BELGIUM Law and Practice Contributed by: Dominique Blommaert, Didier Bracke and Jens Benoot, Janson
14.2 Growth Areas The landscape of commercial disputes in Bel- gium has somewhat evolved in recent years, driven by global economic changes, legislative reforms, and emerging business trends. Global supply chain disruptions, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions, have resulted in: • breaches of contract claims; • pricing disputes; and • non-delivery of goods or services. The introduction of hardship ( imprevisie/impré- vision ) in the new Belgian Civil Code and the adoption of statutory rules regarding contracts between enterprises in Book VI of the Code of Economic Law, including a “black list” and “grey list” of prohibited clauses, have created addi- tional arms for parties involved in commercial disputes. One of the main areas of future growth for commercial disputes is disputes relating to ESG. Large corporations must comply with an increasing number of EU regulations and direc- tives regarding environmental and sustainabil- ity standards. We are already seeing disputes regarding the termination of contracts specifical- ly for ESG reasons. Moreover, ESG will increas- ingly come into play in D&O liability disputes. This type of dispute is likely to become more prevalent going forward.
• the composition of the arbitration tribunal or the proceedings are not in accordance with the arbitration agreement; or • the arbitration tribunal exceeded its compe- tence. The court may also set aside an arbitral award if: • the matter could not be referred to arbitration; • the award violates public policy; or • the award was obtained by fraud. 13.4 Procedure for Enforcing Domestic and Foreign Arbitration Arbitral awards can be enforced in Belgium after recognition by the court of first instance. Bel- gium is a party to various treaties covering the enforcement and recognition of arbitral awards. The recognition proceedings are conducted ex parte. The judgment recognising and enforcing the arbitral award must be served on the party against whom enforcement is sought. This party has one month after service to file third-party opposition against said judgment. The judgment refusing recognition or deciding the third-party opposition can be appealed before the Supreme Court but only in relation to matters of law. 14. Outlook 14.1 Proposals for Dispute Resolution Reform There have been no official announcements regarding reforms to the dispute resolution sys- tem in Belgium.
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