Insights

Brussels and Doha – April 1, 2024: The Legal 500 Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) 2024 edition has recognized 16 practice areas and 11 lawyers in Crowell & Moring’s Brussels and Doha offices. The 11 individual lawyers received 18 total rankings across the 16 different practice areas.

Brussels – March 20, 2023: Chambers and Partners has ranked four Crowell & Moring practice groups and six individual lawyers in the Chambers Europe 2023 guide. The rankings are driven by independent interviews of clients and members of the legal community.

In recent years, there has been a wave of new legislation impacting contracts and contractual terms. The Belgian legislator is gradually adopting the different Books of our new Belgian Civil Code. Last February, a new proposal for Book VII on special contracts, including sale and loan agreements was submitted. Additionally, the Belgian Code of Economic Law has been updated several times, impacting the drafting of contracts and of contractual terms, not only between companies but also with consumers.

On 26 February 2025, the Commission proposed a sustainability simplifications package, commonly referred to as the Omnibus package. Among the sustainability reporting and due diligence provisions, the Omnibus package would also bring about changes to the EU’s unilateral environmental measure, the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). CBAM entered into application in its transitional phase in October 2023 and is now halfway towards its definitive implementation. The proposed deregulation brings about improvements in several CBAM areas, including scope, and reporting and procedural requirements. In this alert, we outline those suggested amendments that are likely to be of most importance to businesses involved in trading in CBAM goods.

Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) 32bis applies in Belgium in the event of a transfer of undertakings. It establishes the legal framework that protects employees’ rights during such a transfer.

Class actions and their (possible) role in European law jurisdictions have been a hot topic for quite a while and this is not likely to change. The new EU directive 2020/1828 imposes the obligation upon EU member states to introduce a specific legal procedure for collective repair by 25 June 2023. In Belgium, such a procedure for collective repair was already introduced in 2014. With the imminent implementation of said EU directive into Belgian law, this procedure is likely to undergo some substantial changes. During this in-person seminar, Werner Eyskens, Evelien Van Espen, Yaël Rager and Charlotte Stynen will discuss the current and future role of class actions in Belgium, the contours of the existing procedure for collective repair and the potential impact of the expected new rules, as well as the role of third-party litigation funding and the fate of collective proceedings that fall outside the scope of the existing procedure and the new directive.

In collaboration with ACC EuropeThe EU Whistleblower Directive, which is intended to provide whistleblowers with greater protection, sets out a legal framework of minimum standards that have to be transposed by the EU member states into national legislation.

In collaboration with the IBJThe Belgian law of 18 May 2024 regulating private investigations marks a significant shift in the legal landscape for employers conducting internal investigations. This comprehensive reform replaces outdated legislation and introduces stricter compliance requirements, notably impacting data privacy and HR practices. Understanding these legal requirements is essential to avoid potential pitfalls and ensure that investigations are carried out in a lawful and efficient manner. 

In Collaboration with the IBJDuring this webinar we will dive into the European Directive on pay transparency that entered into force in June 2024 and has to be transposed for June 2026 in all EU Member States. This European Directive has the ambition to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women, for all employees in all sectors. The Directive brings significant new reporting obligations and assessment obligations on employers that the EU Member States will publish. How will you have to calculate the threshold to know if your company as an employer falls under the scope of the Directive? And what happens when there is a gap in the equal pay? What will you have to do as an employer? What kind of enforcement does the Directive foresee? Lastly, did you know that in the US there is an Equal Pay Act that has been in force since 1963? How has that statute been applied in the US and what are the differences and similarities with the European Directive? Our special US guest will teach us some interesting US-insights.