Matthias Schelkens
Litigation, Arbitration & Investigations Managing Associate, Brussels
"I am a versatile litigator, assisting clients with their business-critical disputes, with a focus on business crime, corporate and financial disputes and restructuring and insolvency. I bring solid technical and advocacy skills, a strong commercial approach and absolute dedication to help clients achieve their strategic objectives."
Overview
Education and qualifications
Published works
Overview
Matthias is a managing associate in the Belgian Litigation, Arbitration & Investigations practice.
He has broad experience in business crime (including regulatory and internal investigations), corporate litigation and arbitration (including M&A and shareholder disputes), restructuring and insolvency matters. He frequently acts for financial institutions, private equity houses and industrial companies. Matthias represents clients before all Belgian courts and acts as counsel in national and international arbitrations (including setting aside and enforcement proceedings arising from arbitral awards).
He frequently publishes on a variety of topics, including arbitration, insolvency and white-collar crime. He has also been an assistant lecturer in civil procedure at the University of Leuven.
Matthias is authorised to represent clients before the Belgian Supreme Court of Cassation in criminal matters.
Work highlights
Matthias has acted in a wide range of commercial and criminal disputes. Those that can be disclosed include:
- representing a global bank in multiple cross-border commercial and insolvency disputes against an international diamond trading group and its management, also involving parallel criminal proceedings (incl. Supreme Court litigation) and insurance litigation
- successful defence of a financial institution in a criminal investigation concerning the alleged mis-selling of a private equity investment
- representing various private equity firms and an insurance company in post-M&A disputes, also involving fraud claims
- successful defence of a multinational engineering company in criminal proceedings resulting from a fatal industrial accident
- representing a leading financial institution in summary proceedings concerning the termination of a fund administration agreement
- representing a leasing company as civil claimant in criminal proceedings (including Supreme Court litigation) concerning a multi-million-euro fraud in the context of renewable energy projects, also involving related commercial litigation
- acting for a major industrial company in several shareholder disputes
- advising and representing various financial and corporate creditors and debtors in judicial reorganisation and bankruptcy proceedings
Education and qualifications
Published works
Matthias authored several national and international publications on a variety of subjects. Recent publications include:
- Schending van het beroepsgeheim (art. 458 Sw.): “bekendmaken” vereist effectieve kennisname van het geheim, Nullum Crimen 2023/2, pp. 126-129 [Breach of professional secrecy: “disclosure” requires actual cognisance of the secret (case note on Court of Cassation 29 June 2022)] (co-author)
- Over de verplichting van de burgerlijke rechter om ambtshalve bewijsregels op te werpen, TBH-RDC 2022, pp. 933-942 [Obligation of civil courts to ex officio raise rules of evidence (case note on Court of Cassation 27 January 2022)] (co-author)
- Anti-Corruption, Chapter on Belgium in the Chambers Global Practice Guide on Anti-Corruption 2022, pp. 49-65 (co-author)
- Cassatie hakt knopen door over onrechtmatig verkregen bewijs in burgerlijke zaken, TBH-RDC 2021, pp. 2032-2042 [Illegally obtained evidence in civil matters (case note on Court of Cassation 14 June 2021)]
- Negatieve prijsherzieningen: een gewaarschuwd aannemer is er twee waard, TBBR-RGDC 2021, pp. 410-418 [Negative price revision clauses]
- When in doubt… Over de interpretatie van share purchase agreements in geval van twijfel, TRV-RPS 2019, pp. 67-72 [Interpretation of share purchase agreements in case of doubt (case note on Court of Cassation 6 September 2018)]
- International Arbitration, Chapter on Belgium in the International Comparative Legal Guide to: International Arbitration 2019, pp. 254-263 (co-author)
- Enkele bedenkingen over lopende overeenkomsten in het insolventierecht, in Curatoren en vereffenaars: actuele ontwikkelingen IV, 2017, pp. 211-240 [Reflections on executory contracts in insolvency law] (co-author)
- The Protection of the Sub Judice Principle by the European Court of Human Rights, Public Law 2017, pp. 627-642