BELGIUM Law and Practice Contributed by: Dominique Blommaert, Didier Bracke and Jens Benoot, Janson
To preserve the parties’ privacy, the decisions published in the part of the central registry that is publicly accessible will be pseudonymised in accordance with Article 4, (5) GDPR. The pseu- donymisation only relates to personal data of natural persons. 1.4 Legal Representation in Court Parties are entitled to appear in court in person without representation by a lawyer. Companies must be represented by a director with power of representation. Lawyers registered with one of the Belgian bar associations have rights of audience in Belgian courts. However, rights of audience before the Belgian Supreme Court are restricted to a select group of lawyers with special accreditation. Foreign Lawyers – EU Lawyers from EU member states are allowed to practise in Belgium. To do so, they can request registration on the list of EU lawyers. Lawyers on the EU list have rights of audience but only if assisted by a fully qualified lawyer, registered on the regular list. Foreign Lawyers – non-EU Foreign lawyers from outside the EU do not have rights of audience in Belgium.
To date, there is no known case law from Bel- gian courts regarding the legality of third-party funding. Lawyer’s Ethical Standards When instructed by a client that benefits from third-party funding, lawyers must be mindful to respect the Bar Association’s ethical standards, including: • the obligation to act solely in the client’s best interests; • the obligation to act independently (and thus uninfluenced by a third party, such as a funder); and • the obligation to uphold professional secrecy. 2.2 Third-Party Funding: Lawsuits Given the lack of a statutory framework, there are no formal restrictions regarding the type of lawsuits that can benefit from third-party fund- ing. Nevertheless, third-party funding is not commonly used in Belgium. This is due to sev- eral reasons: • The costs of litigation are relatively low in Belgium. • The adverse cost risk is fairly limited (see 11. Costs ). • The Belgian class action regime is limited in scope and less frequently used than in certain other EU jurisdictions, such as the Nether- lands. In addition, the statutory provisions regulating class actions are unclear as to whether a funder would be entitled to a share in the proceeds of the case. 2.3 Third-Party Funding for Plaintiff and Defendant In theory, third-party funding is available for both the plaintiff and defendant. However, in prac-
2. Litigation Funding 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding No Statutory Framework
Third-party funding is not regulated in Belgium. In the absence of any statutory rules or prohibi- tion, third-party funding is generally considered to be permitted.
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