Former professional experience

Research assistant at the Eberhard Karls University at Tübin­gen ( Germany) with Professor Josef Esser, from September 1972 till April 1973.

Member of the Bar, Gent (1973-1975; and 1999 - present) and in Brussels (1997-1999)

Assistant Professor at the State University of Gent, from September 1973 till September 1981, with Professor Egied Spanoghe, working in conflict of laws and civil law.

Corporate legal counsel to C&A Belgium, Brussels, from March 1988 till March 1995 (full-time) with the following fields of activity:
- General legal counsel, advisor to the management;
- Corporate law, Economic law and Commercial transactions;
- European relations and Government relations;
- International Trade Working group;
- Public Relations and Company communication policy;
- Shareholders' investment, estate and tax planning.

Advisor to Law Publisher Mr. Maarten Kluwer – Maklu Uitgeversonderneming, Antwerpen, 1978 - 1996.

Sole arbitrator and president or member of arbitral tribunals in past proceedings before the interna­tional Court of Arbitration of ICC-Paris and before CEPANI-Brussels (about 30 cases). Also past expert-counsel in arbitration litigation and arbitrator ad hoc. Mediator in a three-party mediation under CEPINA.

Former Chairman of the Working-Group on Multinational Corporations of the Federation of Belgian Industry (FEB/VBO): 1992-1994.

Past Panel-member (Organizing Board) in the "Asser College Europe" (Budapest) a teaching and research institution for the Training of Post-graduate students from Eas­tern Europe in International Law, under the auspices of The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1989-1997).

Former Member of the working group on international adoption-law of the Belgian Ministry of Justice from 1995 - 1998.

Former Representative of Belgium (Flanders) in the Committee of Experts of UNESCO for the revision of the Treaty of The Hague (1954) on the protection of Cultural Goods in time of war, Paris, 23 - 27 March 1997.

Counsel to the International Trade Centre (WTO/UNCTAD) Geneva with the task of training lawyers from Developing Countries in transactions regarding Intellectual Property Law (1998-2001).

Former Co-ordinator (with H. Bocken) of a bilateral scientific ex­change programme between the Ghent Law Faculty and the East China University of Politics and Law at Shanghai, from 1986 until 2005.

Advisor to UNCITRAL - Vienna, Working Group on International Contracts, for the preparation of the Convention on the Assignment of Receivables (1998 - 2000).

Former Advisor to CREG (the Belgian Regulatory body for Electricity and Gas), 2002, on the arbitration rules.

Former Advisor to the BENELUX Economic Union, 2003-2004, on the functioning of the BENELUX Court.

Former Appointee in a Gent University commission on licensing of intellectual property (Baekelant-fonds).

Former Member of a working group for Foreign Commercial Relations within the Economic Council for East Flanders (1999-2001).

Former Executive-President of the Association of Alumni of the Law School of Gent (Gandaius), from 1996-2004.

Former Advisor to the Belgian Minister of Justice for Codification of Belgian Private International Law (1995 – 2004).

Former Member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Ghent (1 October 2004 – 30 September 2008).

Former Member of the Board of Directors of the University of Ghent (1 October 2004 – 30 September 2008).

Former Member of the Legal Commission of the Scientific Research Fund of Flanders (“FWO-Vlaanderen” - the inter-university council to allocate government funds for research; from 2000-2009); President of that Commission, from 1 October 2007 till 31 December 2008.

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