General Terms and Conditions

Version: September 2025

Section 1: Applicability of these general terms and conditions

  1. These General Terms and Conditions apply to all offers, proposals, assignments, legal ties, and agreements—in whatever name—in which Orion Immigration Law B.V. undertakes, or shall undertake, to perform work for the client, including all work for Orion Immigration Law B.V. that arises from it.

  2. If there is any lack of clarity or dispute as regards the interpretation of one or more provisions in these General Terms and Conditions, the interpretation must be sought in the spirit of these General Terms and Conditions. If a situation arises between the Parties for which these General Terms and Conditions do not provide, the situation shall be reviewed in the spirit of these General Terms and Conditions.

  3. If one or more provisions in these General Terms and Conditions might be declared fully or partially void or nullified, the remaining provisions of these General Terms and Conditions shall remain effective. In that event, Orion Immigration Law B.V. and the client shall agree by mutual consultation on new provisions to replace the void or nullified provisions, in which case the intent and meaning of the original provisions shall be observed as far as possible.

  4. If Orion Immigration Law B.V. does not strictly enforce these General Terms and Conditions, it does not imply that they are not applicable. Orion Immigration Law B.V. retains the right to enforce these terms strictly at a later time or in other instances.

  5. Orion Immigration Law B.V. explicitly excludes the applicability of the General Terms and Conditions of the client.

  6. Any departure from these General Terms or Conditions shall be explicitly confirmed in writing, for example in an agreement or confirmation of assignment.

Section 2: Assignment

  1. The acceptance of an assignment by a lawyer associated with Orion Immigration Law B.V. creates a legal relationship between the client and Orion Immigration Law B.V. All assignments will exclusively be accepted and carried out by or on behalf of the company, even if it is the explicit or implicit intention that a certain person carries out the assignment. The acceptance of an assignment does not create a legal relationship between the client and the natural person who accepts this assignment.

  2. The person for whose benefit the assignment is carried out is referred to as the client. If the assignment is given by someone other than the client, both the principal and the client will be jointly and severally liable for payment of all amounts Orion Immigration Law B.V. is entitled to by virtue of the assignment.

  3. An offer that was made by or on behalf of Orion Immigration Law B.V. only applies to the relevant assignment. An offer that was made in relation to a specific assignment will not automatically apply to future assignments.

  4. Orion Immigration Law B.V. cannot be held to its offer to the extent that this offer, or a component of it, contains an apparent mistake or typing error.

Section 3: Provision of information by the client

  1. The client is obliged to provide all data, documents, and information required by the lawyer of Orion Immigration Law B.V. for the adequate and timely performance of the assignment. The client guarantees and, if required, verifies the correctness, completeness and reliability of the data, documents, and information provided by them or on their behalf to the lawyer of Orion Immigration Law B.V. This clause also applies to data, documents, and information originating from third parties.

  2. If the client, after having received a clear notification from the lawyer of Orion Immigration Law B.V., still fails to provide timely, correct and complete data, documents and information, Orion Immigration Law B.V. reserves the right to suspend work on the relevant assignment.

  3. Orion Immigration Law B.V. is not liable for damages resulting from the failure of the client to provide data, documents, or information promptly, completely, or correctly. Orion Immigration Law B.V. is not liable for any resulting damages if a lawyer of Orion Immigration Law B.V. uses the data, documents or information that were not provided promptly, completely, or correctly in good faith. Orion Immigration Law B.V. is not liable for damages that result from a suspension of work in accordance with Article 3.2.

  4. If the client, after having received a clear notification to this extent from the lawyer of Orion Immigration Law B.V., still fails to provide timely, correct, and complete data, documents and information, the client is liable for all damages directly or indirectly incurred by Orion Immigration Law B.V.

Section 4: Carrying out of the assignment

  1. The assignment shall be carried out by a lawyer of Orion Immigration Law B.V. At commencement of the work, it is indicated which lawyer or lawyers will be chiefly occupied with the assignment. Unless otherwise explicitly agreed upon, Orion Immigration Law B.V. has the right to have other lawyers of Orion Immigration Law B.V. or a third party selected by Orion Immigration Law B.V. perform certain work without prior notification or explicit permission from the client. The above does not affect the responsibility of Orion Immigration Law B.V. to carry out the assignment confidentially and adequately.

  2. The lawyer(s) of Orion Immigration Law B.V. are obliged to perform the assignment as may be expected of reasonably competent professionals. The acceptance of an assignment by Orion Immigration Law B.V. does not entail an obligation to attain a particular outcome.

  3. The client must obtain prior written permission from Orion Immigration Law B.V. before reproducing, disclosing, exploiting, providing to third parties, or distributing any advice, agreements, or other intellectual property, whether directly or indirectly involving third parties. Exceptions include cases where such actions are directly specified in the agreement, necessary for obtaining an expert opinion, required by the client's legal or professional duty of disclosure, or pertinent to the client's involvement in disciplinary, civil, or criminal proceedings.

  4. Orion Immigration Law B.V. shall maintain strict confidentiality regarding all data, documents, and information provided by the client, as well as any results obtained during the assignment. Orion Immigration Law B.V. shall take reasonable steps to ensure that its employees and any third parties engaged shall also adhere to strict confidentiality requirements. However, the obligation to maintain confidentiality does not extend to situations where legal obligations, such as those outlined in the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act or similar national or international regulations require disclosure. Additionally, this provision allows for confidential discussions among colleagues within the organization of Orion Immigration Law B.V.

  5. Orion Immigration Law B.V. does not have the right to use the data, documents and information provided by the client for any purpose other than that intended, unless Orion Immigration Law B.V. is representing itself (or a lawyer associated with Orion Immigration Law B.V. is representing themselves) in civil or criminal proceedings where this information could be relevant.

  6. The client’s case-file shall be stored digitally only, unless the client and Orion Immigration Law B.V. specifically agree otherwise. If Orion Immigration Law is required to temporarily hold authentic documents, the client will collect such documents within a reasonable time. The client’s digital file will be archived after completion of the case, and will then be stored for a term of five years, after which the case-file will be permanently deleted.

Section 5: Remuneration and fees

  1. Orion Immigration Law B.V. has the right to receive payment for the services provided by its lawyer(s) as well as for any associated expenses. These expenses, referred to as disbursements, include specific costs such as court fees, travel and accommodation expenses, valuation fees, legal charges, document costs, bailiff fees, courier expenses, and similar expenditures.

  2. The agreed upon remuneration, as confirmed in writing or by email by the lawyer, is binding between Orion Immigration Law B.V. and the client.

  3. Orion Immigration Law B.V. reserves the right to request an advance payment for both remuneration and disbursements prior to commencing work. This advance payment will be deducted from the final invoice.

 

Section 6: Expense claims and suspension of work

  1. Complaints about an expense claim must be sent in writing within the payment term specified in Article 7 of these Terms and Conditions, on penalty of forfeiture. If the assignment has not been completed, the lawyer concerned reserves the right to claim expenses for it.

  2. If an invoice remains unpaid beyond the payment term specified in Article 7 of these Terms and Conditions, Orion Immigration Law B.V. retains the right to suspend work related to both the specific assignment and any other assignments for the client that failed to pay the invoice. Orion Immigration Law B.V. bears no liability for damages arising from the suspension of work as per this provision.

Section 7: Payment term, interest, and collection costs

  1. Invoices must be settled within 14 days of the invoice date. In the event that the invoice is not paid within the 14-day period, the client will receive a first, second, and final reminder 2, 16, and 30 days following the due date of the invoice respectively. The final reminder will serve as a letter of formal notice (“ingebrekestelling“).

  2. Payment must be made in the currency specified in the invoice. Cash payments are not accepted.

  3. If the invoice has not been settled 46 days past the due date, Orion Immigration Law B.V. reserves the right to start a debt collection procedure. The client will become liable for collection costs and legal interest compensation. Please note that the legal interest will be calculated according to Dutch law. The collection costs will be determined pursuant to the percentage of the invoice, in accordance with the Decree remuneration for extrajudicial collection costs (“Besluit vergoeding voor buitengerechtelijke incassokosten”).

  4. If the client has objections against the amount of the invoice, this does not suspend the payment obligation or the payment term.

Section 8: Limitation of liability

Orion Immigration Law B.V. maintains professional liability insurance covering both the office and all associated lawyers and employees. Liability in each case is limited to the amount paid out under this insurance, plus any applicable excess. Upon request, the lawyer of Orion Immigration Law B.V. shall provide the client with details about the insurance policy. If no payments are made under the professional liability insurance, for any reason, liability for each case is capped at twice the invoiced amount for that case, with a maximum limit of €15,000. This limitation or exclusion of liability does not apply in cases where damages result from a deliberately reckless or intentional act by Orion Immigration Law B.V.

Section 9: Dissolution

  1. Orion Immigration Law B.V. reserves the right to terminate the agreement in whole or in part under the following non-exhaustive circumstances: if the client fails to fulfil their obligations, if they have been deceitful or have provided false information, if they enter liquidation, if they request suspension of payment or debt relief for natural persons, if they file for bankruptcy, or if the client completely or partially ceases or dissolves the company.

  2. If it becomes evident after the conclusion of the agreement that the execution of the assignment is not reasonably feasible, particularly due to information provided by the client, Orion Immigration Law B.V. reserves the right to terminate the agreement. However, consultations will be held with the client before Orion Immigration Law B.V. exercises this right.

Section 10: Force majeure

  1. In these General Terms and Conditions, force majeure encompasses, in addition to its legal and case law definitions, all external factors beyond Orion Immigration Law B.V.'s control that render it unable to fulfil its obligations, whether foreseeable or not. This includes, but is not limited to fire, accidents, severe illness, strikes, civil unrest, war, government actions, prolonged power outages, transportation disruptions, and terrorist threats.

  2. During a force majeure event, Orion Immigration Law B.V.'s obligations are suspended. Orion Immigration Law B.V. shall inform the client promptly of the situation. If the force majeure event makes it impossible to fulfil the obligation, both parties have the right to terminate the agreement without incurring damages. However, the client remains obligated to compensate for any work already completed. If Orion Immigration Law B.V. has partially fulfilled its obligations at the onset of the force majeure event, it reserves the right to invoice for the completed work, and the client is then obligated to settle this invoice accordingly.

Section 11: Applicable Law and competent court

  1. The legal relationship between Orion Immigration Law B.V. and the client, as well as all work performed by Orion Immigration Law B.V., shall be governed by Dutch law.

  2. All disputes arising from this legal relationship shall exclusively be decided by the Dutch court.