Procedures
The Judicial Code, specialist first-instance courts and language-of-proceedings rules
Procedure is set out in the Code judiciaire / Gerechtelijk Wetboek. First instance is divided by subject as well as value: the justice de paix for small claims and tenancy, the tribunal de l'entreprise for commercial matters, the tribunal du travail for employment, and the tribunal de première instance for the rest.
Key rules
- The justice de paix hears claims up to EUR 5,000, and tenancy disputes regardless of value.
- The tribunal de l'entreprise hears disputes between undertakings; the tribunal du travail hears employment and social-security matters.
- Appeal must generally be lodged within one month of service, before the cour d'appel or the tribunal de première instance depending on the court below.
- Cassation to the Cour de cassation lies on points of law only, within three months.
- The ordinary limitation period for contractual claims is ten years, and five years for extra-contractual claims under article 2262bis of the old Civil Code.
Governing law
- Code judiciaire / Gerechtelijk Wetboek (1967)
- Ancien Code civil (art. 2262bis)Ten-year contractual and five-year delictual limitation
- Act of 15 June 1935 on the use of languages in judicial matters
In practice
Language is a procedural question in Belgium, not an administrative one. The 1935 Act fixes the language of proceedings by the court's location — Dutch in Flanders, French in Wallonia, with specific rules for Brussels and a German-speaking regime in Eupen — and using the wrong language can render steps void, so it must be settled before filing. Electronic filing runs through the e-Deposit and DPA-Deposit platforms.