Belgium

• Author: Evelyne Terryn,Matthias E. Storme
• Published date: 01 March 2009
• DOI: 10.1177/0002716208328282
• Date: 01 March 2009
• Subject Matter: Articles

ANNALS, AAPSS, 622, March 2009 95

Belgium illustrates the traditional European civil law

tradition of emphasis on principles of civil litigation

based on individual rights and standing. That tradition,

requiring legislative rather than judicial authorization,

has blocked general reform of collective representation

and led to gradual recognition of individual and rather

complex exceptions, overlaid by EU measures. No

innovative reforms have yet crystallized.

Keywords: flexibility of civil procedure; actions in the

collective interest; reflection on further

possibilities for collective action

1. The Court System in General

The Belgian court system and Procedural Law

is basically an exclusive competence of the fed-

eral authorities and not of the federated states;1

courts have no authority to make procedural

rules. Civil proceedings do not have a distinction

between trial and pretrial; are mainly in writing,

with only a supporting role for oral pleadings; and

are defined by the procedural autonomy of the

parties. Under new rules on costs in civil pro-

ceedings (2007), the losing party now has to

reimburse the costs of the winning party to a

much greater extent than before. Contingency

fees remain forbidden. In most procedures, par-

ties do not have to be represented by a lawyer

and can plead themselves. Lawyers appearing in

court do not need a written power of attorney.

Court fees are relatively low.

Outside the court system are the

Administrative Division of the Council of State

and the Constitutional Court. The main com-

petence of the former concerns demands for

annulment or provisional suspension of deci-

sions of the executive and any administrative

Belgium

By

MATTHIAS E. STORME

and

EVELYNE TERRYN

Matthias Storme is a professor of civil, procedural and

comparative law at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven,

Belgium.

Evelyne Terryn is a professor of commercial law at the

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.

DOI: 10.1177/0002716208328282