Belgium's new specialized judiciary

This brief national report was written for the First Siberian Legal Forum on the ‘Specialization of Judges and Courts: Comparative and Russian Context.’ It gives an overview of the Belgian judicial structure. After a short analysis of the judicial organization before 2014, that presents an outline of the Belgian first instance and appellate courts, particular attention is paid to the comprehensive judicial reforms of 2014. The enlargement of the judicial districts and the introduction of (internal and external) judicial mobility will lead to more specialized courts and judges. The creation of a Family and Juvenile Court and the re-allocation of some civil and commercial competences, between the Justice of the Peace and the Commercial Court, will have the same effect. Nevertheless, this report concludes that the 2014 reform is a missed opportunity to create a large ‘unified’ district court in which all first instance courts are merged.</span

Cultural Dimensions of Group Litigation: The Belgian Case

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Relief in Small and Simple Matters in Belgium

This article is based on a national report that was written for the XVth World Congress of the International Association of Procedural Law that was held in Istanbul in May 2015 and that focused on Effective Judicial Relief and Remedies in an Age of Austerity. It first of all sketches the general judicial context in Belgium and some of its relevant features: the judicial organisation, the goals of the civil justice system, the course of an ordinary civil lawsuit, the role of the court, and the litigation costs. Next, a detailed and critical overview of the current and future procedures that offer relief in small and simple matters is given. The current summary order for payment procedure, which was introduced in 1967, did not meet its goals. The article concludes that a new trend is emerging in Belgium, namely keeping small and unchallenged claims outside the judiciary and providing for cheaper and more efficient alternatives

Civil Procedure in Cross-cultural Dialogue: Eurasia Context

Reviewed book: Civil Procedure in Cross-cultural Dialogue: Eurasia Context: IAPL World Conference on Civil Procedure, September 18–21, 2012, Moscow, Russia (Dmitry Maleshin, ed.) (Statut 2012), available at (accessed March 9, 2014) [hereinafter Civil Procedure in Cross-cultural Dialogue: Eurasia Context]

De rechtsvordering tot collectief herstel: een Belgische class action voor consumenten

In het Belgisch Staatsblad van 29 april 2014 verscheen de wet van 28 maart 2014 tot invoeging van een rechtsvordering tot collectief herstel in het Wetboek van Economisch Recht. Hiermee wordt voor het eerst een vertegenwoordigde collectieve rechtsvordering (of class action) in onze rechtsorde geïntroduceerd. In deze bijdrage wordt dit instrument, dat enkel van toepassing is in consumentenzaken, grondig geanalyseerd. Achtereenvolgens komen de opzet, de ontvankelijkheidsvoorwaarden en het toepassingsgebied, het opt-in- en opt-outsysteem, de procedure en de inwerkingtreding aan bod.status: publishe

Institutional judicial reform experiences in Belgium : new bodies governing the judiciary

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Absolute vrijstelling van rechtsplegingsvergoeding voor de Staat

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