David Haverbeke
David Haverbeke has been a Partner in the “Energy & Utilities” department at Fieldfisher in Brussels since September 2012, where he leads the Energy Regulatory practice. He has been active in the energy sector since 1999, advising Belgian and international clients in the energy and utilitiessector (including water and waste).
He has broad experience in providing strategic advice and assistance in the liberalisation of energy markets, including drafting legal and regulatory frameworks in the electricity and gas markets and drafting regulated and negotiated contracts in the natural gas, electricity, hydrogen and heat markets (project development, transit, supply and trading).
Furthermore, he has developed an extensive practice in advising and assisting clients in the Belgian and European energy sectors and have acted in several EU Member States on a wide range of commercial and regulatory matters, including energy contracts, construction and permitting issues, greenhouse gas emissions-related mechanisms, financing and public procurement.
He acts on behalf of private (international companies, domestic companies) and public entities (provinces, regulators) and focus mainly on the regulatory aspects of energy law. Thanks to its in-depth knowledge of the legal framework of these sectors, he advises major players on every aspect of energy contracts (both regulated agreements and commercial contracts). Moreover, greenhouse gas emissions-related mechanisms and public procurement are part of his expertise.
Finally, he has extensive experience in proceedings before commercial courts, the Belgian Council of State, the Constitutional Court, the European Court of Justice and various arbitration bodies. His recent work includes acting as an arbitrator (ICAC, CEPINA) in commercial disputes. He is also a fellow and guest lecturer at the “Centre for Energy Law” (AUCEL) at the University of Aberdeen.
As a member of the Brussels Bar, he speaks fluent Dutch, English, German and Spanish in addition to French (mother tongue) and has a basic knowledge of Russian. For years, he has been ranked in renowned legal directories such as Chambers and Legal 500.
QUALIFICATIONS
Finance Certificate, London School of Economics, 1999
Master in European Law (L.L.M), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Institut d’etudes européennes, 1998
Law degree, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 1997
WORK EXPERIENCE
Fieldfisher (Belgium) LLP (since 2012), Partner at the EU Regulatory department,
Head of the Energy & Utilities practice
Lydian (2007 – 2012), Partner, head of the Energy & Utilities practice
Lawfort (2003 – 2007), Senior associate in the Administrative Law department & Energy at Lawfort
Stibbe (1999 – 2003), Lawyer in the Energy and Transport department at Stibbe
CMS Lexcelis (1998 – 1999), Lawyer in the Corporate Finance department
Nicolas Celis
Niclos Celis is a Senior Associate in the Climate Change, Energy & Utilities practice in the Brussels office of Fieldfisher. He specialises in urban planning, energy and climate change law, representing private and public clients domestically and internationally.
He advises both private market actors (energy suppliers, intermediaries, consumers, etc.) and various regulators and public authorities at the national and international levels regarding their energy, climate change and ESG issues.
He has in-depth expertise in assisting clients in legal issues related to renewable energy projects (hydrogen, wind, solar,storage, biogas, CCUS, etc.), including contracts (in particular CPPAs), ESG and the drafting and implementation of energy laws, regulations and standards. I obtained an LLM on international environmental and climate change law from the University of Edinburgh and wrote a PhD on climate litigation and human rights (defended in 2023).
He has also worked as a visiting researcher at Tilburg University and as a representative of Belgium at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
He regularly speaks on the subject of energy and climate change law and am also a guest lecturer in the master’s programme ‘International law and sustainable development’ at Ghent University.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Master of Laws: University of Antwerp
- LLM: University of Edinburgh
- PhD: University of Lincoln
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Fieldfisher (Belgium) LLP (2022), Senior Associate
- Janson Baugniet (2021 – 2022), Associate
- GSJ Advocaten (2018 – 2021), Junior Associate
PUBLICATIONS
- CELIS, N., “De Belgische Klimaatzaak vanuit globaal perspectief: rechtsontwikkeling middels justitiële communicatie”, 2021/1 M.E.R. 14, 14-31.
- KOTZÉ, L., VAN ASSELT, H., SETZER, J., MAYER, B., BIERMANN, F., CELIS, N., ADELMAN, S., LEWIS, B., KENNEDY, A., ARLING, H., PETERS, B., “The Coming of Age of Courts as Actors in Global Climate Governance” (forthcoming in 2023), Global Policy.
- CELIS, N., Transnational judicial dialogue in rights-based climate litigation, PhD. thesis Lincoln University, forthcoming in 2024, 332 p.
- CELIS, N., K. VAN DEN BROECK and B. Van Tornout, “M&A Arbitratin involving Disputes Related to Climate Change” (forthcoming in 2023), b-Arbitra.