Another year, another reward

Congratulations to the winner, Mathias Vanduffel of Rootsum.🎉

Last week, our counsel Eva Alboort and project manager Hendrik Verbruggen saw him win the JCI Award Vlaams-Brabantse Jonge Ondernemer 2025.

We also congratulate Jan Kunnen of Eduvik on his audience award, as well as the other strong candidates Julie Hermans of Cumbaya and Stefan Walraven of Inmanta!

As an independent law firm, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭 actively supports entrepreneurship and ambition to create positive changes. We are therefore a very proud and longstanding sponsor of JCI.

We look forward to next year’s event!

#JCI #VBJO25 #entrepreneurship #proudsponsor #contrastlaw #contrastcares

Guest lecture on 'abuse of dominant position and merger control' at VUB

Last Friday, our counsel Mathieu Vancaillie and senior associate Michèle de Clerck gave a guest lecture at the Law Faculty of the University of Brussels, where our partner Filip Tuytschaever teaches EU competition law. Mathieu discussed 'abuse of dominant position' and Michèle 'merger control'.

Thanks to the students for their active participation!

Also interested in competition law? Read our new book 'Bos door de Bomen: Mededingingrecht'. You can order your copy here 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gEd4ymJS

#EUlaw #guestlecture #vub #lawstudents #EU #contraststudentcorner #contrasttalent

Recent advice bij the 'BRC Onrechtmatige Bedingen' on Belgian B2B Law

Last week, the Special Advisory Committee on unfair terms (‘BRC Onrechtmatige Bedingen’), a Belgian advisory body, published its advice on the rules relating to unfair terms in the Belgian B2B law. This advice was requested by the Minister of Economy and forms part of the legislator's planned evaluation of the B2B law of 4 April 2019.

The advice provides valuable insights (including relevant considerations, analyses of clauses and recommendations) on several key topics:

• the requirement for clauses to be drafted in a clear and comprehensible manner;
• the prohibition of clauses that create a manifest imbalance between the rights and obligations of the parties;
• clauses that are unlawful (black list) and those presumed to be unlawful (grey list).

Although the BRC’s advice is non-binding, it will be used by the legislator in evaluating the B2B law.

For a detailed read, check out the full advice here.


𝐀𝐧𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬? Our commercial team is happy to help!


#commerciallaw #onrechtmatigebedingen #unfairterms #B2B #contrastupdate

Belgian Competition Authority sanctions pharmaceutical and healthcare companies for the joint product placement of OTC medicines in pharmacies

The Belgian Competition Authority has fined Johnson & Johnson Consumer, Boehringer Ingelheim and Haleon for jointly setting up a space management project (category management arrangement) for the placement of over the counter (OTC) medicines in pharmacies. While a category management arrangement between a single supplier and a retailer may be acceptable in principle, it becomes significantly more sensitive when it involves multiple suppliers that are, presumably, competitors.

According to the BCA, this space management project between these competitors had the following anti-competitive traits in breach of the competition rules:

• The exclusion of (products of) competitors in the design and implementation of the planograms used for the placement of OTC medicines in pharmacies.
• The favouring of own products in the design and implementation of the planograms in question.
• The monitoring of the agreements and of the implementation of the planograms in the relevant pharmacies.

This is the first time competition law rules have been applied to category management arrangements in this fashion.

The full text of the decision will shortly be available on the BCA’s website.

𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨? Read the BCA’s press release in English, Dutch and French on our LinkedIn.

Further questions on the application of competition law rules to category management arrangements? You can read the 2010 opinion of the French competition authority on the subject via the following link: https://lnkd.in/ej-GW89c, or get in touch with your contact person at 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭.

#BCA #competitionlaw #antitrust #cartel #horizontalagreements #contrastupdate

In the Picture - Oxford University Press publishes brand new edition of our book on Vertical Agreements in EU Competition Law

This month’s newsletter doesn’t flag a legal development. Because we are so proud, we instead wanted to let you know that Oxford University Press has just published the fourth edition of our book on Vertical Agreements in EU Competition Law.

𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞? Go and have a look at our latest #inthepicture and check out our cartoon here.

You can order your own copy of the book here.

#CompetitionLaw #EULaw #VerticalAgreements #contrastpublications

Happy Easter!

at 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭, we want to wish a wonderful Easter! May your baskets be filled with chocolate. 🐰

#easter #lawfirm #contrastvibes

Let's celebrate Administrative Professionals Day!

We are truly fortunate to have a wonderful administrative support team at 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭. Let’s be honest, it’s not obvious working for a bunch of lawyers 😊. And yet, we can always rely on their support when aiming to make a difference for our clients and the members of our legal team. And for that, we owe them a genuine “thank you” ! 👏

#contrastvibes #teamwork #officeteam #lawfirm

M&A Chronicle - What's next?

🏛 𝐖𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐌&𝐀 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 – 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭?

Over the past 7 weeks, our corporate and M&A team has shared some highlights from significant judgements from the 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐌&𝐀 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞, published in TRV-RPS : Revue pratique des sociétés - Tijdschrift voor Rechtspersoon en Vennootschap. Thank you for following along and engaging!

If you missed any of the highlights, you can catch up on our LinkedIn page. You can find the two editions of the M&A Chronicle, providing a comprehensive overview of 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐌&𝐀 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐰 from 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟓 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, and our related annotations, on our website: https://lnkd.in/ez4HCPiN

But we are not stopping here!

📊 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝: 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

As we gear up for the next big project – restarting the market research for the 𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌&𝐀 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲 this summer – we invite you to be part of this collaborative project!

Are you an M&A professional active in Belgium and interested in participating (again)? Leave your contact details on this form so we can connect: https://lnkd.in/efm_czcH

Any ideas or suggestions? Share any must-cover recent trends/topics for this edition in the comments below or send us an email at survey@contrast.law.

Keep an eye on our page for any updates in this regard and stay tuned for the launch of the research phase this summer!

#MergersandAcquisitions #MA #Kroniek #Chronicle #Survey #mandasurvey #sharepurchaseagreements #CaseLaw

M&A Chronicle - Weekly case highlight #7

“The court considers the combination of the limitation in duration and territory to be unlawful […] Consequently, the court reduces article 1 of the non-competition agreement to three years after the signing of the non-competition agreement, within the Benelux, France, and England.”

The judgement of the 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐭 of 5 February 2018 offers an interesting and comprehensive application of the principles established through the (landmark) rulings of the Court of Cassation of the past decade. The non-competition obligation in question had a duration of 5 years and a territorial scope covering the entire European Union. Considering the concrete activities of the target company and their geographical scope, the court found the non-competition obligation to be excessive and decided to limit the duration and the geographical scope thereof, in line with the jurisprudence of the Court of Cassation.

👉 Want to learn more about this judgement and other key Belgian M&A cases from 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟓 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬? You can find them all here, together with our related annotations.

📊By the way, did you know that 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌&𝐀 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲 (https://lnkd.in/efJUPcN7) shows that more than 80% of the examined acquisition agreements contained a non-competition covenant, and that the duration of the non-competition clause is typically three years? We will be organizing a 𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌&𝐀 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲 this year. Leave your contact details on this form to participate and help us find out whether this trend has continued.

Follow along with our corporate and M&A team as we highlight more interesting case law in the coming weeks!

𝐀𝐧𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬? Please contact the authors (Bart Bellen | Ine Schockaert | Kristof De Wael | Karlien De Ryck | Maarten Cnudde | Charlotte Van Weehaeghe | Ward De Byser | Marthe Wouters).

#MergersandAcquisitions #Kroniek #Chronicle #Survey #mandasurvey #sharepurchaseagreements #CaseLaw #noncompete

contrast on campus @ Arteveldehogeschool

Last week, our counsel Eva Alboort and paralegal Marthe Wouters immersed law practice students from Arteveldehogeschool into the world of litigation from both a lawyer’s and a paralegal’s perspective, emphasising the role and importance of paralegals in a modern law firm.

On top of that, they also organised an interactive and practical workshop with tips and tricks for students to get a head start in their future internships and entry into the work field!

A big thank you to everyone attending and especially to Barbara Vande Putte for inviting us again. It is always a pleasure to head down to this beautiful campus in Ghent. We are looking forward to future collaborations!

#contrastoncampus #studentcorner #guestlecture #workshop #paralegal #litigation #arteveldehogeschool