Antwerp’s South Quarter

provides services to public authorities and companies across Belgium and from abroad, but also has a close affinity with local Antwerp authorities, businesses and port circles.

The law office is conveniently located in the heart of Antwerp’s South Quarter (Antwerpen–Zuid), just 100 metres from the New Court House at Bolivarplaats and 200 metres from the Court of Appeal at Waalse Kaai (see Contact Information and Directions).

Furthermore, the South Quarter played an important role in the maritime and legal history of Antwerp, Flanders and Belgium. For one thing, the South Quarter used to be a port district, as its interesting architectural heritage testifies. It also houses the Court of Appeal and the Commercial Court, which gave shape to Belgian maritime law. Less well–known is the fact that the South Quarter is the cradle of the global unification of maritime law, under the auspices of the Comité Maritime International (CMI). Finally, some of the monuments and street names in the South Quarter refer to the establishment of freedom of navigation on the Scheldt, a topic in which Eric Van Hooydonk, as a researcher and a legal adviser, has a special interest.

Eric Van Hooydonk has published on the link between Antwerp’s South Quarter, the port, shipping and maritime law, and has organised themed city walks centring on these topics.

This page will soon provide a guide for a maritime law–themed stroll through Antwerp’s South Quarter.