BELGIUM Law and Practice Contributed by: Dominique Blommaert, Didier Bracke and Jens Benoot, Janson
3.2 Statutes of Limitations The applicable statutes of limitation depend on the nature of the claim. Broadly speaking, the main limitation periods are: • ten years for contractual claims, starting from the day after the due date of the relevant contractual obligation; • five years for claims in tort, starting from the day after the date on which the claimant was aware of both the damage (or aggravation thereof) and the identity of the person liable for the damage; however, the claim will in any case be time barred 20 years (and one day) after the event causing the damage; • ten years for claims regarding the recovery of real property; this limitation period will be extended to 30 years if the possessor gained possession of the real property in bad faith; and • five years for payment of interest and other recurrent debts that fall due on an annual (or shorter) basis. Please note that special, often shorter, limitation periods are provided in specific laws. Filing a claim in court suspends the time limita- tion until a final decision is rendered. 3.3 Jurisdictional Requirements for a Defendant Subject Matter Jurisdiction The rules on subject matter jurisdiction are set out in the Belgian Judicial Code. Some district courts have exclusive jurisdiction on certain mat- ters (eg, labour courts for employment matters; enterprise courts for insolvency and corporate disputes).
Territorial Jurisdiction In the absence of a contractual forum clause designating the competent court, proceedings are generally brought before the court of the domicile of the defendant. The Judicial Code provides for alternative jurisdiction rules – eg, the court of the place of performance of a con- tract. In certain matters, specific jurisdiction rules are mandatory, eg: • the court of the place of a company’s regis- tered seat (corporate disputes); or • the court of the place where real property is located (lease or tenancy disputes). International Jurisdiction International jurisdiction in cross-border disputes is governed by the Brussels I Recast Regulation and the Belgian Code of Private International Law. As an EU member state, Belgium is also bound by the 2005 Hague Convention on Choice Legal proceedings are most commonly initiated by serving a writ of summons ( dagvaarding/cita- tion ) on the defendant. For certain types of claims, proceedings can also be initiated by filing a petition ( verzoek- schrift/requête ) with the court. The writ of summons or petition contain the fol- lowing elements: • the identity of the parties; • statement of facts; • legal arguments; and • the claim(s). of Courts Agreements. 3.4 Initial Complaint
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