Our
Expertise

In the area of construction law, the department essentially acts to defend the interests of contractors, architects, engineering firms, developers and builders. The department is also involved in projects for the transformation or renovation of real estate. In this area, the department is consulted by private clients, co-owners' associations and industrial and commercial centres which face difficulties concerning works or service or maintenance contracts which relate to works or the condition of buildings. 

Aside from litigation, the department offers advice in terms of preliminary consultations and post-contractual discussions regarding professional liability, as well as advice on negotiating and drawing up agreements and adjusting specifications. 

In matters regarding public procurement contracts, the department also handles all questions related to bids and contract performance (delays, stoppages, compensation calculations and responsibilities). 

Construction insurance is also handled by the department. 

Supply and maintenance contracts regarding industrial installations, offices or real estate complexes are also part of its field of activities.

The department is able to provide assistance in the following fields:

• Analysis of responsibilities in the pre-contractual phase of public and private projects, as well as in their execution phase (completion guarantees, ten-year construction liability, hidden defects claims, etc.)
• Drawing up construction contracts, secondary construction contracts and architecture and engineering contracts relating to works and services
• Drawing up specifications
• Legal assistance in construction insurance matters
• Legal assistance in cases of on-site work stoppage and negotiations in order to get work started again
• Legal assistance to establish indemnity accounts in accordance with Articles 15 and 16 of the General Specifications of public works contracts
• Assistance with the provision of court-ordered expertise
• Direct recourse claims of subcontractors against the builder
• Legal assistance in neighbourhood nuisance claims resulting from public or private works

The department is regularly consulted in matters of:

• Shared responsibility between the builder, designers and clients, including insurance law aspects
• Construction defects and wrongful performance
• Safety standards and rules on fire prevention in real estate projects
• Responsibilities of the safety and site coordinator
• Calculation method of architects' fees
• Acquisition of joint ownership
• Responsibility of the commissioning authority in case of the stoppage or slowing down of public works and calculation of the resulting indemnities
• Legal action (injunctions or proceedings on the merits) involving the provision of court-appointed expertise
• Asbestos removal projects
• Road, tunnel and bridge building sites and dredging works
• Industrial installation sites, steel mills, power stations, blast furnaces, airports, trains, turnkey projects
• Public-private partnerships

Experience highlights:

• Advising and helping investors in the conduct and performance of construction works of a hotel complex
• Defending the interests of co-owners or building promotors of apartments bought under the Breyne Act
• Assisting co-owners associations in their legal action against a work contractor of flat roof in an underground parking lot
• Advising co-owners associations during the works carried out by one owner which have a negative impact on the stability of the building
• Updating the articles of association of co-owners associations
• Helping principals to have the works that they ordered completed and the short comings and hidden defects in a building repaired and compensated
• Drawing up the damage claims for the procurers who had their works slowed down or stopped, within the context of the performance of public works or services contracts
• Legal proceedings against builders and designers of works of civil engineering confronted with important and repeated problems regarding leakage and drainage of water
• Defense of the interests of a contractor regarding a fire starting on the building site causing damages to third parties
• Defense of the interests of an industrialist for the damages claimed by a company following alleged defects in the implementation of a security installation
• Defense of the interests of an company which rents out formwork material for the construction of a water tower
• Defense of the interests of a sub contractor for the damages caused in the implementation by the contractor of the security measures on the site
• Direct claims of sub contractors
• Assistance and defense of the interests of contractor’s all-risk insurance companies for problems which arose during the construction of buildings
• Assistance and defense of the interests of the “ten years guarantee” insurance companies regarding the liabilities connected to the construction of an important building meant to house international institutions