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Dispute Resolution

BOEX offers client-centred, in-depth experience handling international disputes.

BOEX' has wide experience handling disputes across many sectors. We approach disputes as bespoke projects and adopt strategies to match the Clients' interests.

BOEX' Disputes Resolution team handles: 

• Litigation before Belgian and other EU courts across its network of partners;
• Litigation before the Court of Justice of the European Union, including actions for annulment against restrictive measures.
• Commercial Arbitration procedures under many institutional rules
  (ICC, CEPANI, LCIA, SIAC, VIAC, HKIAC, CIETAC, ...)
• Recognition and Enforcement of arbitral awards.
• Bespoke Investment Treaty Arbitration, including under Intra- and Extra-EU BIT's, Multilateral and bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTA's), and standing international bodies.

Sanctions Compliance & Sanctions Derogation Licencing

BOEX has demonstrated experience navigating clients through changing EU and US sanctions regimes, financial sanctions, securities frozen in Euroclear and corporate compliance.

BOEX advises clients on

• Transactional due diligence: verifying the compliance with EU sanctions of a particular transaction with a counterpart or intra-group structures and services development
• Preparing and filing licence requests to EU, US, UK national competent authorities to authorize derogations
• from economic and export controls sanctions (import/export of goods or services),
• financial sanctions (unfreezing of assets, funds or economic resources).

Public International Law

BOEX' partner advises on international law in the context of trade and investment treaties with a solid practitioners and academic foundation thanks to a decade of experience in leading academic institutions.

BOEX advises governments, international organizations, and private entities on intricate matters of public international law, state responsibility, investment law and recognition and enforcement of awards.

Recovery of Frozen Assets

BOEX' leading sanctions partner has wide experience with recovery of frozen assets under financial and economic sanctions, including commercial disputes on non-returned advances and securities frozen in i-CSD's such as Euroclear or Clearstream.

BOEX offers a one-stop shop for asset recovery in the EU, including:

• Licencing requests to EU, US and UK national competent authorities as needed;
• Administrative or Civil Appeals to rejected licences for securities transfers out of Euroclear;
• Commercial litigation against counter-parties for recovery/contractual damages.

Sanctions Monitoring & Training

Demonstrated experience navigating clients through changing EU and US sanctions regimes, financial sanctions, securities frozen in Euroclear and corporate compliance.

We have assisted many EU companies with compliance overhauls and renewing their internal compliance programmes.

Commercial law

BOEX has long experience in advising and representing clients, including governments, international organizations, and commercial operators on many topics of EU regulatory and commercial law.

BOEX has advised countless clients across many sectors, including in: Banking & Finance, Construction, Real Estate, Transport & Logistics, Energy, Gas & Oil.

BOEX attorneys: an experienced partner-led bespoke team

BOEX aims to deliver top quality legal services in the field of EU sanctions and dispute resolution with a bespoke team of expert lawyers.  Dr. Michael De Boeck is the founder and managing partner of BOEX.

Michael specializes in EU sanctions, export controls and commercial and investment dispute resolution before national and international courts and tribunals, often linked to international sanctions .

Michael has a thorough expertise and academic background in international litigation and arbitration of commercial disputes, often involving a sanctions impact. He pioneers arguments in cases at the forefront of sanctions and arbitration developments. He advises and represents clients on investment and commercial disputes before EU courts and in international arbitrations related to banking & finance, M&A’s and corporate disputes, shipping and distribution, agency and franchising, international sale and purchase of goods (CISG), construction and steel, and energy, oil and gas sectors. He has a particular focus on banking and finance, distribution and energy projects, having advised widely on EU sanctions and export controls for financial institutions. He acts as arbitration counsel, and is listed as arbitrator at several arbitral institutions across the globe.

He also has experience advising clients across many sectors on all aspects of EU sanctions compliance and enforcement. His regulatory sanctions practice advises companies on the auditing and development of internal compliance programmes, risk assessments, transactional due diligence and export controls, divestment operations and M&A’s, and derogation licensing under EU sanctions regimes. He assists individuals and financial institutions with recovery of frozen assets, including in EUROCLEAR and CLEARSTREAM, and sanctions derogation licence requests.

He regularly speaks at events and conferences on developments of EU sanctions and in arbitration. Michael also teaches sanctions compliance for financial institutions at Febelfin Academy in Brussels. He is director of the Brussels Sanctions Institute (BSI), executive member of the European Dispute Resolution Society (EDRS), and a former professor of EU law.

He holds a dual PhD from Ghent and Luxembourg University (2020) on ISDS and EU law, a Master of Laws from Ghent University (2013 – magna cum laude) and an LLM from Vanderbilt University (2014 – Dean’s List honors).

Michael is a dual-qualified lawyer at the Bar of Brussels and New York.

He is fluent in Dutch, French and English.

BOEX +
With its network of preferred partner firms in BOEX+,
BOEX coordinates cross-border disputes and strategies with partners across the globe to ensure best-in-class legal services

to our clients all over the world and across all areas of the law.