KBDB Announcement 3-7-25 Dear Enthusiasts
The KBDB Board of Directors wants to inform you, in order to avoid any misunderstandings, about the following.
On June 30, the Brussels Court of Appeal issued a ruling on a summons originally filed on May 22, 2019. You can read the full judgment (link to judgment); the text below is a brief overview of the main points.
Facts with excerpts from the judgment:
- 05/22/2019 Mr. Boudewijn De Bosscher summoned the KBDB before the Dutch-speaking commercial court in Brussels for the annulment of decisions made by the national general assembly and the National Council of Management and Directors of the KBDB
- 06/23/2019 Messrs. Joossens, Hermans, D’Hondt, Callebaut, and Piens joined (during the first procedure, Mr. Callebaut and Piens waived their claims)
First Procedure
Messrs. Boudewijn De Bosscher, Rudi Joossens, Frans Hermans, and Filip D’Hondt claimed from the KBDB: annulment of all decisions taken by:
1. The ‘National Statutory General Assembly’ and ‘National Extraordinary General Assembly’ held on 02/22/2019;
2. The ‘National Extraordinary General Assembly’ held on 03/11/2019;
3. The ‘National Extraordinary General Assembly’ held on 05/06/2019 - including the suspension of the decision to suspend the provincial and national mandates of the parties concerned, according to the KBDB publication effective on 05/06/2019;
4. The ‘National Council of Management’ since 03/11/2019;
5. The ‘National Statutory General Assemblies’ and ‘National Extraordinary General Assemblies’ since 05/06/2019, including the ‘National Extraordinary General Assembly’ of 10/23/2019, including the decision to amend Article 35 of the KBDB Statutes.
04/07/2021 Judgment of the Commercial Court Brussels:
In the contested judgment of April 7, 2021, the claim of the plaintiffs (De Bosschere, Joossens, D’Hondt, Hermans) was declared admissible but unfounded. KBDB was acquitted in a first ruling.
The appeal is directed against the judgment pronounced after contradiction on April 7, 2021, by the Dutch-speaking commercial court in Brussels.
01/21/2025 Counsel for the parties argued at the public hearing.
Conclusions of the Court:
The decision to rearrange the National Council of Management and Directors was made by a properly convened Special National General Assembly.
The mandates of Mr. Boudewijn De Bosscher as chair of the National Sports Committee and member of the NRBB were properly terminated.
Also, the mandate of Mr. Frans Hermans as national chair of the NRBB was properly terminated.
Article 4 of the non-profit organization law states that it is the exclusive competence of the general assembly to proceed to the appointment and dismissal of the directors. This is confirmed in Article 23 of the KBDB statutes.
Mr. Pascal Bodengien was regularly elected and appointed as the new national chair of the NRBB.
As the composition of the National Council of Management and Directors was regularly reshuffled, there is no reason to declare null and void the decisions taken by the National Council of Management and Directors from March 11, 2019, to October 23, 2019, due to an irregular composition. The appellants do not raise any specific arguments regarding the regularity of the decisions of the National Council of Management and Directors. Therefore, there is no basis for annulling the decisions of the National Council of Management and Directors, as claimed by the appellants.
– Article 23, penultimate paragraph of the statutes states:
“All disputes between representatives, members of any council, committees, or committees of the KBDB are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the general assembly, which will make an end to it with a sovereign and enforceable decision.
The same applies to the sanctions pronounced in application of the code of conduct of the KBDB representatives.”
– Article 4.1 of the code of conduct of the KBDB representatives states:
“Any violation of this code will be examined by the national general assembly, convened by any association or body having an interest in it. This authority was specifically granted to them by Article 23 of the statutes.
The national general assembly shall, in first and last instance, decide on a disciplinary penalty, by a 2/3 majority, in closed session (warning, reprimand, suspension for a definite or indefinite period, and dismissal).
The suspension mentioned above is subject to the application of Article 26.1 of the statutes. Dismissal is equated with a resignation.
The decision pronounced by the national general assembly is sovereign and enforceable pending any appeal.”
The appellants rightly point out that the statutes and code of conduct of the KBDB representatives do not provide for one or three individual representatives to file complaints under the code of conduct against one or several other representatives.
Article 4.1 of the code of conduct explicitly states that the national general assembly is convened by an association or body with an interest in it.
An individual (national) representative is not an association or body of the KBDB and cannot convene the national general assembly to establish violations and sanctions under the code of conduct of the KBDB representatives.
The complaints of one or three individual representatives that were placed on the agenda of the BNAV of May 6, 2019, were therefore inadmissible. The NAV was thus not regularly convened.
The disciplinary sanctions pronounced in this manner against Messrs. Frans Hermans (five years suspension), Filip D’Hondt (six months suspension), Rudi Janssens (a reprimand), and Boudewijn De Bosscher (six months suspension) are null and void and are therefore annulled – at the motion of the appellants.
The court rules that the claim of the appellants for the payment of an individual compensation of 1 euro is provisionally justified. It is established that they suffered moral harm (reputational damage) due to the irregular suspension of the mandates of Messrs. Frans Hermans (five years), Filip D’Hondt (six months), and Boudewijn De Bosscher (six months) and the irregular reprimand against Mr. Rudi Joossens, in addition to the material costs they had to bear in safeguarding their interests within the KBDB.
FOR THESE REASONS
THE COURT
ACTING AFTER CONTRADICTION
Declares the appeal of the appellants admissible and justified as follows,
Annuls the contested judgment and decides anew,
Declares the claim of the appellants against the KBDB partially admissible and partially justified,
Declares the decisions of the extraordinary national general assembly of May 6, 2019, of the KBDB, including the suspensions of the mandates of Messrs. Frans Hermans (five years), Filip D’Hondt (six months), and Boudewijn De Bosscher (six months) and the reprimand against Mr. Rudi Joossens, null and void, except for the decisions related to complaints against other individual representatives against whom the latter do not (more) take legal action,
Orders the KBDB to pay (i) compensation of 1 euro provisionally to Mr. Frans Hermans, (ii) compensation of 1 euro provisionally to Mr. Filip D’Hondt, (iii) compensation of 1 euro provisionally to Mr. Boudewijn De Bosscher, and (iv) compensation of 1 euro provisionally to Mr. Rudi Joossens,
Declares the claim of the appellants inadmissible insofar as it seeks the annulment of decisions concerning complaints against other individual representatives,
Declares the claim of the appellants otherwise unfounded,
Rules that the parties are mutually not liable to pay legal costs in the first instance and in appeal,
States that parties must bear their own costs of the proceedings,
This ruling was delivered at the public sitting of June 30, 2025.
Specifically, this means that:
Bodewijn De Bosschere can resume his mandate as a member of the PE Flemish Brabant and the NAV for the remaining months.
Frans Hermans and Filip D’Hondt can resume their mandate as members of the PE East Flanders and the NAV for the remaining months.
Rudi Joossens can resume his mandate as a member of the NAV for the remaining months.
Rudi Joossens and Filip D’Hondt will definitively be able to participate in the KBDB elections.