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International Co-Operation in Litigation: Belgium

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International Co-Operation in Litigation: Europe

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Abstract

Belgium is divided into twenty-six judicial districts (arrondissements). In each arrondissement, there is a court of first instance (tribunal de première instance), which functions as a court of general competence. Review of decisions of a court of first instance may be had in one of the three courts of appeal (cours d’appel) which sit in Brussels, Ghent, and Liège, and final review of questions of Belgian law may be had in the Court of Cassation (Cour de Cassation). In addition to these courts, there are several tribunals of special competence. Disputes that do not exceed 10,000 francs (about $200) and certain other controversies are heard by justices of the peace (juges de paix). Commercial matters are heard before commercial courts (tribunaux de commerce). Controversies between employers and employees are adjudicated by a special tribunal (conseil de prud’hommes) or, if the defendant does not object, by a court of first instance under its general adjudicatory powers.

The authors gratefully acknowledge their indebtedness to Dr. Charles De Waer-Segger, Directeur d’ Administration à la Direction générale de la Chancellerie et du Contentieux du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères de Belgique, who deals with matters of international co-operation in litigation by virtue of his position and who provided extensive and valuable comments.

Docteur en droit, Université de Louvain 1947; A grégé de l’enseignement supérieur (Droit) , Université de Louvain 1956; Projesseur, Faculte de Droit de l’ U’niversité de Louvain.

A.B. , University of Rochester 1955 ; LL.B., Harvard 1958 ; Professor of Law, University of Minnesota.

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References

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Authors
  1. François Rigaux
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  2. Arthur R. Miller
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Hans Smit

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© 1965 Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands

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Rigaux, F., Miller, A.R. (1965). International Co-Operation in Litigation: Belgium. In: Smit, H. (eds) International Co-Operation in Litigation: Europe. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-9208-8_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-9208-8_3

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