PRIVACY POLICY
Article 1 – GENERAL
As a law firm, your privacy is very important to us. This privacy statement (hereinafter referred to as the “Privacy Policy”) is designed to inform you about how we handle your personal information, which is any information relating to an identified or identifiable person (hereinafter referred to as “Personal Data”), and how you can exercise control over that information. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully as it contains your rights and obligations towards FENCER (hereinafter also referred to as “We”).
Our Privacy Policy amended and modified from time to time. To notify you of the latest change to the Privacy Policy, we will update the revision date each time it is changed. The amended Privacy Policy will be effective as of that date.
Please check this page periodically to be aware of any changes and/or additions. We will also proactively notify you of significant changes to the Privacy Statement.
In this event we will notify you with an invite to take a look at these changes, which we will clearly indicate in the Privacy Policy.
FENCER BV, with registered office in Belgium, Esplanade 1, box 5, and registered at the CBE with number 0748.445.862 (hereinafter “FENCER”) and available via http://www.fencerlaw.eu (hereinafter: the “Website”); takes responsibility for the processing of your Personal Data as a “data controller”.
The collection and processing of Personal Data is governed by strict conditions, enforced by the law. FENCER acts in accordance with :
- The EU Regulation of 2016 concerning the protection of individuals with regards to the processing of personal data, regarding the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46/EC;
- And/or (future) Belgian laws regarding the implementation of this Regulation.
This Privacy Policy is applicable, inter alia, to how we handle your Personal Data through our ‘’Services’’ being the designated definition in this Privacy Policy for providing any of the services as described on our ‘’Website’’ and which are related thereto.
You are not obliged to provide us with your Personal Data, however you must understand that we are not able to deliver you the Services in case you refuse to provide us with certain Personal Data.
Article 2 – COLLECTED PERSONAL DATA
FENCER collects and processes some of your personal data, as listed hereafter.
Category 1:
Your (professional) identity data such as:
- Your first name, name, phone number, email address, address and country;
- Information concerning your employer or company, such as company name, company address, invoice details and VAT-number;
- Social media information, such as your username(s) on your social media.
You communicate these data:
- By contacting us, via telephone, email or any other communication service;
- By making use of our Services (e.g. when you enter into a contract with us as a client or supplier);
- By subscribing to our newsletter;
- By handing over your business card;
- Via social media (e.g. when you like us or contact us via LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram).
Category 2:
Your data as an applicant such as:
- Your first name, surname, phone number, email address, address, (optional) photo and country;
- Your resume and cover letter.
You communicate these data by applying for a job at FENCER.
Category 3:
Your communications through our Services such as:
- Information about the communication you had with FENCER or through the Services, including technical details and content.
You communicate these data:
- By contacting us, via telephone, email or any other communication service;
- By making use of our Services and communicate in that context with us.
Category 4:
Your usage of our Services:
- Information such as browser features, information about actions related to the Website (such as usage, activity logs and click-throughs), domains, page views and device features (see Article 8).
We collect these data:
- By placing cookies when you visit our Website.
Article 3 – PURPOSES OF THE PROCESSING OF DATA
FENCER collects and processes your data to offer you the best possible and safe service while handling your needs.
That being said, we will only use your Personal Data for the following purposes:
3.1 General purposes
Category 1
Identity data will be processed by FENCER in order to answer questions, provide information, advise you in legal and business matters and for assisting you in contentious matters.
The legal ground for this is consent and/or necessity for the performance of the agreement we have entered or are about to enter into with you as a party.
Category 2
Applicant data will be processed by FENCER to evaluate your application and allow us to pursue a recruitment policy, based on your consent.
Category 3
Communications through our Services will be processed by FENCER to ensure that you can make optimal use of the Services (in accordance with the execution of the agreement).
Category 4
Usage of our Services will be used by FENCER to maintain the security of the Application and/or Services and to improve it, as well as to create statistics based on a ”legitimate interest” of FENCER to improve the Application and/or Services.
With regard to the eventual use of non-essential cookies, we shall only process your data based upon your consent given in the cookie banner.
3.2 Direct marketing
Your Personal Data will only be used for direct marketing purposes if you give your consent or based upon legitimate interest if we have entered an agreement with you.
However, we will never use your medical and genetic data for the purpose of direct marketing.
In case you have FENCER your consent and you are added to FENCER’s direct mailing list, FENCER may use your Personal Data to send you marketing material as well as other material relating to FENCER and her Services.
This consent can be revoked at all times, for free and without motivation, by clicking the unsubscribe button below every promotional e-mail.
3.3 Transfer to third parties
FENCER will not disclose your Personal Data to third parties, unless it is necessary in the context of providing our Services and/or optimising them. To that end, FENCER may disclose your Personal Data to third parties who assist FENCER in the execution, management and control of its activities, including reporting, support, marketing, computer security or offering specific services and products.
It may happen that a third party is commissioned to collect, process and/or analyse the data. These third parties may only use the data for the aforementioned purposes and instructions of FENCER. Any other use is not included and is prohibited.
Consequently, FENCER will not sell, hire out or pass on your Personal Data to third parties, except in the situations provided for in this Policy or unless you explicitly provide prior consent.
FENCER has taken all appropriate legal and technical precautions to prevent unauthorized access and use.
In the event of total or partial reorganization or transfer of FENCER activities whereby FENCER reorganizes, transfers, transfers or in the event of FENCER being declared bankrupt, your Personal Data may be transferred to new entities or third parties. FENCER will inform you in advance of the fact that FENCER transfers your Personal Data to a third party.
Some parties to which FENCER provides personal data are located outside the EU. In principle, your personal data will only be transferred to countries with an adequate level of protection. If this is not the case, FENCER ensures the protection of your personal data by using the standard provisions established by the European Commission for this purpose.
Under no circumstances can FENCER be held liable for any direct or indirect damage resulting from an erroneous or unlawful use by a third party of the personal data.
3.4 Legal requirements
In extraordinary circumstances it may occur that FENCER is obliged to transfer your Personal Data following a court order, or in order to comply with imperative laws and/or regulations. FENCER will, if reasonably possible, try to inform you on beforehand, unless revealing this information is subject to legal constraints.
Article 4 – DURATION OF THE PROCESSING
We will store and process your Personal Data for the period we’re legally obliged to do so, or for as long as this is essential for the purposes of the processing, as well as the contractual relationship between you and FENCER.
Retention period
Category 1
We will keep your identity data as long as it is necessary to communicate with you, which is never longer than five (5) years after the first request or contact. In case of a contractual relationship, we will not keep your identity data longer than ten (10) years after the end of the contractual relationship.
Category 2
We will keep your data as an applicant no longer than five (5) years after the last qualitative contact with the applicant.
Category 3
We keep your communications through our Services as long as it is necessary to communicate with you, which is never longer than three (3) years after the first request or contact. In case of a contractual relationship, we will not keep your communications through our Services longer than ten (10) years after the end of the contractual relationship.
Category 4
With regards to cookies the retention period may vary depending on the specific cookie, ranging from end of the session to two (2) years.
Article 5 – YOUR RIGHTS
5.1 Right of access and right to obtain a copy
You have the right to freely obtain at any moment access to your personal data, as well as to be informed about the purpose of the processing by FENCER.
5.2 Right to rectification, erasure or restriction
You have the choice to share your personal data with FENCER.
You always have the right to ask us to amend your Personal Data.
You can also request the processing of your Personal Data to be restricted if you think that your data is inaccurate and you subsequently notified us about this.
In addition, you have the right to ask FENCER to erase your data in as far we were not able to anonymize it.
Furthermore, you acknowledge that a refusal to share data or a request to erase these data will make the delivery of several FENCER Services impossible.
5.3. Right to object:
You have the right to object to the processing of your Personal Data when you have serious and legitimate reasons to do so.
You also have the right to object to the use of your Personal Data for purposes of direct marketing. In such case specific reasoning will not be requested.
5.4. Right to data portability:
You have the right to obtain your Personal Data which is processed by FENCER in a structured, commonly used format and/or to transfer this data to another data controller.
5.5. Right to withdraw consent:
When the processing is based on prior consent you have the right to withdraw this consent.
5.6. Automated decisions and profiling:
You have the right to request us not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you.
5.7 Exercising your rights:
You can exercise your rights by contacting us with a copy of your ID as attachment,
Either through email to secretariaat@FENCERlaw.eu
Or by ordinary mail to: FENCER BV, Esplanade 1, box 5, 1020 Brussels, Belgium
5.8. Right to file a complaint:
You have the right to file a complaint with the Belgian Data Protection Authority:
Data Protection Authority, Drukpersstraat 35, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Tel +32 (0)2 274 48 00
Fax +32 (0)2 274 48 35,
e-mail: contact@apd-gba.be
However, you are always free to contact your own European or EU-vested authority thereto. This does not affect a procedure before the civil court. If you have suffered damages caused by the processing of your Personal Data, you can file a claim for damages.
Artikel 6 – SAFETY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
We have adopted safety measures which are suited on a technical, organizational and physical level to avoid the destruction, the loss, the forgery, the adjustment, the non-authorised access or the notification of the Personal Data by accident to a third party, as well as the non-authorised processing of FENCER data. Nevertheless, if these events would occur and would affect your Personal Data, FENCER will inform you of the breach without undue delay, including a summary description of the potential impact and a recommendation on measures to mitigate the possible adverse effects of the breach.
Examples of safety measures adopted by FENCER include:
- (Physical/Digital) Access control systems;
- Password management systems;
- Internal Privacy and Information Security Policies; and
- Secure data storage within the EEA.
FENCER shall not be liable in any way for direct or indirect damages caused by wrongfully or improper use of the Personal Data by a third party.
At the same time, you also share responsibility for maintaining the privacy and security of the Services, for example: by not allowing any third party to have insight in confidential communication.
Article 7 – APPLICABLE LAW AND JURISDICTION
This Privacy Policy is managed, interpreted and executed in accordance with Belgian law which exclusively applies to every potential dispute.
The courts and tribunals of Brussels have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute arising out of or in connection to the interpretation or execution of the present Privacy Policy.