BELGIUM Law and Practice Contributed by: Dominique Blommaert, Didier Bracke and Jens Benoot, Janson
1. General 1.1 General Characteristics of the Legal System Belgium is a civil law jurisdiction. The law is established by statutes issued by the federal and regional parliaments. Legal proceedings in civil and commercial mat- ters are governed by the Belgian Judicial Code. They are conducted on an adversarial model, through both written submissions and oral argu- ment. Belgium does not have jury trials in civil and commercial matters; juries are only utilised in the most severe criminal cases. 1.2 Court System The civil court system has a three-tier structure. District courts will hear cases in the first instance. Depending on the subject matter and the nature of the parties, the competent courts will either be: • the Enterprise Courts ( Ondernemingsrech- tbank/Tribunal d’entreprise ), for disputes between enterprises; • the Labour Courts ( Arbeidsrechtbank/Tribunal de travail) for employment disputes; or • the Courts of First Instance ( Rechtbank van eerste aanleg/Tribunal de première instance ) for general civil matters and enforcement proceedings. Small claims (below EUR5,000) and specific matters (eg, disputes relating to lease contracts) fall within the competence of the Justice of the Peace ( Vredegerecht/Justice de Paix ). First instance judgments rendered by the district courts can be appealed to the Courts of Appeal. Appeals against judgments of the Justice of the
Peace are brought before the Courts of First Instance. The appellate courts will conduct a full review of the matter. Lastly, the judgments of the appellate courts can be appealed to the Belgian Supreme Court ( Hof van Cassatie/Cour de Cassation ). However, the Supreme Court review is limited in scope. The Supreme Court does not conduct a review of the facts; it will merely review the application and interpretation of the law. The Supreme Court either confirms or annuls the appeal judgment. In case of annulment, the matter is referred to another appellate court for re-examination. The average duration of proceedings in district courts is approximately one year from com- mencement of proceedings to trial. Proceedings before the Courts of Appeal may take longer, especially in Brussels where trials are typically held several years after an appeal is filed. 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings Court filings are not accessible to third parties. Court hearings in civil and commercial matters are generally open to the public, except for cer- tain matters that are heard behind closed doors. In special circumstances, courts can adopt pre- cautionary measures to maintain the confidenti- ality of documents produced as evidence. The Belgian Judicial Code also provides for spe- cific rules regarding confidentiality in matters relating to trade secrets. Pursuant to the Act of 16 October 2022, a pub- licly accessible database for court decisions (the “Central Registry for Judicial Decisions”) should be in place by 31 December 2023. However, the rollout of the database has been delayed.
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