LUXEMBOURG Law and Practice Contributed by: Fabio Trevisan and Laure-Hélène Gaicio-Fievez, BSP
• the patently unreasonable nature of the situ- ation. 11.3 Interest Awarded on Costs There is no interest payable on the costs and expenses of the proceedings. 12. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) 12.1 Views of ADR Within the Country Alternative dispute resolution methods are increasingly being used in Luxembourg. The dif- ferent methods of alternative dispute resolution are as follows: • arbitration (Articles 1224-1251 of the NCPC); • conciliation (Articles 70 to 72 of the NCPC); • mediation (Articles 1251-1 to 1251-24 of the NCPC); and • the ombudsman. For mediation, there is a specific institution ( Cen- tre de Médiation Civile et Commerciale (CMCC)) which offers a voluntary process for the amicable resolution of civil, commercial or social disputes. It is an alternative to resolving disputes in court. 12.2 ADR Within the Legal System The establishment of the national service of the Consumer Ombudsman through the law of 17 February 2016 (which introduced out-of-court settlement for consumer disputes in the Con- sumer Code) is a notable advancement in Lux- embourg’s approach to consumer disputes. Going forward, any consumer or professional seeking to find an amicable solution to a con- sumer dispute can contact the Consumer Ombudsman. The Consumer Ombudsman will either handle the case themselves or refer it to a
specialised service responsible for out-of-court dispute resolution in the matter concerned. The procedure before the Consumer Ombuds- man is free of charge for all parties, which is a considerable advantage. However, in theory, alternative dispute resolution methods are not mandatory. 12.3 ADR Institutions In Luxembourg, there are a number of institutions specialising in mediation that process requests within a particularly short period of time. • the Arbitration Centre; • the Civil and Commercial Mediation Centre for Civil, Commercial and Labour Disputes ( Centre de médiation civile et commerciale pour les litiges civils, commerciaux et du travail ); • the Mediation Centre a.s.b.l. for family or matrimonial disputes and neighbourhood relations; • the mediator for disputes between a natural or legal person governed by private law and an administration; and • the Pro Familia Foundation. 13. Arbitration 13.1 Laws Regarding the Conduct of Arbitration In Luxembourg, arbitration is governed by Arti- cles 1224 to 1249 of the NCPC. The regulations provided for in the above-men- tioned articles contain only a few mandatory provisions. The freedom of the parties to set forth the terms of the arbitration proceedings is therefore left intact.
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