I. In general

Our commitment

Schuermans advocaten bv finds confidentiality of paramount importance and is committed to protecting your personal data.

This privacy statement gives clear and transparent information on how we deal with your personal data and which data we collect. Our first goal is to continuously guarantee your confidence.

Schuermans advocaten bv shall in all circumstances act according to applicable rules, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

This implies that in all circumstances:

  • your personal data shall be processed in accordance with the purpose for which they are collected; these purposes and type of personal data are described in this privacy declaration;
  • the processing of your personal data is limited to those data only which are required for the purposes for which they are processed;
  • your express consent shall be requested if needed for the processing of your personal data;
  • proper technical and practical measures have been taken so to guarantee the protection of your personal data;
  • no personal data are transferred to other parties except if needed for the performance of the purposes for which they were collected;
  • we are aware of your rights regarding your personal data and we also inform you of such rights and respect the same.

Controller of the processing

The controller of the processing of your personal data is:

Schuermans advocaten bv
de Merodelei 112
2300 Turnhout

Contact person: Mr. Jean-Luc Schuermans
jl.schuermans@schuermans-law.be
T +32 14 43 77 18
F +32 14 42 40 59

II. In particular with respect to visitors of our website

Our website collects the following data:

  1. Website visit and cookies
  1. The data filed by yourself within the frame of our contact form

We process these data only in order to reply to your request and/or to contact you to schedule a meeting.

As a concerned party you benefit from certain additional rights as stated in part III hereunder.

III. In particular with respect to other data subjects

Why do we process personal data?

Your personal data are processed by Schuermans advocaten bv for the following purposes and only for the purposes for which your personal data were collected or for purposes in line therewith:

  1. to be able to make use of the services offered by Schuermans advocaten bv (in performance of an agreement)
  2. to be able to send out invitations for seminars and to keep you informed about the activities of Schuermans advocaten bv (with the consent of the concerned party)
  3. to satisfy legal obligations
  4. for HR purposes
  5. to protect premises and employees by means of camera images
  6. to improve, enlarge and monitor our website.

Which personal data do we process?

Schuermans advocaten bv processes the following (categories of) personal data:

  1. name, address, domicile, e-mail, telephone/fax number
  2. geographical data, sex, date of birth and nationality
  3. physical data (inhouse camera images); function degree and education degree
  4. data concerning health, financial data, financial status, criminal data
  5. all other data, if any, needed for the treatment of your file
  6. other data forwarded by yourself.

Schuermans advocaten bv is aware that in certain cases sensitive or specific personal data are processed in the frame of the services it renders. For these reasons we take the most possible care in security.

Which security do we apply?

Schuermans advocaten bv uses the largest possible security options which we can however not all reveal for security reasons:

  1. Back-up (two times daily full back-up of all data)
  2. Firewall
  3. Antivirus
  4. Antispam
  5. Up-to-date of applications
  6. Two-way authentication
  7. Control of physical access to premises
  8. Confidentiality declarations a.o. with employees and co-workers.

Transfer of your data to third parties.

Schuermans advocaten bv uses some services rendered by third parties. Our services also may require in certain circumstances to transfer data to authorities, courts or third parties (bailiff, notary, expert, ...).

We have, if needed, entered into agreements with third parties, including our IT-partners, to have the best security possible of your data. We also take care that our service providers deal with your personal data the same way as Schuermans advocaten bv does.

How long do we save your personal data?

We safe your personal data up to 5 years after having closed the file with the exception of financial data for which a legal save period of 7 year applies.

We save your data for more than 5 years if we received the written consent from yourself and/or your organisation to do so.

Personal data in the frame of hiring procedures are saved during 1 year unless we received your written consent to save such personal data for a longer period of time.

Once these periods have expired your personal data will be destroyed, it being understood that at any time we will have a 1 year back-up or at least anonymised.

Your rights.

Based on the GDPR (see articles 13-23 GDPR) you are entitled to certain rights summarised hereunder:

       1. The right to be informed

You have the right to know by whom, why and how your personal data will be processed.

       2. The right to have access to your personal data

You have the right to have access to your own personal data when the following information is concerned:

  • the purpose and the reason of processing the personal data
  • the category of the personal data
  • the receivers or category of receivers to whom the data will be forwarded and/or having access thereto
  • the possibility to request from the controller of the processing or the processor of the personal data to rectify or delete said data
  • the right to file a claim in that respect with the authorities.

      3. The right to rectify and delete

You have the right to have incorrect personal data being rectified and to have incomplete personal data being completed taking into consideration the purposes for which they are processed.

You also have the right to have your personal data being deleted in the events enumerated in article 17 GDPR, including in the event that your personal data are no longer required for the purposes for which they are collected/processed. 

      4. The right to transfer data

You have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, usual and mechanically legible format.

You also have the right to have your personal data transferred to another controller of the processing.

      5. The right to limit the processing

In the events stated in article 18.1 GDPR you have the right to ask that the processing of your personal data is limited, including in the event that such processing is wrongful.

      6. The right to oppose

You have the right to oppose against the processing of your personal data for purposes of direct marketing.

You also have the right to make opposition, for reasons which are related to your specific situation, against the processing based on the events limitatively enumerated in article 21.1 GDPR.

     7. Automated individual decisions

You have the right not to be submitted to decisions exclusively based upon an automated process which causes legal consequences for you or that considerably affects you.

     8. Withdrawal of consent

You have the right to withdraw your given consent at a later stage.

Complaints?

With respect to this privacy declaration, your rights and potential complaints you may contact:

Schuermans advocaten bv
Mr. Jean-Luc Schuermans
de Merodelei 112
2300 Turnhout

jl.schuermans@schuermans-law.be
T +32 14 43 77 18
F +32 14 42 40 59

You may also always contact the Belgian data protection authority (www.dataprotectionauthority.be)

Data Protection Authority
Rue de la Presse 35
1000 Brussels

 contact@apd-gba.be
 T +32 (0)2 274 48 00
 F +32 (0)2 274 48 35

Changes to the privacy declaration

Schuermans advocaten bv is entitled to make changes to this privacy declaration at any time. These changes shall be announced on our website.