BELGIUM Law and Practice Contributed by: Larissa De Wulf and Carolyn Vanthienen, Tiberghien
order interim measures (eg, maintenance) under cer ‑ tain circumstances. However, those measures expire on the day the registered partnership is terminated. There is no legal basis for maintenance after separa ‑ tion for registered partners. Very exceptionally, a form of maintenance may be granted by the court – albeit for a very limited time – during a transitional period. However, the partners may provide for the possibility of maintenance payments under a registered partner ‑ ship agreement (drawn up by a notary). Unmarried partners in a de facto cohabitation arrange ‑ ment lack legal rights and protections. Should they separate, there are no existing legal safeguards in place. Registered partnership or de facto cohabiting part ‑ ners can invoke the concept of enrichment without cause. This pertains to a transfer of assets from one individual (the impoverished person) to benefit the assets of another (the enriched person) without any accompanying legal cause (eg, a contractual, legal or natural obligation). 2.7 Enforcement of Financial Orders National Enforcement A maintenance decision is provisionally enforceable by operation of law unless the family court decides otherwise at the request of one of the parties. The creditors can pursue their claim – ie, a bailiff may seize the goods, bank account, or wages of a maintenance debtor so that the maintenance creditor can be paid. A family court decision regarding a liquidation/divi ‑ sion is provisionally enforceable. The interested party has the right to enforce the judgment, even though the other party may still appeal (albeit at its own risk). International Enforcement Decisions regarding matrimonial property law settle ‑ ments from other EU member states are recognised
enforceable in that state will be enforceable in Bel ‑ gium when – upon the application of any interested party – they have been declared enforceable there in accordance with the procedure provided for in Articles 44 to 57 of the regulation (Article 42). If the regula ‑ tion does not apply in the case of non-EU decisions, Belgian rules of international private law prevail. The date of the document or decision determines which rules apply. The Code of Private International Law For documents or decisions from 1 October 2004, onwards, the Code of Private International Law applies. Enforcement of an authentic document or decision concerning marital property requires judicial intervention, initiated by a petition to the family court. The 2007 Hague Protocol For maintenance under the Maintenance Regulation No 4/2009, the enforcement depends on whether or not an EU member state is bound by the Protocol of 23 November 2007 on the Law Applicable to Main ‑ tenance Obligations (the “2007 Hague Protocol”). If the member state giving the decision is bound by the 2007 Hague Protocol, the decision that is enforceable in that state will be enforceable in Belgium without the need for a declaration of enforceability (Article 17). If the member state is not bound and the decision is enforceable in that state, the decision will be enforce ‑ able in Belgium when – on the application of any inter ‑ ested party – it has been declared enforceable there (Article 26). The 2007 Hague Convention Between Belgium and a third country to which the Hague Convention of 23 November 2007 on the Inter ‑ national Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance (the “2007 Hague Convention”) applies (and the Maintenance Regulation No 4/2009 does not), a decision is enforced under certain condi ‑ tions (Article 20). The Lugano Convention On judgments and deeds of countries to which the Lugano Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforce ‑ ment of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (the “Lugano Convention”) applies, the Belgian court
in Belgium without additional procedures. The Matrimonial Property Regulation No 2016/1103
If the Matrimonial Property Regulation No 2016/1103 applies, decisions given in an EU member state and
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