The legal system of Luxembourg
A small Napoleonic civil-law jurisdiction with outsized importance in financial and EU law, being the seat of the Court of Justice of the European Union. Legislation is drafted in French while proceedings and administration move between French, German and Luxembourgish. A comprehensively revised constitution entered into force on 1 July 2023, restating the Grand Duke’s role in modern terms.
Legal tradition
Luxembourg belongs to the civil law tradition. A small Napoleonic civil-law jurisdiction with outsized importance in financial and EU law, being the seat of the Court of Justice of the European Union. Legislation is drafted in French while proceedings and administration move between French, German and Luxembourgish. A comprehensively revised constitution entered into force on 1 July 2023, restating the Grand Duke’s role in modern terms.
How power is divided
A unitary state with communes as the only subordinate tier. Like France and Belgium it maintains a dual judicial structure: ordinary courts under the Cour de cassation and a separate administrative order under the Cour administrative, with the Constitutional Court resolving conflicts between them.
Where law comes from
- Constitution
- The 1868 text as comprehensively revised with effect from 1 July 2023.
- EU law and treaties
- Directly effective and prevail over domestic statute.
- Statutes (lois)
- Voted by the unicameral Chamber of Deputies.
- Grand-ducal regulations
- Règlements grand-ducaux, the principal form of implementing legislation.
- Codes
- Civil, commercial, penal and procedural codes of French inspiration.
- Case law
- Persuasive rather than formally binding; heavily influenced by Belgian and French doctrine.
The legal profession
Avocats are admitted to the Bar of Luxembourg or of Diekirch after a law degree, the complementary course in Luxembourg law and a two-year traineeship, and are listed on List I or List II depending on the right to appear. Working knowledge of French, German and Luxembourgish is required for admission. Notaries form a separate numerus clausus profession.
Law by topic in Luxembourg
- Employment & LabourA codified Labour Code, the EU's highest minimum wage and the labour tribunalEmployment is governed by the Labour Code (Code du travail). Dismissal requires a real and serious cause, with statutory notice scaling by length of service, and disputes go to the labour tribunal. Luxembourg has the highest statutory minimum wage in the EU, indexed to the cost of living.
- Tax LawThe EU's lowest standard VAT, at 17%, alongside progressive income taxPersonal income tax is progressive across many bands and depends on a tax-class system reflecting family situation. Corporate profits face corporate income tax plus a municipal business tax, and standard VAT is 17% — the lowest headline rate in the European Union.
- Criminal LawA French-model inquisitorial system led by the public prosecutorCriminal justice follows the French inquisitorial model. The public prosecutor (Parquet) directs prosecution, an investigating judge (juge d'instruction) conducts the inquiry in serious cases, and trial courts sit without a jury. The Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure derive from the Napoleonic codes.
- Constitutional LawA newly revised constitution in force since 2023, in a constitutional monarchyLuxembourg is a constitutional monarchy whose thoroughly revised constitution entered into force on 1 July 2023, modernising the 1868 text across four successive revisions. Constitutional review is exercised by the Constitutional Court, which decides questions of the conformity of statutes with the constitution referred to it by other courts.
- Data Protection & PrivacyGDPR supervised by the CNPD, the regulator of a major data-hosting hubData protection follows the GDPR, with a national implementing law of 1 August 2018. The National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD) supervises compliance and matters especially because Luxembourg hosts significant EU data-processing and financial infrastructure.
- Family LawNo-fault divorce since 2018, and same-sex marriage since 2015A 2018 reform abolished fault-based divorce, leaving two routes: divorce by mutual consent and divorce for irretrievable breakdown of the marital relationship. Marriage was opened to same-sex couples in 2015, and the partnership (PACS) is available as an alternative.
- Civil ProcedureTwo judicial districts, three justices of the peace and a French-modelled codeCivil procedure follows the Nouveau Code de procédure civile, closely modelled on French law. The three justices of the peace hear smaller claims, tenancy and wage disputes, while the tribunaux d'arrondissement of Luxembourg and Diekirch are the ordinary courts of first instance.
- Human RightsConstitutional rights reinforced by the ECHR and EU CharterThe revised constitution contains a modernised catalogue of fundamental rights, and Luxembourg is bound by the ECHR and, when implementing EU law, the EU Charter. As a small, highly international jurisdiction, it applies European human-rights standards closely.
- Business & CorporateThe SARL and SA, workhorses of a major corporate and fund domicileCompany law derives from the Napoleonic tradition and the 1915 Companies Act, much modernised. The private limited company (SARL) needs EUR 12,000 of fully subscribed capital and the public company (SA) needs EUR 30,000; both are formed by notarial deed and registered with the Trade and Companies Register (RCS).
- Immigration & NationalityA cross-border labour market, with the EU Blue Card for the highly qualifiedEU, EEA and Swiss nationals move freely, and a large share of the workforce commutes daily from France, Belgium and Germany. Third-country nationals are admitted under the Immigration Law, most prominently through the EU Blue Card for highly qualified employment above a set salary threshold.
- Property & LandNapoleonic ownership, notarial deeds and registration transfer dutiesProperty law follows the Civil Code in the French tradition: ownership transfers by contract, but the transaction is executed by notarial deed and made enforceable against third parties through the mortgage registry. Buyers pay registration and transcription duties on acquisition.
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