Until recently, Belgian enterprise courts, relying on the preparatory work of the legislator, unanimously considered that the bankrupt natural person who wanted to petition the court for a cancellation of his debts had to do so within a three-month period following the bankruptcy judgment under pain of foreclosure of the said right.
 
In a first decision rendered on April 22, 2021, the Constitutional Court, seized based on a preliminary question, ruled that “Article XX.173, § 2, of the Economic Law Code violates articles 10 and 11 of the Constitution in that the bankrupt individual who does not file a petition for cancellation of the balance of debts within the foreclosure period of three months after the publication of the bankruptcy judgment irrevocably loses the right to this cancellation.” With this decision, the Constitutional Court found that this time limit was discriminatory.
 
With its decision from 21 October 2021, the Constitutional Court confirmed this standpoint and annulled article XX.173, § 2, of the Economic Law Code but only insofar as it provides that a bankrupt natural person must petition the court for the cancellation of its debts within a three-month period following the bankruptcy judgment under pain of foreclosure of the said right.
 
Henceforth, requests for debt cancellation can no longer be declared inadmissible on the sole ground that they were filed more than three months after the publication of the bankruptcy judgment.
 
For more information on this subject, please feel free to contact Didier CHAVAL.
 
Best regards.