LUXEMBOURG Law and Practice Contributed by: Fabio Trevisan and Laure-Hélène Gaicio-Fievez, BSP
3.4 Initial Complaint There are two ways to initiate a lawsuit depend- ing on the subject matter and therefore the court: claimants can directly file their requests with the courts, or serve a writ of summons through a bailiff. The lower courts require that lawsuits pertain- ing to employment matters, lease agreements and applications for an injunction to pay take the form of a request and that they are filed directly with the courts. The district courts require that certain unilateral actions be initiated through a request. For other cases, a writ of summons (referred to as a “citation” in lower courts and “assignation” in district courts) must be served by a bailiff. Regardless of the method, the initial complaint must include specific information: the names and details of each party, the relevant court, a summary of facts, the nature of the claim, and the legal arguments put forth. Once filed, the initial complaint establishes the “judicial agreement”, which may not be subse- quently amended by the applicant. 3.5 Rules of Service Depending on the required procedure that has to be followed to initiate a lawsuit, the defendant will be notified either by a bailiff (writ of sum- mons) or by the court’s clerk (request). Where the defendant is domiciled abroad, the bailiff sends the document instituting proceed- ings by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt.
• ten years for construction-related matters; • three years for salary payment claims’ • six months for annulling corporate resolu- tions; • five years for recovering dividends; and • three years for product liability claims. The clock starts ticking on these time limits when the obligation falls due or when harm occurs in tort cases. 3.3 Jurisdictional Requirements for a Defendant There are two ways to initiate a lawsuit depend- ing on the subject matter: claimants can directly file their requests with the courts, or serve a writ of summons through a bailiff. The lower courts require that lawsuits pertain- ing to employment matters, lease agreements and applications for an injunction to pay take the form of a request and that they are filed directly with the courts. The district courts require that certain unilateral actions be initiated through a request. For other cases, a writ of summons (referred to as a “citation” in lower courts and “assignation” in district courts) must be served by a bailiff. Regardless of the method, the initial complaint must include specific information: the names and details of each party, the relevant court, a summary of facts, the nature of the claim, and the legal arguments put forth. Once filed, the initial complaint establishes the “judicial agreement”, which may not be subse- quently amended by the applicant.
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