Family Law 2025

BELGIUM Law and Practice Contributed by: Larissa De Wulf, Carolyn Vanthienen and Alexandra Goossens, Tiberghien

• by writ of summons served on the defendant by a bailiff on behalf of the plaintiff; or • by petition served on the defendant by the clerk of the family court upon request of the plaintiff. The court is seized from the date of service by the bailiff in the first case and from the date the application is lodged at the court office in the second case. An application for divorce by mutual consent will be filed with the clerk of the family court via a joint petition of the spouses. The court is seized from the date the application is lodged at the court office. Annulment of Marriage On certain grounds, the marriage may be annulled by the family court. An annulment may be requested, particularly in the event of: • a lack of valid consent; or • a breach of legal requirements for marriage (eg, impediments to marriage between certain persons). 1.2 Choice of Jurisdiction Jurisdictional Competence for Divorce In cases involving foreign elements (such as the foreign nationality of the parties), the Belgian court will apply the rules of its private interna - tional law. In terms of jurisdiction, the court will apply: • the Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 (the “Brussels II bis Regulation”) for applications lodged before 1 August 2022; or • the Council Regulation (EC) 2019/1111 of 25 June 2019 (the “Brussels II ter Regulation”)

(Article 3 – habitual residence and nationality) for divorce applications lodged on or after 1 August 2022. Other legal rules apply to applications lodged before the Brussels II Regulations came into force. Concepts of Domicile, Residence and Nationality The Brussels II ter Regulation uses the concepts of habitual residence and nationality. Under this regulation, a place will be considered to be a habitual residence when the person intends to establish the centre of their interests there and their presence in that place presents a sufficient degree of stability. If the Belgian court has no jurisdiction, the judge investigates whether a court from another EU member state has jurisdiction. If this is not the case, the Belgian court applies the Belgian Code of Private International Law and uses the con - cepts of domicile and residence to determine which courts have jurisdiction. Belgian law rec - ognises several notions of domicile, which differ depending on the subject matter. Opportunity to Contest Jurisdiction Either party to a divorce proceeding may contest the jurisdiction, as may the judge (ex officio) – for example, for non-respect of the rules of attribu - tion of internal or international jurisdiction or for non-respect of the grounds and conditions for divorce. The question of jurisdiction must be decided by the judge before the merits of the case. Lis Pendens Belgian internal procedural law and Belgian pri - vate international law (including the Brussels II

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