LUXEMBOURG Law and Practice Contributed by: Fabio Trevisan and Laure-Hélène Gaicio-Fievez, BSP
10.5 Court-Imposed Conditions on Granting an Appeal In principle, the court cannot impose any condi- tions when granting an appeal. 10.6 Powers of the Appellate Court After an Appeal Hearing The Court of Appeal in Luxembourg holds the power to examine both factual and legal aspects of the cases brought before it. The court can opt to either affirm the decision made by the lower court or overturn it. Should the latter occur, the Court of Appeal will decide anew on the merits of the case. 11. Costs 11.1 Responsibility for Paying the Costs of Litigation Legal costs (including in particular bailiff fees and the remuneration of any experts) are in principle borne by the party who loses the case. These costs do not include lawyer fees, which must be paid by each of the parties. Luxembourg does not have court fees. In addition, at the request of a party, the judge may order the other party to pay procedural compensation. 11.2 Factors Considered When Awarding Costs In determining the amount of the procedural indemnity, the judge must take into account the following elements: • the financial capacity of the unsuccessful party; • the complexity of the case; • the contractual compensation agreed for the successful party; and
In order to appeal, a party must: • have been a party to the proceedings leading to the adoption of this decision; and • have an interest in lodging the appeal (ie, the judgment under appeal must have been prejudicial to their interests). 10.3 Procedure for Taking an Appeal As a general rule, the time limit for appeals is 40 days from: • the notification of the judgment, if it is contra- dictory; or • the expiry of the time limit of the opposition period, if the judgment is given by default. However, some provisions provide for a much shorter time limit (eg, 15 days in bankruptcy cases). In addition, the time limit for appeals is extend- ed by an additional 15 days for those residing abroad. 10.4 Issues Considered by the Appeal Court at an Appeal The appeal process in Luxembourg leads to a new instance, effectively restarting the case. As such, conditions set during the first instance, such as domicile elections, do not carry over, and the appeal procedure is subject to the pro- cedural rules in force on the day of the appeal recourse. The appellate court applies the princi- ple of devolutive effect, meaning it must recon- sider all debated points from the initial trial. While new requests cannot be added to the case at this stage, new arguments can be introduced.
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