Le droit commun des contrats. Questions choisies.

Approche flexible et collaborative : nouvel enjeu contractuel face aux incertitudes et changements Coordination : Eric Thomas & Erik Van den Haute Les échanges commerciaux se montrent aujourd’hui, difficilement prévisibles. Les entreprises, pour faire face à ce brouillard d’aléas, doivent être agiles et adaptables. Le contrat en est l’une des expressions. Il doit, à cet effet, reposer sur la souplesse et l’adaptabilité pour réduire sa vulnérabilité aux circonstances. Le colloque se propose avec des professeurs, des praticiens juristes et des économistes de faire un tour d’horizon des techniques contractuelles qui permettent de préserver l’économie des contrats face aux incertitudes et aux changements en favorisant le dialogue et la coopération entre les parties. Points de formation continue : Avocats.be – 8 points juridiques Programme détaillé 9.00 h  – Mot de bienvenue (Erik van den Haute) 9.15 h – Introduction (Philippe Stoffel-Munck; Emmanuel Grand) 10.00 h – 1ère table ronde « La souplesse organisée par les clauses contractuelles » (Arnaud de Nanteuil; Pascale Accaoui Lorfing; Denis Philippe; Delphine Jacquemont; Modérateur : Henry Lesguillons) 11.00 h – Pause-café 11.30 h – 2ème table ronde : « Les contrats complexes coopératifs et d’alliance » (Richard Patterson; Bruno de Cazalet; Peter Roscher; Pierrick Le Goff; Christopher Seppala; Modérateur : Eric Thomas) 12.30 h – 3ème table ronde : « Les contrats de type Agile » (Alexandre Cruquenaire; Alexandra Berg-Moussa; Gilles Pillet; Modérateur/intervenant : Denis Philippe) Pause déjeuner 14.15 h – 4ème table ronde : « Les acteurs internes au contrat » (Jens Bürkle; Alain Brunet; Modérateur/Intervenant : Pierrick Le Goff) 15.15 h – 5ème table ronde : « Les acteurs externes au contrat » (Hakim Boularbah; Gabriel Ermanet; Pierre Genton; Maude Lebois; Pascal Hollander; Peter Roscher; Modérateur : Gilles Pillet) 16.15 h – Pause-café 16.45 h – 6ème table ronde : « Les incidents disruptifs : impacts, remèdes et sanctions » (Emmanuelle Rousseau; Pascale Accaoui; Peter Roscher; Bruno de Cazalet; Jens Bürkle; Alain Brunet; Daduna Kokhreidze; Modérateur : Philippe Stoffel-Munck) 17.45 h – Conclusion (Olivier Caprasse) 18.30 h – Fin des travaux Informations pratiques Le colloque aura lieu le vendredi 13 juin de 9.00 heures à 18.30 heures. L’accueil se fera dès 8.30 h. Le colloque aura lieu à la Fondation Universitaire, rue d’Egmont 11 à 1000 Bruxelles. Train : Gare de midi, puis métro ligne 2, descendre à l’arrêt Porte de Namur ou à l’arrêt Trône – Gare centrale : prendre le bus 71 direction Delta, descendre à la Porte de Namur Métro : stations Porte de Namur ou Gare Centrale Bus: arrêt Porte de Namur Voiture : stationnement recommandé au Parking Toison d’Or ou Parking Entre Deux Portes Inscriptions La participation aux frais s’élève 175 EUR par personne et comprend la participation au colloque, la farde de documentation, les pauses-café et un buffet froid pain surprise avec boissons. Les inscriptions se font en ligne à l’adresse suivante : https://register.event.ulb.be/events/Apflexi/262/ La date limite pour les inscriptions est le 20 mai 2025. Pour plus d’informations : cndrpriv@ulb.be Présentation des intervenants Steering Committee Erik Van den Haute : Professor. Dr.  Université libre de Bruxelles; Director of the  Department of Private Law; CoDirector of the LL.M. International Business Law (Brussels) & Executive Master International Business Law (Phnom Penh) ; Visiting Professor KU Leuven. mail: erik.vandenhaute@ulb.be; Denis Philippe : Attorney at Law admitted to the Brusssels, Paris and Luxembourg bars.  Professor at the Catholic University of Louvain. Visiting professor at the University of Paris X. Chairman international contracts working group. mail : dphilippe@philippelaw.eu; Henry Lesguillons : Associate Professor. Chief Editor of The International Business Law Journal (Revue de droit des affaires internationales). mail :henrylesguillons@gmail.com; Gilles Pillet : Professor of business law (ESCP Business School) – Former attorney admitted to the Paris bar – Member of the Sorbonne Legal Research Institute. Mail : gpillet@escp.eu; Bruno de Cazalet : Doctor at Law, Honorary Member of the Paris Bar; former partner of GIDE (Paris); Editor of the International Business Law Journal (RDAI/IBLJ); author of numerous articles on FIDIC, NEC and Alliance contracts in the construction sector; Member of the “Business Advisory Board” UN-ECE International PPP Centre of Excellence (ICoE). mail :  cazaletconsult@gmail.com; Coralie Bouscasse : Now retired after more than 30 years of experience as lawyer in international and complex contracts and ex-Group General Counsel for Areva and Safran (listed on the French CAC 40) ; Founder and Honorary Chair of the French Association for Contract Management. Mail : cbouscasse@gmail.com; Delphine Jacquemont :Group General Counsel; at Mersen ; Former General Counsel of the Gas Division at EDF. mail :jacquemontdelphine@gmail.com ; Eric Thomas : consultant in governance ; Former Group General Counsel of international groups listed on the French CAC 40 index (EADS ; Thales ; EDF ; Lagardère). mail : et@ericthomas.fr; Speakers : Philippe Stoffel Munck : Since 2005, Philippe STOFFEL-MUNCK is Full Professor at the Panthéon-Sorbonne University (Paris I). He teaches private Philippe Stoffel-Munck <Philippe.Stoffel-Munck@univ-paris1.fr>law, law of contracts, tort law and law of Security interests. In 2020, the French Ministry of Justice appointed him to constitute and preside the Commission tasked with the draft reform of the French law of Contrats spéciaux (Sale, Lease, Loan, Licence, Manufacture, Construction, Agency) (2020-2022). He has written the quarterly “Torts and contractual Liability” column in La Semaine Juridique for 15 years and also held the “Contract Law” column in Revue des contrats, and co-authored Les obligations, (with Ph. Malaurie and L. Aynès, coll. Droit civil, 13th ed., LGDJ, 2024), Droit de la responsabilité et des contrats (directed by. Ph. le Tourneau, Dalloz Action, 2008). He was the editor of the collective books commenting on the draft reform of French law of contract, namely Réforme du droit des contrats et pratique des affaires (Dalloz, 2015) and L’avant-projet de réforme du droit des contrats spéciaux (LGDJ 2024). In parallel to his academic position, Professor STOFFEL-MUNCK is registered at the Paris Bar and now acts mainly as an arbitrator. He was Of Counsel in the Clifford Chance Paris office between 2005 and 2017. Mail : Philippe.Stoffel-Munck@univ-paris1.fr Emmanuel Grand : Senior Managing Director: FTI Consulting. mail : emmanuel.grand@fticonsulting.com; Arnaud de Nanteuil : Arnaud is a professor of international law at the University of Paris Est Créteil, where he is co-director of the LLM program in international business litigation. His main field of speciality is investment arbitration and arbitration involving public entities, as well as public international law. He is the author of numerous publications on international law and arbitration, including the only textbook in French devoted exclusively to international investment law. He also acts as counsel, expert and arbitrator in international arbitration proceedings ; mail :arnaud.de-nanteuil@u-pec.fr. Pascale Accaoui Lorfing : Pascale is Associate Researcher at CREDIMI – Univ. Burgundy, & Affiliated Professor at ESCP Business School – Paris. Her research focuses on international contracts (hardship, force majeure, and other related doctrines) and investment contracts (the right of the State to regulate and the protection of investors).  . She is a regular contributor to International Law Reviews and is the author of several publications on international contracts and investment contracts. She is co-editor of Balancing the Protection of Foreign Investors and States’ Responses in the (Post) Pandemic World, Kluwer (2022) and published a book on The Renegotiation of the International Contracts, Bruylant (2011). Pascale Accaoui Lorfing is a member of the ICC Institute of World Business Law and the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR. She co-leads the chronicle on Investment of the International Business Law Journal (IBLJ). mail : paccaouilorfingext@escp.eu; Richard Patterson : Richard is a chartered civil engineer, Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE) and procurement and NEC specialist. He has been with global development, engineering and management consultant, Mott MacDonald for 36 years.Richard was part of the drafting team for NEC4, part of the ICE’s working group on procurement, contracts and carbon/net zero and was one of the four-person team that developed NEC’s recently released secondary option X29, Climate change.He has contributed to two NEC books, had 7 NEC papers published in ICE’s Proceedings and sat on the Editorial Advisory Panel of the ICE’s journal, Management, Procurement and Law. mail : Richard.Patterson@mottmac.com; Peter Rosher : Peter, Global Chair of International Arbitration at Reed Smith, is a dual qualified (English solicitor/French avocat) lawyer with over 30 years’ experience in advising clients on contentious issues as well as providing extensive advisory services in relation to ‘live’ major projects. Peter is a founding member of Paris Arbitration Week, sits on the board of the Association Française d’Arbitrage and is a former Vice President of the association Paris, Home of International Arbitration. He is Treasurer of AIPA and has been appointed co-president of the French arm of the Society of Construction Law. Peter regularly sits as an arbitrator and lectures on dispute resolution at Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas and Sciences Po as well as regularly publishing and speaking at arbitration and construction conferences. mail : prosher@reedsmith.com; Pierrick Le Goff : Pierrick Le Goff is a partner at De Gaulle Fleurance in Paris and holds the status of affiliate professor at Sciences Po Law School. He focuses his practice and academic activities on international arbitration, international contracts, compliance and construction projects. In the field of international arbitration, he acts both as counsel and arbitrator, thereby allowing a dual expertise. Before joining De Gaulle Fleurance in 2019, Pierrick was Group General Counsel of Alstom. Pierrick has been involved in numerous complex projects and arbitration cases. The disputes at stake involved major or strategic projects in the construction, energy, aeronautics, life science and transport sectors. mail : plegoff@dgfla.com; Christopher Seppala : acts as is an independent arbitrator, expert and counsel. He has served as counsel or arbitrator in hundreds of international commercial arbitrations. He is a former Vice-President Emeritus of the ICC’s International Court of Arbitration, Legal Advisor to the FIDIC Contracts Committee and author of The FIDIC Red Book Contract: An International Clause-by-Clause Commentary | Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory, 2023.  He is a member of the New York Bar and a member (emeritus) of the Paris Bar. mail : chris@seppalaarbitration.com; Alexandre Cruquenaire : As an attorney specialised in intellectual property and IT law (Lexing.be), Alexandre has been providing legal support to complex innovative projects (R&D, open source, multiparty IT agreements, Agile projects…) for more than 20 years. Alexandre (PhD) is guest professor at the University of Namur (CRIDS) and also certified Scrum Master. mail : a.cruquenaire@lexing.be; Alexandra Berg Moussa : mail : aberg@august-debouzy.com; Hakim boularbah : Hakim Boularbah is partner at Loyens & Loeff (Brussels office) where he heads up the international litigation and arbitration practice. He specializes in the field of complex and international dispute resolution. Hakim has broad experience both as (sole, chair or co-) arbitrator as well as counsel in national and international commercial arbitrations (CEPANI, ICC, OHADA, ad hoc, …), especially in contract and corporate disputes. Hakim also specializes in all types of court litigation related to arbitration. Hakim is Professor of Dispute Resolution Law at the University of Liège. He is the author of numerous books and publications on judicial law, private international law and arbitration. mail :  hakim.boularbah@loyensloeff.com Gabriel Armanet : Senior Director, Construction, Projects and Assets Forensic & Litigation Consulting FTI Consulting. mail :  gabriel.armanet@fticonsulting.com; Pierre Genton : mail : pgenton@pmg-ing.ch Maude Lebois : Maude is a founding partner of Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes and was previously a partner at Shearman & Sterling LLP where she practiced for almost twenty years. Maude has acted as counsel on behalf States, State-owned entities, and companies in international commercial and investment treaty arbitrations, ad hoc and under the Rules of the ICC and ICSID, with a strong focus on construction and disputes related to Africa. She has extensive experience in disputes related to large construction projects, particularly in relation to oil and gas, petrochemical, mining, chemical and infrastructure projects. She also advises on contract and claim management in relation to such projects and regularly acts as arbitrator in commercial disputes; mail : mlebois@gbsdisputes.com; Pascal Hollander : is a founding partner of the Brussels law firm Hanotiau & van den Berg. Besides his activities as counsel (both in arbitration and in court proceedings), he has built for the last 20 years a substantial practice as arbitrator in more than 150 international arbitration proceedings under various sets of arbitration rules (ICC, ICSID, PCA, SCC, SAC (Swiss Chambers), WIPO, UNCITRAL, CEPANI, ad hoc …) and various substantive laws (civil and common law). He has also acted as mediator in international disputes. His experience as arbitrator covers a wide array of subject matters in areas such as M&A, corporate, distribution and franchising, construction and engineering, aeronautics, energy, telecoms, intellectual property, competition, banking and insurance Pascal Hollander lectures on arbitration law at the University of Brussels (ULB) and is the author of numerous publications in the fields of arbitration and of commercial distribution. He is a past Vice-Chair of the IBA Arbitration Committee, a past Chair of its Subcommittee on Enforcement and Recognition of Arbitral Awards. He is a past member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR and of its Task Forces on Emergency Arbitration and on Probative Value of Witness Evidence. He is also an honorary member of the Board of directors of CEPANI, the Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation.   mail : pascal.hollander@hvdb.com; Jens Burkle: Jens Bürkle is an expert in international construction and contract law, with over two decades of experience advising on complex infrastructure and energy projects. As Founding Partner of COMINDIS SARL in Paris, he focuses on contract management, project execution, and the strategic handling of disputes, particularly in EPC contexts. Jens has served as lead counsel on major projects, including nuclear new builds and renewable energy developments, supporting clients through high-value negotiations and claims. A former General Counsel at AREVA, he is also a CEDR-accredited mediator and lectures on dispute resolution and contract management at Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas. mail : jensburkle@gmail.com; Jens.burkle@comindis.com; Alain Brunet : Alain has more than 30 years of experience as a Project and Contract Management Director in various businesses (medical, chemical, aerospace, construction, transport, and defense). He is also a skilled teacher known for engaging people through change management principles. Alain has completed executive programs and holds PhDs in Engineering and in Management Science, with a particular focus on contract management. He is also a member of the Cercle Turgot, which participates in the analysis of contemporary financial economics and co-author of  “Contract Management – Contractual Performance, Renegotiation, and Claims: How to Safeguard and Increase Profit Margins“. mail : aajmbrunet@outlook.com; Marjolein Beynsberger mail : marjolein.beynsberger@besix.com   Emmanuelle Rousseau : mail : Daduna Kokhreidze : mail : dkokhreidze@fidic.org Olivier Caprasse : For over twenty years, Olivier Caprasse has been actively involved in arbitration as arbitrator, counsel and academic. He has seated in more than 100 cases as party-appointed arbitrator, chairman or sole arbitrator, in various part of the world under various set of rules. A former member of the ICC Court and the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR, he has been one of the experts for Belgium in the UNCITRAL working group II on arbitration and conciliation. He served as expert to the Minister of Justice before the Belgian Parliament in the 2013 reform of Belgian arbitration law. He was also a member of the working group to establish the 2020 CEPANI arbitration rules. A member of the Brussels bar, he is also Professor at the Universities of Liège (ULiege) and Brussels (ULB), where he teaches arbitration, ADR and corporate law. He acted as Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Liège from 2008 to 2012. He is the author of more than 150 publications most of them relating to arbitration ; mail : caprasse@caprasse-arbitration.com;

Erik Van den Haute a publié, dans la Collection de la Faculté de droit et de criminologie, le Traité des contrats spéciaux en deux volumes chez Larcier-Intersentia. Cet ouvrage de plus de 2200 pages synthétise, analyse, actualise et commente le droit des contrats spéciaux. Les contrats spéciaux font partie du quotidien de bon nombre de juristes. Le Traité des Contrats Spéciaux se veut un ouvrage de référence destiné aux praticiens,  qui réponde aux questions auxquelles ils sont confrontés dans ce domaine. L’ouvrage présente chacun des contrats selon une structure similaire. De nombreux renvois internes permettent de faire les liens entre les différents contrats et de mieux appréhender les situations complexes que la pratique recèle parfois. L’ouvrage, qui intègre également les législations les plus récentes, comme les réformes du Code civil déjà en vigueur et est enrichi de très nombreuses références de jurisprudence et de doctrine, est à jour au 15 septembre 2023. Une attention toute particulière y est donnée à l’articulation entre le nouveau livre 5 du Code civil et les dispositions relatives aux contrats spéciaux. Après une partie générale, qui aborde notamment les contrats conclus avec les consommateurs, les contrats suivants sont commentés : La vente (régime de droit commun ; vente de biens de consommation ; contrats de fourniture de contenus numériques ; responsabilité du fait des produits défectueux ; ventes entre entreprises ; promesse de vente et pacte de préférence ; vente à l’examen ou à l’agréage ; vente avec faculté de dédit ou de rachat ; vente immobilière ; autres ventes particulières) ; L’échange ; Le louage de choses (régime de droit commun ; les baux d’habitation en Wallonie, en Flandres et à Bruxelles ; le bail commercial) ; Le contrat d’entreprise (régime de droit commun ; règles particulières au contrat de construction en ce compris la loi Breyne) ; Le mandat ; Le dépôt (régime général du dépôt volontaire ; régime spéciaux du dépôt nécessaire et du dépôt d’hôtellerie ; régime spécial du dépôt irrégulier ; régime spécial du dépôt séquestre) ; Le prêt (prêt à usage ; prêt de consommation et prêt à intérêts ; constitution de rente) ; Le cautionnement (cautionnement de droit commun ; régime du cautionnement à titre gratuit) ; La transaction ; Les contrats aléatoires (le jeu et le pari ; la rente viagère).    

Dans la dernière livraison (2023) de la Revue de Droit Commercial Belge publiée chez Larcier, Valérie Simonart, publie la note suivante: « Nullité d’une association qui poursuit en fait un but qui n’est pas désintéressé » (note sous Tribunal de l’entreprise néerlandophone de Bruxelles, 21 octobre 2022, RDC-TBH, 2023, p. 724-744.) Dealing with an action brought by an association approved as a professional union, the court decides that the defendant association, which rendered support services to its members, is in breach of its not-for-profit purpose, and declares the association null and void. This judgment (against which an appeal has been lodged) is of particular interest: it rules on the admissibility of an action brought by an association approved as professional union and on the notion of not-for-profit purpose, and is one of the few, and the first under the Belgian Code on companies and associations, to declare an ASBL null and void. Valérie Simonart examines the issues relating to the legal standing of associations approved as professional unions and explores in depth the meaning of the not-for-profit purpose of ASBLs and the scope of the services that they can render to their members within the limits of the law. She also examines the sanctions applicable to ASBLs whose purpose does not comply with the law.