other person with respect to the services rendered, and no person or entity other than CEPANI NPO has or will have any personal liability for the services rendered to the user on behalf of CEPANI NPO. As a consequence, the user waives any legal claims against persons affiliated to CEPANI NPO for services rendered in the name and on behalf of CEPANI NPO, except those claims directed against CEPANI NPO.
3. Any liability of CEPANI NPO (and, insofar as may be necessary and without prejudice to Article 2 above, of any other person affiliated with CEPANI NPO, and/or of any person involved in carrying out the services, and/or who could be held liable in any way in connection with said services) is limited to the amount paid out under the applicable liability insurance policy subscribed by CEPANI NPO applicable to the relevant matter, plus the applicable deductible (eigen risico) under the terms of said insurance policy. A claim against a person mentioned in this article will be unenforceable unless CEPANI NPO receives written notice to this effect no later than one year after the discovery of the event or circumstance that gives of may give rise to such claim. In addition, CEPANI NPO shall not be held liable for any damage resulting from erroneous, incomplete, inaccurate and/or misleading information received from the user. CEPANI NPO shall likewise not be held liable for any indirect damages, such as loss of profits or loss of revenues.
4. CEPANI NPO may engage third parties in the performance of its services ( for example affiliated persons, couriers, translators and other advisors. If CEPANI NPO is instructed together with another person, CEPANI NPO is liable only for the performance of those obligations that are expressly CEPANI’s obligations. CEPANI NPO may also use digital or other services (hereinafter “digital services”), whether or not offered by third parties, such as telecommunication services, applications where information can be shared or stored digitally or in the cloud, internet, or other applications which allow data to be searched, analysed, stored, processed or translated, automatically or otherwise, or with the use of artificial intelligence or other software programs. As a result, data may be transferred to servers or to a cloud managed by third parties. CEPANI NPO will exercise the necessary due care in its selection of such third parties and digital services. CEPANI NPO is not liable for any acts and/or omissions of these third parties, nor for any damages or losses resulting from the use of the digital services. CEPANI NPO may, in the name and on behalf of a user, accept and apply the general terms and conditions, including any limitations of liability, of such third parties (including affiliated persons mentioned in Article 2 above) or digital service providers, in which case the general terms and conditions of such third parties or digital service providers shall apply directly to the user. CEPANI NPO excludes any liability resulting directly or indirectly from or relating to (i) the insolvency or default by such third parties (including any bank or financial institution) or digital service providers, and/or (ii) any restriction or loss of the ability to use, operate or access computers, the network or the data and/or (iii) any data breach, whether or not as a result from a data leak or a cyberattack.
5. Funds that CEPANI NPO receives from a user and that CEPANI keeps for the user will be placed in a bank account opened with a financial institution of CEPANI NPO’s choice. CEPANI NPO accepts no liability vis-à-vis the user or any other person for a credit default or other acts or omissions of any financial institution in which CEPANI NPO keeps the funds or through which CEPANI NPO transfers the funds. Consequently, CEPANI NPO cannot be held liable for the sums that CEPANI NPO itself or the financial institution cannot pay back or transfer.
6. Without prejudice to article 3, these general conditions including the limitations of liability apply in favour of CEPANI NPO and can also be relied upon by and applied in favour of all persons involved in carrying out services for the user and/or who could be held liable in any way in connection therewith, including persons associated with CEPANI NPO or their respective legal successors. The user indemnifies CEPANI NPO and all other persons mentioned in the preceding sentence against all third-party claims and the costs of legal assistance that arise from, or are in any way connected to the services performed for the user (to the extent the claim or damage did not directly result from wilful misconduct by CEPANI NPO). This provision and all other provisions in these general conditions which purport to create rights for third parties referred to in the first sentence of this article also serve as irrevocable third-party stipulations for no consideration (beding ten behoeve van een derde) as referred to in Article 5.107 of the Belgian Civil Code.
7. Payment is due within 30 days from the date of the invoice. If there are multiple users or payers for the same assignment, those users or payers are jointly and severally responsible for the payment of the fees.
8. With regard to personal data processed in connection with the provision of our services, CEPANI NPO will act as the data controller as defined in the European General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 and the Belgian Law of 30 July 2018 concerning the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data, as occasionally amended or replaced. CEPANI NPO’s processing activities and the rights granted to you in this context are described in detail in Stibbe’s Privacy Policy at https://cepani.be/legal/privacy-policy.
9. These General Terms and Conditions apply to all services and missions carried out by CEPANI NPO. The Dutch and French texts of these General Terms and Conditions shall prevail and shall be deemed as authentic in the event of any discrepancy between the English text and the Dutch and/or French texts. The Dutch and French versions of these General Terms and Conditions have the same value. These General Terms and Conditions may be amended unilaterally by CEPANI NPO, and any changes shall take effect as from the date of their publication on the CEPANI website. The applicability of any general conditions proposed by the user or third parties is explicitly rejected, even in the event that the user’s general conditions had to be accepted in order to allow for electronic invoicing. In the event of any conflict between these General Terms and Conditions and the general terms and conditions proposed by the user or third parties, these General Terms and Conditions shall prevail.
10. The missions and services referred to in Article 2 and all legal obligations (including non-contractual) that are related to them shall be governed exclusively by Belgian law, excluding any rules of private international law which may lead to the application of the laws of other countries. The Court of First Instance of Brussels shall have sole jurisdiction to deal with any disputes concerning the services provided by CEPANI NPO.