- Name of the company
- Editorial manager
- General terms and conditions of use
- Our 10 principles
- General terms and conditions of use
1- NAME OF THE COMPANY
Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique - FNRS
Fondation d’Utilité Publique
Rue d’Egmont 5
1000 Bruxelles
Belgique
N° BCE : 0885.324.344
2- EDITORIAL MANAGER
Dr. Ir. Véronique Halloin, Secretary general
3- GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE
a) OUR 10 PRINCIPLES
Your access to and use of our website is governed by the terms and conditions available here and is based on 10 principles summarised below.
We would draw your attention to the need to read these terms and conditions carefully. For any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at the following address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
1- Access to our website implies acceptance of our contractual framework
Access to our website implies your full and unconditional acceptance of these terms and conditions of use.
2- Our contractual framework is meant to be clear and transparent
We keep you informed of any changes to the terms and conditions of use, privacy policy or cookie policy through the website. These changes are binding on you each time you access our website.
3- We make every effort to provide you with an up-to-date and accessible website, without any errors or harmful components
We make every effort to keep our website up-to-date and accessible, without errors or harmful components (computer viruses, external intrusions etc.). However, disturbances, interruptions or the presence of harmful elements beyond our control are possible. We are not responsible for these.
If you notice any unusual item, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We shall then make every effort to restore the situation as soon as possible.
4- We count on you to provide us with accurate and up-to-date information
For the good management of our website as well as our services, we need accurate, up-to-date information.
5- You hereby agree to use our website in accordance with its purpose and the legislation in force
In particular, you must refrain from:
- using a false identity;
- sending us false or illegal content, junk mail, content that violates the rights of a third party or harms them;
- violating unauthorised access to part of the website;
- taking any action that may have the effect of disrupting the operation of our website.
If you become aware of inappropriate behaviour or use related to our website, please contact us at the following address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . We are not responsible for other websites.
Our website may contain links to other websites and some other websites may include a link to our website. We do not control these third party sites. We therefore assume no liability for their operation, content and use.
6- You are responsible for the use you make of our website
You use our website at your own risk. We are not responsible for any loss or damage resulting from the use of our website or the inability to use it.
7- Our website and its components are protected by intellectual rights
Our website and its components (brands, logos, graphics, photographs, animations, videos, texts etc.) are our property. They are protected by intellectual rights. You are therefore prohibited from copying, distributing or using our site or its components for purposes other than the display of the website and browsing on it, without prior permission of the F.R.S.-FNRS.
If you publish content on the associated sites of the F.R.S.-FNRS, unless you specify otherwise, you thereby grant the F.R.S. - FNRS a non-exclusive and free licence to use, reproduce, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works, distribute, execute and display this content worldwide on any support on or in connection with the sites and the promotion of the same, including the unlimited right to use your name, image or identity.
9- Our complaints system is designed to be simple and effective
Any complaint must be communicated to us in writing within eight calendar days from the knowledge of the fact which gives rise to the complaint. It may be formulated by any of the following means:
By e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
By registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt:
Fonds de la recherche scientifique – FNRS
Fondation d’Utilité Publique
Rue d’Egmont 5
1000 Brussels
Belgium
10- We settle our differences by prioritising dialogue
Lengthy legal disputes benefit no one. In the event of a dispute between us, we undertake to give priority to dialogue and openness to seek an amicable solution.
b) GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE
1.1 The website www.fnrs.be, including its associated websites (hereinafter, the “Websites”), are managed and operated under the responsibility of:
Fondation d’Utilité Publique
Fonds de la recherche scientifique – FNRS (hereinafter, “F.R.S.-FNRS”),
Rue d’Egmont 5
1000 Brussels
Belgium
BCE no.: 0885.324.344.
1.2 The Websites constitute a portal for the purpose of disseminating information and promoting scientific research activities, for administrative and scientific management of funding applications, for the application evaluation process, for the process of remuneration for activities related to the F.R.S.-FNRS and, more generally, to be able to communicate easily with each other (hereinafter the “Services”).
1.3 Any question or complaint relating to the Websites, these general terms conditions of use (hereinafter the “Terms”), the Privacy Policy (hereinafter the “Charter”) and the Cookie Policy (hereinafter, the “Cookie Policy”) can be sent to the F.R.S.-FNRS at the address mentioned above or at the following e-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
2. ACCEPTANCE
2.1 Access to the Websites shall be subject to these Terms and to applicable laws and regulations. Accordingly, access to the Websites shall imply full and unreserved acceptance by the user (hereinafter, the “User”) of these Terms.
2.2 These Terms, the Cookie Policy and the Charter govern exclusively the relationship between the User and the F.R.S.-FNRS relating to the use of the Websites and Services. They can be consulted at any time on the Websites.
3. ACCESSIBILITY AND OPERATION OF THE WEBSITES
3.1 The F.R.S.-FNRS will, as far as possible, ensure that the Websites are up-to-date and remain accessible to a normal number of Users. However, the F.R.S.-FNRS does not guarantee that the functions of the Websites shall be available without interruption or error, that defects shall be immediately corrected or that the server that makes it available shall be free from viruses or other harmful components.
3.2 The F.R.S.-FNRS cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage of any kind whatsoever resulting from the suspension, interruption, (technical) disruption, slowdown, difficult accessibility and/or the cessation of accessibility to all or part of the Websites or from viruses or other harmful elements present on the Websites.
3.3 If the User notices the presence of an error, a virus or other harmful elements on the Websites, he is hereby invited to communicate this to the F.R.S.-FNRS at the following address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., so that the necessary measures can be taken. In any event, the F.R.S.-FNRS hereby advises the User to install on his computer firewalls, anti-virus and other necessary software protection, to prevent possible damage to it.
3.4 The F.R.S.-FNRS retains the right to suspend or stop all or part of the Websites, at any time, without justification and without prior notice.
4. USE OF THE WEBSITE
4.1 The User hereby undertakes to use the Websites in accordance with their purpose only, to the exclusion of any other purpose.
4.2 The User shall be obliged to ensure that all the information he communicates is accurate and up-to-date.
4.3 The User hereby undertakes to use the Websites in good faith and to respect the legislation in force and, in particular, to abstain from:
- sending to the F.R.S.-FNRS content or communications that are false or misleading (and to update this content, if necessary, to ensure that it does not become false or misleading), obscene, racist or xenophobic, abusive, unlawful, deceptive, intrusive to the privacy of others, offensive, damaging, violent, threatening or harassing, defamatory, that constitute an infringement of an intellectual property right or any other right, or that encourage or participate in any of these things;
- providing e-mail addresses or other types of content to the F.R.S.-FNRS without having obtained the prior consent of the persons concerned;
- sending to the F.R.S.-FNRS content that violates the rights of a third party or damages them in any way whatsoever (intellectual property rights, privacy, business secrets etc.);
- copying any literary, artistic, visual or audiovisual content of the Websites for purposes other than personal consultation;
- extracting, by final or provisional transfer, all or part of the contents of the Websites or all or part of one or more databases available on the Websites, whatever extraction method may be used;
- reusing, by making available to the public, all or part of the contents of the Websites or all or part of one or more databases available on the Websites, in any form whatsoever without the prior authorisation of the F.R.S.-FNRS;
- sending to the F.R.S.-FNRS content that directs to illegal websites or those containing inappropriate content;
- using the Websites for sending spam or unsolicited, pyramidal mails or for similar or fraudulent methods;
- circumventing technical protection devices for documents and multimedia elements;
- any action that could have the effect of disrupting the proper functioning of the Websites and/or the Services, including the use of worms, viruses, logic bombs or mass mailing;
- attempting to violate unauthorised access to any part of the Websites or equipment used for the operation of the Websites;
- using a false name or a pseudonym, or claiming the identity of another person or entity;
- using the Websites for purposes other than those provided by the Terms.
4.4 The F.R.S.-FNRS cannot be held responsible in any way in case of non-compliance by the User of the Terms, the Cookie Policy, the Charter and/or laws or applicable regulations. The User hereby guarantees the F.R.S.-FNRS against any action, claim or complaint by third parties (including the public authorities) relating to his use of the Websites.
4.5 The User shall use the Websites at his own risk. The Websites, their components and all information, software, facilities and services related thereto, are provided as they are, subject to availability without warranty of any kind (neither express nor implied) and within the limits of applicable law.
4.6 The F.R.S.-FNRS hereby disclaims all liability for any loss or damage (whether direct, indirect, tangible or intangible) resulting from the use of the Websites and their components, or from inability to use the Websites.
4.7 The User shall also be obliged to inform the F.R.S.-FNRS immediately in writing if he becomes aware of inappropriate behaviour or use related to the Websites by sending an e-mail to the following address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
5. REGISTRATION
5.1 The User is a natural or legal person. He may register, by creating an account, via the Websites in order to access the various services provided by the Websites of the F.R.S.-FNRS within the framework of its activities related to Scientific Research. Registration is free.
5.2 The F.R.S.-FNRS hereby reserves the right to demand at any time proof of the identity and legal capacity of the User wishing to register. If the User is a legal person, he must certify that he is authorised to act in this way and obliges the legal person under these Terms.
5.3 Following submission of the registration form available on the Websites, the User shall receive, at the e-mail address indicated on the form, an acknowledgment of receipt indicating his username and password. The registration shall be complete when the User has confirmed his registration request by clicking on the hypertext link in the acknowledgement of receipt sent by the F.R.S.-FNRS. The User can then identify himself on the Websites by entering his username and his confidential password in the fields provided for this purpose.
5.4 The registration of a User shall lead to the registration of his data in the database of the F.R.S.-FNRS.
5.5 The data collected on this occasion shall be processed in accordance with the regulations applicable to personal data and in particular Regulation 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and the free movement of these data, applicable from 25 May 2018. All relevant information concerning the processing of these data is available in the Charter.
5.6 The User may at any time request the deletion of his registration. For this, it will suffice for him to send an e-mail to the following address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We shall then make every effort to take the necessary steps as soon as possible and in accordance with the procedures for deleting and storing data included in the Privacy Policy.
5.7 The User shall be responsible for the use of and access to his account. In this regard, the User must ensure that no other person shall have access to the Websites with his password. In the event that the User shall be aware of another person accessing the Websites with his password, he must inform the F.R.S.-FNRS without delay by e-mail at the following address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
5.8 In any case, in the event that the User shall not comply with the provisions of these general terms and conditions of use, the F.R.S.-FNRS hereby reserves the right to close the account of the User concerned and to suspend or cancel access to the User’s current personal account after sending a letter of formal notice that has been ignored for thirty (30) days from that date.
6. LINKS TO AND ON OTHER WEBSITES
Hypertext links to other websites may appear on the Websites. In addition, some websites may include a link to the Websites. These third party sites are not controlled by the F.R.S.-FNRS, which thus assumes no responsibility for their operation, content and use. Unless expressly stated otherwise by the F.R.S.-FNRS on the Websites, the existence of such links shall not imply any endorsement by the F.R.S.-FNRS as to these third-party websites or the use that could be made of them, nor any association or partnership with the operators of the same.
7. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
7.1 The Websites and their components (trademarks, logos, graphics, photographs, images, animations, videos, music, texts, icons, technologies, software, domain names and source codes etc., hereinafter referred to as the “Content”) constitute the property of the F.R.S.-FNRS or its partners granting the right to the F.R.S.-FNRS to use the same. All of such Content is protected by intellectual rights (in particular, copyright, related rights, image rights, design and model rights, trademarks etc.) and may therefore not be reproduced, used or distributed in the absence of prior written authorisation from the F.R.S.-FNRS or, as the case may be, from the owner of the rights concerned, under penalty of constituting an infringement of copyright and/or design and model rights and/or trademark, penalised by the Belgian Code of Economic Law, or any other infringement of the applicable legal provisions.
7.2 By these Terms, the F.R.S.-FNRS grants to the User a non-exclusive, non-transferable authorisation, for an indefinite period and revocable at any time without indication of reason, to access the content of the Websites, to display and download them only for requirements of display. The User may also print a copy of the content posted on the Websites for his personal needs, provided that it does not in any way alter the content of the Websites and that he keeps all the mentions of authorship and origin of the Websites. Reproduction is therefore permitted only for strictly private purposes within the meaning of Article XI.190 5° of the Belgian Code of Economic Law.
7.3 Any use of the Websites and their components that is not covered by this article is strictly prohibited.
8. COMPLAINTS
To be valid, any possible complaint of the User relating to the Websites must be communicated in writing within eight (8) calendar days from knowledge of the fact giving rise to the complaint in question. The absence of any dispute according to the aforementioned rules shall entail the User’s unconditional and unreserved acceptance of the matter giving rise to the complaint and, de facto, the definitive waiver of any complaint on this account.
9. MODIFICATIONS AND LANGUAGE VERSIONS
9.1 The F.R.S.-FNRS hereby reserves the right to modify and update, at any time, by notification to the Users by means of the Websites, these Terms, the Charter and the Cookie Policy, access to the Websites and their contents. All of these modifications shall be binding on Users each time they access the Websites, so it is recommended to consult them on each new use of the Websites, whereby the date of the latest modification is indicated at the beginning of these Terms.
9.2 In the event of discrepancies between the language versions of these Terms, the Charter or the Cookie Policy, the French version shall prevail.
10. VALIDITY OF THE CONTRACTUAL CLAUSES
10.1 Should at any given moment the F.R.S.-FNRS abstain to avail itself of a provision of these Terms, such abstention may not be interpreted as a renunciation to assert later its rights under the same.
10.2 The nullity or obsolescence or the non-enforceable nature of all or part of one of the preceding or following provisions shall not entail the invalidity of all these Terms. The provision that is wholly or partially void, obsolete or unenforceable shall be deemed to be unwritten. The F.R.S.-FNRS hereby undertakes to substitute another provision for that in question which shall, as far as possible, pursue the same objective.
11. APPLICABLE LAW AND COMPETENT JURISDICTION
11.1 The validity, interpretation and/or performance of the Terms shall be subject to Belgian law, to the fullest extent permitted by the applicable rules of private international law.
11.2 In the event of a dispute concerning the validity, interpretation or execution of the Terms, the Courts and Tribunals of the judicial district of Brussels shall have exclusive jurisdiction, to the fullest extent permitted by the applicable rules of private international law.
11.3 Before taking any action aimed at the judicial resolution of a dispute, the User and the F.R.S.-FNRS hereby undertake to attempt to resolve it amicably. To this end, they shall first contact each other before resorting, as shall apply, to mediation, arbitration, or any other alternative method of dispute resolution.
