TYPES OF COURTS IN BELGIUM AND THEIR

RESPONSABILITIES

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

It is composed from twelve judges elected for life from a list voted

by the Senate and the House of Representative.

Its jurisdiction includes the entire territory of Belgium and has the

power to cancel or suspend decrees, laws and ordinances.

This Court is independent from any authority (judiciary,

administrative or executive).

SUPREME COURT OF CASSATION

Situated in Brussels, The Supreme Court of Cassation composed of

three chambers:

• the first chamber treats civil, economic, commercial and

administrative cases;

• the second chamber deals with criminal cases;

• the third chamber deals with social affairs matters.

Each chamber is ruled by five members but for simple cases three

members are sufficient.

These chambers are divided into Dutch and French division.

SUPREME COURT OF ADMINISTRATION(COUNCIL OF STATE)

This Court is hearing cases already judged in the administrative

Courts and has the power to cancel or suspend they’re decision.

It may provide advice in legislative and statutory matters.

The Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State is

composed of 11 electoral districts, 5 of them conducting activities

in French, 5 in Dutch and one bilingual (Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde).

COURT OF AUDIT

It is a part of the Belgian Parliament

It has the power to control the financial accounting and budgetary

operations of the Communities, Regions and Federal State and

also the related public institutions.

It is composed of two chambers: one speaking Dutch and one

speaking French.

A chamber is composed of a President, four councilors and one

general secretary.

FIRST INSTANCE COURTS

There are 3 types of First Instance Courts:

• The Correctional Court

• The Civil Court

• The Juvenile Court and

These are the first regulatory instances for cases related to each of

these matters.

There are 26 first instance courts located in each judicial district.

COURTS OF APPEAL

There are five Appellate Courts. Their role is to hear appeals

against First Instance judgments and Commercial Courts within

their jurisdictions.

There are also five Labour Court. These are the Appeal Courts

specialized in employment law.

Their territorial jurisdictions are Brussels, Liège, Mons, Ghent,

Antwerp

POLICE COURT

This is a criminal and civil court that hears cases of traffic offences,

minor offences and compensation claims for traffic accidents.

Judgments of the police court are open to appeal before the Court

of First Instance, except in matters listed in the Judicial Code if the

respective claim does not exceed €1 240.

There are 32 such courts in Belgium.

ARBITRARY COURT

The Belgian Centre for Mediation and Arbitration was founded in

1969 as an alternative to the time consuming and expensive

processes in Court. An arbitral court is composed by maximum

three persons.

The main advantages of using an Arbitration Court are

promptitude, confidentiality and small costs. A decision taken by

the Arbitration Court is final and not subject to any future

appeals.

Usually the parties must sign an arbitration clause in writing.

Thank you!

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