Member Profile

Van Aerde & Partners is a solid team of outstanding lawyers.

They are available for legal advice, mediation, negotiations and the drafting of contracts, as well as for litigation and the defence of clients’ interests before any court, judge, arbitrator or other authority anywhere in Belgium.

The lawyers of Van Aerde & Partners are renowned for the first-rate quality of their services.

Van Aerde & Partners is especially strong in :

Commercial law

Maritime law, shipping and transport

Criminal law, fraud and white-collar crime

Real estate and construction

Gambling, betting and games of chance

Corporate law

Family law and family estate law

Dispute resolution and litigation

The firm was founded by Clive Van Aerde’s father in 1946.

Clive Van Aerde joined the firm in 1982. After his law studies he obtained a masters in port and maritime science. His book “Zeeschepen onder bewarend beslag” (“Sea-going vessels under conservatory arrest”) won the Albert Lilar Prize and is a standard work on ship arrest law. He has many publications to his name and is one of Belgium’s top specialists in maritime law and general commercial law.

Yves Van Damme joined the firm in 1990. He is one of Belgium’s top specialists in the law on gambling, betting and games of chance and also specialises in corporate and company law and general commercial law.

Dries Pattyn joined the firm in 2000. He specialises in real estate, criminal law and human rights. He holds a licence to proceed before the Court of Cassation in criminal proceedings and is a director of the Human Rights League for which he closely monitors changes in constitutional and criminal law.

Evert Van den Wijngaert joined the firm in 2003. After his law studies he obtained a masters in maritime science and subsequently went on to obtain an LLM in maritime law at the University of Southampton (England).

Virginie Wanzeele joined the firm in 2008. After her law studies she obtained a masters in criminology. She specialises in family law and family estate law.

Commercial : Clive Van Aerde, Yves Van Damme

Maritime, shipping and transport : Clive Van Aerde, Evert Van den Wijngaert

Crime, fraud and white-collar crime : Dries Pattyn

Real estate and construction : Dries Pattyn

Gambling, betting and games of chance : Yves Van Damme

Corporate : Yves Van Damme

Family and family estates : Virginie Wanzeele

Latin-Mathematics (Athenaeum, Ostend) (1977)

Bachelor of law (University of Ghent) (1979)

Masters in Law (University of Ghent) (1982)

Masters in Port- and Maritime Science (University of Ghent) (1987)

BOOK

'Zeeschepen onder bewarend beslag - theorie en praktijk' [translation : 'Arrest of ships – theory and practice'] [Die Keure, 1988]

ARTICLES

'Bewarend beslag op zeeschepen: een zelfstandig zekerheidsmechanisme' [Liber Amicorum Eddy Somers - Recht door zee: Hedendaags internationaal zee- en maritiem recht, Maklu, 2015. pp. 207-228]

'Bewarend beslag op zeeschepen : welk vaartuig is een zeeschip?' [Liber Amicorum Marc A. Huybrechts - Free on Board, Intersentia, 2011, p. 601 ff.]

'Commentaren op de artikelen 1467 t/m 1479' [Larcier Wet en Duiding, Burgerlijk Procesrecht, Part 2, 2011, p. 689 ff.]

'La saisie d'un navire autre que le navire auquel se rapporte la créance. Le droit positif belge.' [Le Droit Maritime Français, July-August 2010, p. 584 ff.]

'The Belgian Method (The rules of ship arrest in Belgium)'

[Maritime Risk International, November 2006, p. 12-13]

'Organised chaos (Recent developments in Belgian jurisprudence on the right of the Belgian courts to hear cargo claims against carriers domiciled outside Belgium)' [Maritime Risk International, June 2006, p. 18-19]

'Dymphna rolls on into futher debate' [Lloyd's List, 24 May 2006]

'Liability for damage to or loss of undeclared deck cargo under Belgian law' [The Maritime Advocate, February 2006, p. 10-11]

'Legal system cracks down hard on undeclared deck cargo' [Lloyd's List, 29 November 2005]

'Interpretation of ship arrest laws favour creditors at Belgian ports' [Lloyd's List, 22 September 2004, p. 6]

'De aansprakelijkheid van de zeevervoerder voor verlies of beschadiging van lading die op het dek van het schip is vervoerd' [Tijdschrift voor Belgisch Handelsrecht, May 2004, p. 419 ff.]

'Belgian jurisprudence and carrier liability' [P&I International, August 2003, p. 13 ff.]

'Niche law firms vs. The big corporate players. When small scores big.' [The Baltic, June 2003, p. 68]

'Ship arrest in Belgium' [P&I International, December 2002, p. 18 ff. (part 1) en January 2003, p. 20 ff. (part 2)]

'Belgium - a bunker supplier's paradise?' [World Bunkering, May 2002, p. 58 ff.]

'Doorbraak van rechtspersoonlijkheid, van eigendomsrecht of van eigendomsoverdracht bij beslag op zeeschepen' [Liber Amicorum Hubert Libert, Maklu, 1999, p. 375 ff.]

'Is ms. Sirius een zeeschip?' [Vervoer & Recht, March 1997, p. 12 ff.]

Member of the International Club of Flanders (De Hanze) (past President)

Member of the Belgian Maritime Law Association (past member of the General Council)

Member of the International Bunker Industry Association