Lieve Swartenbroux
Environmental Partner, Brussels
“I have 35 years’ experience of administrative law, environmental law, environmental matters related to real estate, public procurement law, zoning and energy law. Having such a broad perspective means I deliver comprehensive strategic advice to clients.”
Overview
Professional experience
Education and qualifications
Overview
Lieve specialises in environmental law, including land planning, and public law. She heads the firm’s Brussels office environmental and public law team, advising on major corporate and real estate transactions. She assists clients in legal proceedings in the civil courts, Constitutional Court and Council of State, before the administrative and criminal courts on post-acquisition claims, on appeals against permits and on non-compliance issues.
In her public law practice, Lieve advises on public procurement and public-private partnership (PPP), public real estate, subsidy regimes, public entities’ governance, regulatory enforcement, public law issues related to the securities’ listing of public law entities. She also advises major corporates on regulation surrounding permits, soil contamination, emissions trading, waste management and land planning.
Lieve also has specialist expertise in energy law, covering general regulatory and permit issues, energy from renewable sources (onshore wind turbines and offshore wind farms) and nuclear safety control.
Work highlights
Lieve’s recent transactions of significance where substantial involvement can be disclosed have included advising:
- Belfius Bank and KBC Bank as lenders on the financing of the onshore wind energy project of Wind4Flanders Projects 3 consisting of six wind parks in Flanders, Belgium, as well as on the financing of the onshore wind energy project of Wind4Wallonia Projects 2 consisting of one wind park in the Walloon region, Belgium
- the consortium for the NEO II project during all phases of the public procurement procedure, involving numerous questions related to public procurement and land planning
- the consortium for the NEO I project regarding public law questions subsequent to contract close
- on administrative law and permit related questions relating to a prison project
Professional experience
Lieve is a member of the Vlaamse Vereniging voor Omgevingsrecht, the Belgisch-Deutscher Juristenverein and the Genootschap Advocaten Publiekrecht.
She contributed a chapter on Belgian environmental law in the International Comparative Legal Guide to Environment & Climate Change Law, Global Legal Group, 2018.
Education and qualifications
Lieve studied law at the University of Leuven and is alumna of the special programme of the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst “Sonderprogramm für ausländische Juristen”.
She speaks Dutch, English, French and German.