New Covid-19 measures impact Belgian civil procedures

On 9 April 2020, the Federal Government issued a number of Royal Decrees regulating the effects of the coronavirus on civil courts. Royal Decree n°2 regulates the civil statute of limitations, other procedural time limits and the use of written proceedings.

Royal Decree n°2 provides for an automatic extension of the procedural time limits. This brings clarity and eliminates the need to discuss the use of "force majeure" in procedural matters.

For new and pending proceedings, time limits (including those for instituting a claim or for lodging an appeal) that expire between 9 April 2020 and 3 May 2020 have been extended until 3 June 2020, with a further extension of this "crisis period" possible.

For pending proceedings, this may result in delays. If, for example, written submissions are due during the crisis period, this deadline will initially be extended until 3 June 2020, which in turn could push back other deadlines linked to those proceedings. If the final deadline for written submissions is less than one month before the scheduled hearing, the hearing itself will also be postponed, creating a further backlog of court cases. However, the parties can agree between themselves to stick to the previously agreed deadlines to avoid a delay in the proceedings.

Urgent proceedings are an exception whereby one of the parties can ask the court to stick to the original schedule.

The hearing itself will not necessarily be postponed during the crisis period. Instead, the court will consider the case without oral pleadings if all parties have already submitted their arguments in writing, but the parties can oppose this. If all parties oppose, the case will be postponed to allow for oral pleadings after the crisis. The judge can also hear oral pleadings by videoconference.

If you have any questions about the impact of this Royal Decree on your proceedings, do not hesitate to contact our experts.