Privacy & Cookie policy

This is the privacy statement of Kwint Advocaten BV (and any lawyer associated with Kwint Advocaten BV), with registered office at 9000 Ghent, Brandweerstraat 19B/2, CBE number 0628.785.870.

Through this privacy statement, we wish to inform you about the way our firm collects and processes your personal data. Our privacy statement applies to all relationships between our firm on the one hand and our clients, suppliers, partners, prospects, opposing parties, and website visitors on the other.

By sharing your personal data by telephone, by email, or by submitting your request or case file, you acknowledge that you have read this policy and you explicitly agree to its contents.

Scope of this Statement

We make every effort to protect your privacy as much as possible.

We act in accordance with the Regulation of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (GDPR), and with our own privacy statement. In addition, we are bound by professional obligations, including professional secrecy.

The personal data of natural persons benefit from special protection. Personal data means any information that allows the direct or indirect identification of a natural person. Below we inform you about how Kwint Advocaten collects, uses, and stores personal data, and about your rights.

For more information about privacy legislation in Belgium in general, we refer you to the website of the Belgian Data Protection Authority (https://www.gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit.be).

Data Controller

Kwint Advocaten BV is responsible for the processing of your personal data.

Purposes of Processing

As a law firm, Kwint Advocaten BV processes and retains clients' personal data with the aim to:
(a) identify clients,
(b) contact them,
(c) perform conflict checks,
(d) provide legal assistance,
(e) issue invoices, and
(f) carry out direct marketing activities.

We also register contact persons of suppliers to manage communications and administration regarding suppliers.

Furthermore, we register data of opposing parties to defend the interests of our clients.

We adhere to the principle of minimal data processing and only register strictly necessary information. We do not use automated decision-making. Kwint Advocaten does not process sensitive data.

Kwint Advocaten may collect, among others, the following personal data:

Identification data: name, first name, national identification number
Contact details: address, telephone number, email address
Bank account number
Family details
Data concerning professional activities
Data concerning criminal history
CVs and motivation letters
Publicly available data

Kwint Advocaten also processes publicly available data, such as data subject to mandatory publication (e.g., Belgian Official Gazette), data made public by the data subject (e.g., website, blog, public social media profile), data that is generally known (e.g., data from Kruispuntbank, Geopunt, Omgevingsloket Vlaanderen, CadGis, Google Street View), or data published in the press.

Legal Grounds

Kwint Advocaten processes personal data:
(a) with the data subject's consent,
(b) in the context of executing a contract,
(c) to comply with legal or regulatory obligations, or
(d) based on legitimate interests.
When processing based on legitimate interest, we strive to balance that interest with respect for personal privacy.

Protection of Your Personal Data

Kwint Advocaten uses Office 365 and the Teamleader software package for data input, case management, and invoicing. Data is stored on Kwint Advocaten’s server, protected according to industry standards.

Kwint Advocaten takes appropriate measures to prevent unauthorized electronic or physical access, processing, alteration, or destruction of your data.

The offices of Kwint Advocaten are accessible only to lawyers and staff members. Third parties must identify themselves via the reception desk or intercom and must register upon entrance. Apart from cleaning staff, third parties have no access to offices or archives.

Confidential paper documents that should not be retained in the physical file are deposited in a secure container and destroyed at regular intervals by a specialized company.

Internal guidelines govern the retention and transport of physical files.

Access to Your Data

Your data is used primarily by Kwint Advocaten to handle your case. Access is restricted to persons who need the data for their tasks.

Lawyers are bound by professional secrecy. Administrative staff and cleaning staff are bound to strict confidentiality obligations.

Sometimes, we need to share personal data with third parties to fulfill our contract with you, such as other lawyers, advisors, insurance companies, law enforcement agencies, translators, or external IT administrators.
We may also be required to provide data to third parties to comply with our deontological or legal obligations, or to protect our legitimate interests.

Kwint Advocaten does not transfer personal data outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

We do not share your personal data for commercial or promotional purposes.

Retention and Archiving Period

Once our mandate ends (e.g., after a final judgment or delivery of the requested advice), the case file is closed.

Archived personal data remains accessible for evidentiary purposes (e.g., audits by tax authorities).
After case closure, personal data is retained for the necessary period to comply with legal and professional obligations. Clients can request to personally retain their file within one year after the last invoice by contacting info@kwint.be.

Your Rights

You have the right to access your personal data free of charge at any time.
You can request corrections if your data is incorrect or incomplete.
You can request the deletion of your data, restrict its processing, or object to its processing.
You also have the right to receive a copy of your personal data and request its transfer to another company.

To exercise your rights, please send an email to info@kwint.be, accompanied by a copy of your identity card for verification purposes.

Kwint Advocaten may exceptionally refuse your request if required by law, to fulfill our contract, to exercise or defend legal claims, or for reasons of public interest.

Website, Cookies, Newsletter, and Social Media

In accordance with Article 129, 1° of the Electronic Communications Act of 13 June 2005, Kwint Advocaten informs visitors about the use of cookies.
Cookies are small text files stored on your device. Kwint Advocaten uses:

Functional cookies: to ensure the proper functioning of the website.
Analytical cookies: for visitor statistics and cookie acceptance tracking.

We will never misuse cookie data.

If you notice that Kwint Advocaten uses other cookies, you can report this via info@kwint.be so they can be removed.

Examples:

Functionality

Retention

Has_js (Drupal)

Registers if JavaScript is enabled

Until browser closure

_ga (Google)

Used by Google Analytics to identify visitors

24 months

_gid (Google)

Registers unique ID for statistics

24 hours

_gat (Google)

Limits requests to Google servers

1 minute

Cookie-agreed (Drupal)

Registers acceptance of cookies

100 days

Kwint Advocaten recommends consulting the privacy policies of any linked third-party sites.

Kwint Advocaten may send active clients New Year’s cards or invitations to Kwint Advocaten events.

Email Communications

Emails and attachments are intended solely for the addressed recipient(s) and may contain confidential or personal information.
Use by others is prohibited. If you receive an email in error, please notify the sender and destroy the message.

Emails are scanned for known viruses. However, Kwint Advocaten cannot guarantee the accurate transmission of emails and is not liable for damages caused by virus infection or corruption.

Updates to This Privacy Statement

Kwint Advocaten reserves the right to amend this privacy statement.
We recommend regularly consulting our privacy statement to stay informed of any changes.

Questions or Complaints?

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about this privacy policy or suspect misuse, contact info@kwint.be.

If you disagree with our privacy practices, you have the right to file a complaint with the Data Protection Authority (Drukpersstraat 35, 1000 Brussels).

(Last updated: 1/4/2025)