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Frans Knüppe

Board member IJI

Retired lawyer

Frans is a retired lawyer since 1 January 2022. Frans started working as a lawyer at the end of 1978 and for just over 43 years he was associated with Dirkzwager legal & tax in Arnhem.

In the years 2020 and 2021, Frans was the Dean of the Dutch Bar Association and thus also Chairman of the Supervisory Board. More recently, from 2005 to 2008, Frans was dean of the Arnhem Bar Association.

For more than 6 years Frans has been chairman (until November 2014) of the international network of law firms TELFA (Trans European Law Firms Aliance, www.telfa.law), of which Dirkzwager is a member.

Frans is registered as an arbitrator with the Netherlands Arbitration Institute (NAI). Frans can also be appointed as arbitrator in ad hoc arbitrations, and as binding advisor.

Furthermore, Frans is active in various professional and social organisations and networks.

Current positions:
– Arbitrator at the Netherlands Arbitration Institute
– Board member Hague Institute of private international law and foreign law (The Hague)
– Chairman Board Sonsbeek & State of Fashion Foundation
– Chairman Board Management Foundation Het Schild

What our Clients Say About Us

Lawyer Tim de Greve, partner at Stibbe.

I regularly engage the IJI in cases where PIL aspects play a role. The institute has existed for over 100 years and can therefore boast a long history and experience. There are prominent people associated with it. Not least Mr Strikwerda. They support you from the outset, immediately understand the question you are faced with and suggest possible solutions. They have the right connections at home and abroad to answer questions within a reasonable timeframe. Apart from that, it is very pleasant to work with the people of the IJI.

Lawyer Channa Samkalden, Prakken d'Oliveira

We have received advice from the IJI on several cases. One example is a case brought by a number of Nigerian farmers against Shell concerning oil pollution in Nigeria. That case is about the application of Nigerian law by the Dutch court. The IJI looked into the framework of tort law in Nigeria for us. We used that advice in the proceedings and also submitted it to the court and it showed, for instance, that our plaintiffs were also entitled to claim against Shell under Nigerian law. The IJI is extremely useful in all such cases because you receive very sound advice on the basis of which you know whether you should have a number of things investigated further. It’s very useful advice at an early stage of your procedure.

Attorney Ria van Seventer, Meesters aan de Maas Advocaten

Our law firm is based in Rotterdam, a city of more than 170 nationalities, so we regularly have to ask the IJI for advice. For example, I had to deal with the recognition of a child by an Italian man, to which Italian law had to be applied. I don’t speak Italian so I could not do that myself. Nor did I have access to the sources which the IJI has.

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