BELGIUM Law and Practice Contributed by: Dominique Blommaert, Didier Bracke, Jens Benoot and Lydie Van Muylem, Janson
3.8 Requirements for Cost Estimate It is not mandatory for lawyers to provide clients with a cost estimate of potential litigation at the outset of legal proceedings.
at any point during first-instance proceedings, up until such proceedings are officially closed. The possibility of additional parties joining in the appeals phase is limited. 4.5 Applications for Security for Defendant’s Costs A Belgian defendant may request a “cautio judicatum solvi”, which obliges a foreign claimant to deposit a security amount determined by the judge. However, this is applicable only to claimants from outside the EU or from countries with which Belgium has not entered into an international treaty concerning this matter. 4.6 Costs of Interim Applications/Motions Costs regarding interim applications are not specifi- cally regulated. If the court appoints an expert, the party appointed by the judge to pay the expert’s fees will be required to advance them. The court will only make a final determination of costs at the end of the case, once the merits of the claim have been decided. 4.7 Application/Motion Timeframe The timeframe for interim measures typically varies from a couple of days to several months, depending on the discretion of the competent court. In genuine emergencies, proceedings can be submitted to the president of the relevant court. Belgian civil law does not have a formal discovery process. However, there are proceedings for taking evidence, such as the production of documents, the hearing of witnesses, and the examination of the par- ties. The production of a document is broadly defined and can include written documents, electronic data, and photos. Documents must be specifically identi- fied to avoid fishing expeditions, which are prohibited. There are no mechanisms to limit the scope or cost of these proceedings, but documents protected by trade secrecy or legal privilege may be excluded. Articles XVII.74-XVII.81 of the Belgian Code of Eco- nomic Law provide for a specific regime of document 5. Discovery 5.1 Discovery and Civil Cases
4. Pre-Trial Proceedings 4.1 Interim Applications/Motions
Under Belgian law, there is no distinction between pre-trial and trial proceedings. During the proceed- ings, and at any time before a final judgment is ren- dered on the merits, interim measures and relief can be requested. Such interim measures and relief can serve two main purposes: • investigations in the case; for instance, the appointing of a judicial expert to issue an expert opinion; or • addressing or organising specific aspects of the case on an interim basis while awaiting a final judgment on the merits or until the circumstances change. 4.2 Early Judgment Applications No proceedings to adjudicate the case without a trial or hearing exist. On the other hand, cases requir- ing only short debates can be dealt with at the case management hearing. This needs to be requested in the document (for instance, a writ of summons) that initiates the proceedings. A judge can either grant or refuse such request. 4.3 Dispositive Motions Dispositive motions cannot be made before the trial or hearing. On the other hand and as mentioned in 4.2 Early Judgment Applications , an early judgment application can be requested in the document initiat- ing the proceedings. 4.4 Requirements for Interested Parties to Join a Lawsuit Parties either join a lawsuit voluntarily (by application) or involuntarily (by being summoned or through a sub- mission filed against them when they are already part of proceedings). The option to join a case is available
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