BELGIUM Law and Practice Contributed by: Nathalie Colin, Maria-Clara Van den Bossche, Kevin Xhebexhia and Florence Frühling, Freshfields
may invite a party to seek assistance from the Presi - dent of the Court of First Instance, who may order such measures as are necessary (including compul - sion) in summary proceedings (Article 1708 BJC).
since the appointment of the last arbitrator, the Presi - dent of the Court of First Instance may, at a party’s request, impose a time limit on the arbitral tribunal
(Article 1713, Section 2 BJC). 10.2 Types of Remedies
9. Confidentiality 9.1 Extent of Confidentiality
An arbitral tribunal in Belgium may only grant reme - dies that are permitted under the law applicable to the dispute. If Belgian law applies, the arbitral tribunal can award compensatory and liquidated damages, but it is not permitted to grant punitive damages. 10.3 Recovering Interest and Legal Costs The parties may agree in advance on how arbitration costs and fees will be allocated, or they may choose to follow the rules of the chosen arbitral institution (eg, Article 41 ICC Rules or Article 39 CEPANI Rules). In the absence of any specific agreement or rule, the arbitral tribunal has full discretion to decide on the allocation of all costs, including legal fees, in its award (Article 1713, Section 6 BJC). Following a decision of the Belgian Court of Cassation dated 2 September 2004, the prevailing party in an arbitration seated in Belgium can recover its legal and expert fees from the losing party. Unlike proceedings before State courts, this reimbursement is not subject to a statutory cap and may cover the actual fees and costs incurred. Under Article 1716 BJC, arbitral awards are final and not subject to appeal unless the parties have express - ly agreed otherwise in the arbitration agreement. In such rare cases, the appeal must be brought before a new arbitral tribunal, and must be filed within one month of notification of the award. Belgian law does not provide specific grounds for appeal. Setting-Aside of the Award According to Article 1717 BJC, arbitral awards that are not open to appeal may still be set aside by Belgian courts, but only on the basis of a limited and exhaus - tive list of grounds. These include serious procedural 11. Review of an Award 11.1 Grounds for Appeal Appeal of the Award
Belgian law does not establish a general duty of con - fidentiality for arbitration proceedings, submissions or awards. While arbitrators are expected to maintain confidentiality, this obligation is not imposed by law but may arise from the parties’ agreement or insti - tutional rules. For instance, under Article 26 of the CEPANI Rules, arbitration proceedings are confiden - tial unless the parties agree otherwise or there is a legal obligation to disclose. CEPANI’s Rules of Good Conduct (Schedule II of the CEPANI Rules) further restrict the publication of awards, permitting only anonymous publication with the explicit consent of the parties and prior notification to CEPANI. The principle of confidentiality in arbitration should not prevent a party from enforcing or challenging an arbi - tral award before the courts. Article 26 CEPANI Rules explicitly confirms this by allowing parties to disclose any information required for such proceedings. Under Belgian law, arbitral awards must be in writing and signed by the arbitrators. They must be reasoned – absence of reasoning may lead to the award being set aside or denied enforcement. Awards must also include the identities and domiciles of the parties and arbitrators, a summary of the facts and legal issues, the date and the place of arbitration (Article 1713 BJC). However, omission of these formal elements does not affect the validity of the award. Time Limit The parties are free to set a time limit within which the arbitral tribunal must render its award. If no time limit is agreed upon, and if six months have elapsed 10. The Award 10.1 Legal Requirements Legal Requirements for an Arbitral Award
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