Belgium
Belgium is a civil law jurisdiction and civil proceedings are regulated by the Belgian Code on Judicial Proceedings (the Code). The Code was enacted on 10 October 1967 and entered into force on 1 November 1970. It has since then been subject to various amendments.
Precedents do not bind other courts but they are nonetheless used as a source of authority. This is especially the case for judgments of the Belgian Supreme Court (Hof van Cassatie/Cour de cassation).
The language of court proceedings is subject to strict regulation. In civil, commercial and employment law matters, proceedings are conducted in French or Dutch depending on where the court is located. In criminal cases, the language of the defendant is the relevant element to determine the language of the proceedings. Whilst most cases are heard in French or Dutch, proceedings in courts located in the German-speaking areas of Belgium will be heard in German. Proceedings in English or any other language are not possible.
The Belgian civil court system is organized as a pyramid and consists of several levels:
- At the lowest level are the 162 Justices of the Peace (vredegerecht/justice de paix), which are competent for small claims (not exceeding EUR5,000) and for a number of specific matters (such as disputes relating to rent or consumer credit), and, secondly, the 15 Police Tribunals (politierechtbank/tribunal de police), which deal with minor criminal offences and road traffic related matters (both criminal and civil).
- At the next level, we have the courts of first instance. The Court of First Instance (rechtbank van eerste aanleg/tribunal de première instance) has general competence to handle all cases that do not fall under the jurisdiction of any other court or that concern certain specific issues. The Court of First Instance also acts as an appellate court for judgments from the Justices of the Peace and most judgments of the Police Tribunal. Each Court of First Instance is subdivided into three sections: the civil section, the criminal section and the family and youth section.
At the same level, the Business Court (ondernemingsrechtbank/tribunal de l'entreprise) has jurisdiction in proceedings between or against businesses. The term 'business' essentially comprises sole traders, companies, associations and foundations (though some exceptions apply). Additionally, the Business Court deals with a number of specific commercial disputes, such as insolvency matters, shareholders' disputes or directors' liability cases.
Also at the same level, the Employment Tribunal (arbeidsrechtbank/tribunal de travail) has jurisdiction in matters relating to employment or social security law.
There are 13 Courts of First Instance, Business Courts and Employment Tribunals, with additional locations spread across the country.
- The Court of Appeal hears appeals against judgments of the Court of First Instance (except where it sat as an appellate court), the Business Court and some judgments of the Police Tribunal. An appeal against a judgment of one of the Employment Tribunals is brought before the Employment Court (arbeidshof/cour de travail).
At the same level, we have the Court of Assizes (Hof van Assisen/Cour d'assises), which deals with the most severe crimes, such as murder. A jury of twelve will decide on whether the defendant is guilty and, if so, the sentence. Unlike the Court of Appeal, the Court of Assizes is not an appellate court. One cannot appeal a judgment from the Court of Assizes - except directly before the Supreme Court.
- At the highest level is the Supreme Court. Unlike the other appellate courts, which review the case anew on both points of law and fact, the Supreme Court will only examine whether the court has correctly applied the law.
In addition to these, Belgium also has specialized administrative courts, for instance for matters relating to immigration or urban planning, with the Council of State (Raad van State/Conseil d'état) as the highest administrative court. It is competent for appeals against judgments of the other administrative courts, with a role similar as that of the Supreme Court, and serves as the first and last instance administrative court in matters where no specialized administrative court exists.
Lastly, the Constitutional Court (Grondwettelijk Hof/Cour constitutionnelle) has exclusive jurisdiction to determine whether legislation enacted by one of the Belgian parliaments is in accordance with the Belgian Constitution or with the rules on the distribution of powers between the federal level, the communities or the regions. Other courts can refer preliminary questions to the Constitutional Court if they have doubts as to constitutionality of certain legislation.