Privacy policy
1. Introduction
BV SCHOUPS places great importance on the secure, transparent and confidential collection and processing of your personal data. In particular, we want to protect the data of our clients, suppliers, employees and other contact persons against loss, leaks, errors, wrongful access or unlawful processing, and so on.
By means of this Data Protection Policy we wish to inform you about the collection and processing of your personal data. We ask that you read this Data Protection Policy carefully, since it contains essential information about how your personal data are processed and why.
By communicating your personal data, you expressly declare that you have taken knowledge of this Data Protection Policy and that you expressly accept it, as well as the processing itself.
2. Scope of application
This Data Protection Policy relates to all services that are provided by (or to) us and to all activities that we perform generally.
3. Controller
BV SCHOUPS, with registered office established at Mechelsesteenweg 127A, box 1, 2018 Antwerp and with enterprise number 0473.474.222, is the controller of your personal data.
When collecting and processing your personal data, we respect the Belgian regulations on the protection of personal data, as well as the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") as of its entry into force on 25 May 2018.
4. Personal data
Depending on your activities and your relationship to our firm, we process the following personal data: your personal identification data; file number; national register number in so far as necessary for handling your file; identification data within the framework of the Act of 18 September 2017 on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing and on the restriction of the use of cash; data concerning solvency, insurance policies; financial transactions; company number, professional activities; agreements and settlements; permits; personal particulars; immigration status; mandates in possession; complaints, incidents or accidents; composition of the family, marriage or current form of cohabitation; memberships in associations, organisations, groups or professional associations; judicial data concerning suspicions, convictions and penalties, judicial measures or administrative sanctions; current employment; salary data in so far as necessary for handling the file; visual and audio material necessary for handling the file or within the framework of a training course or event; data of our personnel such as explained in our separate data protection policy for employees.
We wish to point out that you bear responsibility for all of the data that you provide to us and that we rely on the accuracy thereof. If your data should no longer be up-to-date, we ask you to report this to us as by return post.
You are not obliged to communicate your personal data, but you understand that the granting of certain services or the collaboration becomes impossible if you do not consent to the collection and processing.
5. Processing purposes and legal basis
5.1 Data of clients
Within the framework of our services and activities, we collect and process personal data of our clients and principals, their personnel, employees, agents and other useful contact persons. We process the following personal data: personal identification data; file number; national register number in so far as necessary for handling your file; financial identification data; data concerning solvency, insurance policies; financial transactions; professional activities; agreements and settlements; permits; personal particulars; immigration status; mandates in possession; complaints, incidents or accidents; composition of the family, marriage or current form of cohabitation; memberships in associations, organisations, groups or professional associations; judicial data concerning suspicions, convictions and penalties, judicial measures or administrative sanctions; current employment; salary data in so far as necessary for handling the file; visual and audio material necessary for handling the file or within the framework of a training course or event.
The reasons for such processings are the execution of the agreements with our clients, the customer management, the bookkeeping and direct marketing activities such as the sending of promotional or commercial information or use on social media. The legal bases are the execution of the agreement, compliance with statutory and regulatory obligations and/or our legitimate interest. For direct marketing activities by e-mail (such as a newsletter or invitation for events) consent will always be requested, and it can also be retracted at any time.
5.2 Data of suppliers
We collect and process personal data of our lawyers and independent collaborators, as well as of our other suppliers, their personnel, employees, agents and other useful contact persons. We process the following personal data: personal identification data, financial identification data, solvency, financial transactions, professional activities, agreements and settlements, company number. From our lawyers/employees we also process visual or audio material for our website, social media or for marketing purposes.
The reasons for such processings are the execution of the agreement, the management of the suppliers, the bookkeeping and direct marketing activities such as the sending of promotional or commercial information. The legal bases are the execution of the agreement, compliance with statutory and regulatory obligations and/or our legitimate interest. For direct marketing activities by e-mail (such as a newsletter or invitation for events) consent will always be requested, and it can also be retracted at any time.
5.3 Data of personnel
We process the personal data of our employees within the framework of our personnel management and the payroll administration. Given the specific nature thereof, this processing is more extensively regulated in a separate Data Protection Policy for employees.
5.4 Data within the framework of handling our files
Within the framework of handling our files, we process the personal identification data of opposing parties and their counsellors, trade union organisations or representatives, as well as of all possible other individuals involved such as bailiffs, notaries, experts, civil parties, trustees, etc. The legal bases are compliance with statutory and regulatory obligations and/or our legitimate interest or, in some cases, the execution of an agreement.
5.5 Details of Applicants
If you apply for a job with us, we process the personal data provided by you as part of the application process (CV, cover letter, notes taken during the job interview, …).
This information is processed for the following purposes: i) to manage and evaluate your application, ii) to keep you informed of any future activities of Schoups provided that you give your prior consent, iii) inclusion in the recruitment reserve to later contact you for potentially relevant opportunities.
The applicant may at any time withdraw his/her consent and request that he/she be removed from the recruitment reserve.
5.6 Details of the website visitors
We process certain personal data when you visit our website. For more information on what data are processed for what purposes, please refer to our Cookies Policy.
5.7 Other data
Along with the above-mentioned data, we also process personal data of others, such as possible new clients/prospects, colleagues, useful contacts within our sector, network contacts, former lawyers/collaborators or employees, candidates, etc. The reasons for such processings are in the interest of our activities, direct marketing and public relations. The legal basis is our legitimate interest or, in some cases, the execution of an agreement.
6. Duration of the processing
The personal data are kept and processed by us for a period that is necessary as a function of the purposes of the processing and as a function of the relationship (whether or not contractual) that we have with you.
Your data will in any case be removed from our systems after a period of ten years after termination of the agreement, the file, the collaboration or the project, except with regard to those personal data that we, on the basis of specific legislation, must preserve for a longer period or in the event of a running dispute for which the personal data are still necessary. The identification data of our former lawyers/employees can be kept even after these periods for networking or marketing purposes, such as invitations to firm or alumni events, and this until the death of the lawyer/employee, unless the latter indicates that he/she no longer wishes to receive such invitations.
7. Rights
In accordance with and under the conditions of the Belgian privacy legislation and the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation, we inform you that you possess the following rights:
- Right to access and inspection: you have the right to take cognisance, free of charge, of the data that we have about you and to verify the purposes for which they are being used.
- Right to rectification: you have the right to rectify (correct) your inaccurate personal data, as well as to complete incomplete personal data.
- Right to erasure or restriction: you have the right to ask us to erase your personal data or restrict the processing thereof in the circumstances and under the conditions defined by the General Data Protection Regulation. We can refuse the erasure or restriction of any personal data that are necessary for us for compliance with a statutory obligation, the execution of the agreement or our legitimate interest, and this as long as these data are necessary for the purposes for which they are collected.
- Right to data portability: you have the right to obtain in a structured, common and machine-readable form the personal data concerning yourself that you provided to us. You have the right to transfer these data to another controller.
- Right to object: you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data for serious and legitimate reasons. Please nevertheless take into account that you cannot object to the processing of personal data which are necessary for us for compliance with a statutory obligation, the execution of the agreement or our legitimate interest, and this as long as these data are necessary for the purposes for which they are collected.
- Right to withdraw consent: If the processing of the personal data is based on prior consent, you have the right to withdraw this consent. These personal data will then only still be processed if we have some other legal basis for doing so.
- Automatic decision-making and profiling: we confirm that the processing of the personal data does not include profiling and that you are not subject to fully automated decision-making.
You can exercise the aforementioned rights by contacting info@schoups.be. The contact person for this is: Atty Dave Mertens (dave.mertens@schoups.be, tel. 03 260 98 60).
We make every effort to deal with your personal data in a careful and legitimate manner in accordance with the applicable regulations. If you nevertheless believe that your rights have been violated and your concerns are not adequately addressed by our firm, you are free to file a complaint with:
Gegevensbeschermingautoriteit
Drukpersstraat 35, 1000 Brussels
Tel. +32 (0)2 274 48 00
Fax. +32 (0)2 274 48 35
E-mail: contact@apd-gba.be
You can additionally address yourself to a court if you believe that you would suffer harm as a result of the processing of your personal data.
8. Transfer to third parties
Specific personal data that are collected by us will be transferred to and possibly processed by our lawyers and as applicable their respective (management) companies, as well as to the courts and other government services or to third-party service providers, such as our IT provider, bookkeeper, auditor, social secretariat, insurance companies, etc. Within the framework of the anti-money laundering legislation, the data of clients, mandatories and ultimate beneficiaries may possibly, under certain circumstances, be passed on to the President of the competent Bar Association.
It is possible that one or more of the above-mentioned third parties are located outside of the European Economic Area ("EEA"). However, personal data will only be passed on to third countries where there is a suitable level of protection.
The employees, managers and/or representatives of the above-mentioned service providers or institutions and the specialised service providers hired by them must respect the confidential nature of your personal data and can only use these data for the purposes within whose framework they were provided.
If necessary, your personal data can be transferred to other third parties. For example this can be the case if we should be reorganised in whole or part, our activities should be transferred or if we should be declared bankrupt. It is also possible that personal data must be transferred as a result of a court order or in order to comply with a certain statutory obligation. In that event we will make reasonable efforts to inform you in advance about this communication to other third parties. You will nevertheless acknowledge and understand that in certain circumstances this is not always technically or commercially feasible or that legal restrictions may possibly apply.
We will under no circumstances sell your personal data or make them commercially available to direct marketing agencies or similar service providers, except with your prior consent.
9. Technical and organisational measures
We take the necessary technical and organisational measures in order to process your personal data with an adequate degree of security, so as to protect them against destruction, loss, falsification, change, unauthorised access or erroneous disclosure to third parties, as well as any other unauthorised processing of these data.
Under no circumstances can BV SCHOUPS be held liable for any direct or indirect damage deriving from an erroneous or wrongful use by a third party of the personal data.
10. Access by third parties
With a view to the processing of your personal data, we grant access to your personal data to our employees, lawyers, collaborators and agents. We guarantee an equivalent level of protection by making contractual obligations opposable to these employees, collaborators and agents, which are identical to this Data Protection Policy.
11. Any questions?
If, after reading this Data Protection Policy, you have further questions or comments regarding the collection and processing of your personal data, you can contact Atty Sara Mannaerts, either by post to Mechelsesteenweg 127A, box 1, 2018 Antwerp or by e-mail to info@schoups.be.