BELGIUM Law and Practice Contributed by: Dominique Blommaert, Didier Bracke, Jens Benoot and Lydie Van Muylem, Janson
3.5 Rules of Service If proceedings are initiated through a writ of summons, the writ will be served on the defendant by a bailiff, upon instruction of the claimant. If proceedings are initiated by a petition filed with the court, the court will notify the defendant. Foreign defendants can be sued in Belgian courts without prior court approval. The minimum time between the service of the writ and the introductory hearing will differ depending on the location of the foreign plaintiff. 3.6 Failure to Respond If a defendant fails to respond to a lawsuit and does not appear or is not represented at the introductory hearing, the claimant can ask the court to render a judgment in default. However, the defendant will be able to appeal the default judgment. 3.7 Representative or Collective Actions Class Actions Class actions were introduced in Belgium in 2014, albeit with limited scope. Class actions are available only for harm caused to consumers or SMEs. The claim must be based on breach of contractual obligations of the defendant, or violations of Belgian and EU rules defined in Article XVII.37 of the Code of Economic Law. A class action is brought by a group representative, which must be an accredited or specifically desig- nated association, non-profit organisation or public entity. Following a legislative change, class action proceed- ings initiated on or after 10 June 2024 will be brought exclusively on an opt-in basis. Opt-out class action settlements remain possible. Group Direct Actions Outside the framework of a class action, groups of plaintiffs can bundle individual claims and file pro- ceedings jointly. This requires a sufficient nexus between the plaintiffs’ individual claims.
Territorial Jurisdiction In the absence of a contractual forum clause desig- nating the competent court, proceedings are gener- ally brought before the court of the domicile of the defendant. The Judicial Code provides for alternative jurisdiction rules – eg, the court of the place of perfor- mance of a contract. In certain matters, specific jurisdiction rules are man- datory, eg: • the court of the place of a company’s registered seat (corporate disputes); or • the court of the place where real property is located (lease or tenancy disputes). International Jurisdiction International jurisdiction in cross-border disputes is governed by the Brussels I Recast Regulation and the Belgian Code of Private International Law. As an EU member state, Belgium is also bound by the 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Courts Agreements. 3.4 Initial Complaint Legal proceedings are most commonly initiated by serving a writ of summons ( dagvaarding/citation ) on the defendant. For certain types of claims, proceedings can also be initiated by filing a petition ( verzoekschrift/requête ) with the court. The writ of summons or petition contains the follow- ing elements: • the identity of the parties; • statement of facts; • legal arguments; and • the claim(s). The writ of summons does not need to be exhaustive, and the claimant is allowed to add facts and argu- ments in its written submissions following the writ of summons. The claimant is also allowed to amend its claim(s). However, the amended claims must be based on the facts stated in the initial writ of summons.
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