21 Sep New amicable dispute resolution chambers at the French-speaking Enterprise Court and the Court of appeal of Brussels

As of September 2020, the French-speaking Enterprise Court and the Court of appeal of Brussels will be providing amicable dispute resolution services via special chambers. It will aim at offering the disputing parties a more negotiated and effective solution, as well as a faster and less costly processing of their case.

Resorting to the services of these chambers is voluntary and strictly confidential. The conciliation hearing takes place behind closed doors and in the presence of judges, specifically trained in the field of conciliation/mediation, the parties and their lawyer, if they wish it so.

At the end of the conciliation hearing, three outcomes are possible:
– The parties reach an agreement that settles their dispute in whole or in part;

– The parties do not reach an agreement but are set on the right path to reach one. In this case, the amicable dispute resolution chamber can direct the parties towards further negotiation or mediation;

– The parties do not reach an agreement, or reach a partial agreement. This failure will have no consequence whatsoever on the ordinary legal proceedings, which may be resumed or initiated by the parties with the guarantee that their case will be handled by different judges than those who sat on the amicable dispute resolution chamber.

It should be noted that this conciliation, which may be requested even if no legal proceedings are initiated, is completely free of charge.

For more information on that subject, feel free to contact Didier CHAVAL esq. (didier.chaval@cairnlegal.be).

Best regards,
The Cairn Legal team