Privacy Policy

This website is managed by Cabinet Halabi & Associés. Ownership rights do not extend to Personal Data submitted through the various forms, which are transmitted exclusively to the Data Controller as defined in Regulation (EU) 2016/679.

The Data Privacy Officer of Cabinet Halabi can be contacted at the following address: eh@avocat-halabi.com

At Cabinet Halabi, we are committed to respecting the privacy of individuals affected by our activities, particularly when visiting and using the site.

This Personal Data Protection Policy (hereinafter referred to as « the Policy ») describes how we manage the Personal Data we collect, whether through forms, website registrations, phone calls, emails, or other communications with you. We may also collect certain data for specific purposes (see below) and through external data sources, such as the Appendices of the Belgian Official Gazette, and/or the register of legal entities and the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises to confirm the powers of representation of managers or directors of legal entities. We process your personal data in accordance with all applicable data protection regulations.

By accepting this Policy, by using the services of Cabinet Halabi, by registering for an event organized by Cabinet Halabi, or by otherwise providing your personal data to Cabinet Halabi, you acknowledge and accept the terms of the Policy, as well as the processing and transfers of Personal Data that will be carried out in accordance with the Policy.

The Personal Data we collect is for the purposes of managing pre-contractual and contractual relationships and the execution of our legal services. It generally includes:

• Your identification data: surname, first name, gender, date and place of birth, tax identifiers, national register number.
• Your contact data: landline/mobile phone number, email address, home address, physical address other than home address, IP address.
• Data related to your personal status (including marital status), family situation (including matrimonial regime), professional and financial status.
• Your banking data: account number, bank statements.
• Information relating to the case/dispute, including data concerning criminal convictions and offences relating to the client or third parties, as well as other specific categories of data (religious or other beliefs, racial or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, health data, and trade union membership information).

For certain data processing operations, a specific privacy policy may apply.

We use this Personal Data for the following purposes:

• Responding to your requests and communicating with you and others in the course of our activities;
• Sending you information about events (including a newsletter, with the option to unsubscribe);
• Providing support and assistance in relation to our services;
• Sending you important information about changes to our services, terms and conditions, and other administrative or technical information;
• Making decisions regarding the provision of services;
• Conducting market research and analysis, including satisfaction surveys;
• Providing you with marketing information (including information about our services or other services offered by selected third-party partners) in accordance with your expressed preferences;
• Enabling you to actively participate in our activities, including forums, discussions, seminars, appointments, and other events, and managing these activities;
• Resolving complaints;
• Managing contractual relationships with our clients, unsolicited applications, and responses to job offers;
• Managing requests for access, rectification, etc.;
• We have applicable legal obligations regarding professional secrecy and matters that Cabinet Halabi is required to comply with and respond to before administrative or judicial authorities (police, public prosecutor, investigating judge, and court) in the context of criminal or judicial proceedings (see in particular the Judicial Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure);
• Data we process in the context of a public interest mission, namely: complying with applicable laws and regulatory obligations (including laws outside your country of residence), such as those relating to the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing, as well as complying with judicial procedures and responding to requests from public authorities (including those outside your country of residence). This specific privacy policy applies when we assist a client in preparing or carrying out transactions concerning: (i) the purchase or sale of real estate or commercial enterprises; (ii) the management of funds, securities, or other assets belonging to clients; (iii) the opening or management of bank or savings accounts or portfolios; (iv) the organization of contributions necessary for the formation, management, or direction of companies; (v) the formation, management, or direction of companies, trusts, fiduciary arrangements, or similar legal structures; or we act on behalf of or for the account of a client in any financial or real estate transaction. In this context, we must carry out the following steps:

(i) identify you, as a client, representative, or beneficial owner; for this purpose, we collect a copy of your identity card or any other valid identification document;

(ii) determine your profile in terms of « money laundering risk » and classify you in a risk category related to our client acceptance policy;

(iii) when specific situations provided for by law (country of origin, identification difficulties, unusual relationship between the client and the lawyer or nature of transactions, public or similar figure) require enhanced due diligence, ask you any questions we deem relevant to comply with our legal obligations;

(iii) inform the bar president as soon as we observe, outside our litigation defense or legal consultation mission, facts that we suspect are linked to money laundering or terrorism financing. The bar president, as guardian of professional secrecy, will, where appropriate, forward the suspicious transaction report to the CTIF (Financial Information Processing Unit), of which we will not be legally able to inform you.

• Data related to our obligations regarding embargoes and asset freezing (see in particular embargo legislation, including EU Regulations 2580/2001 and 881/2002):

The legal bases for processing are as follows:

• The consent of the data subject, which may be withdrawn at any time (without questioning the legality of processing carried out prior to such withdrawal) (purposes 1 to 9);
• Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract or for taking pre-contractual measures (purpose 10);
• The legitimate interest of the data controller (purpose 7);
• A legal obligation (purposes 11 and 12).

If we were to collect other data or process Personal Data for purposes other than those mentioned above, we would provide you with information about this new purpose, as well as any other necessary information, before commencing the new processing. Some of our activities are subject to additional conditions that may contain further information about how we use and disclose your Personal Data. We therefore recommend that you read them carefully.

We do not use automated decision-making techniques that have legal effects or significant consequences for data subjects.

Cabinet Halabi may make Personal Data accessible to the following persons and entities:

• Our external third-party service subcontractors, such as experts, IT service providers, support, hosting, printing, and other similar providers, as well as subcontractors who assist us in our activities;
• Government authorities and third parties involved in legal proceedings or under a legal obligation;
• Other third parties with whom we may share Personal Data in connection with a current or proposed reorganization, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, portfolio transfer, or other transaction relating to all or part of our activities.

Cabinet Halabi takes appropriate technical and organizational measures in compliance with applicable privacy and data protection laws and regulations. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure (for example, if you believe that the security of your Personal Data that you have shared with us may have been compromised), please inform us immediately.

When Cabinet Halabi provides Personal Data to a service provider, the provider is carefully selected and is required to use appropriate measures to ensure the confidentiality and security of Personal Data.

Cabinet Halabi takes reasonable steps to ensure that the Personal Data processed is appropriate, accurate, and complete for the intended use, in order to achieve the objectives described in this Policy.

In general, we retain your data only for as long as necessary and delete it as soon as the reason for its collection is no longer valid.

• Data processed to ensure contract performance: Data of data subjects is retained for 10 years from the end of our mandate, to account for any possible disputes that may arise during this period. This period may be extended in the event of ongoing litigation.
• Data processed due to a legal obligation will be retained in accordance with the period imposed by applicable law.
• In terms of money laundering prevention, we are required to retain documents related to anti-money laundering measures for a minimum period of 9 years (until 2019) and then 10 years (from 2020). After this period expires, these data will be systematically destroyed.

Candidate data is retained for a minimum period of 9 years (until 2019) and then 10 years (from 2020) after the application is sent.

If you share Personal Data about other individuals with Cabinet Halabi, you agree to: (a) inform them of the content of this Personal Data Protection Policy, and (b) obtain the legally required consent for the collection, use, disclosure, and transfer (including cross-border transfer) of Personal Data concerning these individuals, in accordance with the terms of this Policy.

You have the right to access your Personal Data, rectify it, object to its use, request its erasure, restriction, or portability in certain circumstances. Please contact us at eh@avocat-halabi.com, proving your identity with a copy of the front of your identity card, for any request or if you have any questions or concerns regarding our processing of your Personal Data. Please note that certain rights, such as the right of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection, or portability, may be limited under the GDPR or Belgian privacy laws.

We regularly review the rules set out in this Policy and reserve the right to make changes at any time to reflect changes in our activities and legal requirements. We will inform you of any such changes.

If you are not satisfied with our processing of your Personal Data and believe that we will not be able to resolve the issue by contacting us, you have the right to file a complaint with the competent data protection supervisory authority: https://www.autoriteprotectiondonnees.be/.