The Regulation of Architects in Belgium and the Netherlands

This book discusses and compares the regulation of architects in Belgium and the Netherlands. It analyzes who is allowed to use the title and to practise the profession of architect in both countries. Since the European Union has created rules on whether architects are allowed to use their title and to practise their profession in other Member States, this book also discusses EU legislation and case law on the free movement of architects in and to the European Union. The contractual liability of architects working in Belgium, including the legal liability period of ten years for serious defects, which starts to run after acceptance of the works, is assessed and compared with the liability of architects in the Netherlands, which is often determined and limited by standard terms. The book also contains an economic analysis of the regulation of architects in both states. In this regard it is discussed to what extent the Belgian and Dutch regulations are necessary and proportional to achieve the goals set. It will be demonstrated that the intensity of public regulation is not necessarily related to the intensity of the contractual obligations and responsibilities of architects. Finally, this book aims to determine whether the Dutch or the Belgian combination of regulations and contract law provisions is most cost-efficient from an economic point of view.


About the author:

Sarah Schoenmaekers (1983) studied law at the European Law School of Maastricht University. She participated at the René Cassin European Human Rights Moot Court Competition in Strasbourg in 2005, in which her team was qualified as the best non-native French speaking European team. After graduating in 2005, she took the Flemish Bar Exam and began her career as a lawyer in Belgium. During her traineeship Sarah Schoenmaekers started to write a PhD dissertation about the regulation of architects in Belgium and the Netherlands. Since 2009 she is teaching several courses, under which substantive European Union law, at Maastricht and Hasselt University. She is a full member of the Bar of Tongeren.