The most accessible level of Belgian justice and the court most people actually meet. A single judge sits in each of the 187 cantons and hears smaller civil claims, along with a mandatory-jurisdiction list that includes residential tenancy disputes, neighbour and boundary disputes, consumer credit, utility debts and protective measures for vulnerable adults. Police tribunals sit at the same level for traffic offences and road-accident claims.
How the court is constituted
- Tier
- first instance
- Court type
- Local civil court of limited jurisdiction
- Jurisdiction
- 187 judicial cantons
- Seat
- One seat per canton
- Composition
- A single justice of the peace per canton, with substitutes
- Appointment
- Appointed for life by the King on nomination by the High Council of Justice
- Languages
- Dutch, French, German
Where an appeal goes next
Appeal to the tribunal of first instance where the claim exceeds the appeal threshold
Filing at this court
- Simplified start
- Many claims can be brought by written request rather than a bailiff’s writ
- Representation
- Parties may appear in person; a lawyer is not required
- Conciliation
- Free voluntary conciliation before the judge is available on request
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