JURISDICTION · CONTINENTAL EUROPE

Since 2011
boutique international counsel

Partner-led
one partner owns your matter

35+
jurisdictions covered

Belgium features in VLO's Continental European work both as a commercial jurisdiction and as the seat of the EU institutions, which gives Brussels a particular relevance for matters touching EU regulation and competition. We handle enforcement against Belgian-domiciled debtors, commercial disputes, and the Belgian component of cross-border matters.
Belgium's position at the heart of the EU and its role as a logistics and trading hub mean Belgian entities frequently appear in cross-border structures, and we coordinate the Belgian element with the wider matter under one partner.

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VLO IN BELGIUM

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How we work in Belgium

LEGAL SYSTEM

What foreign parties need to know about Belgium

Belgium is a civil-law jurisdiction with codified private and procedural law influenced by the French tradition. Disputes are decided by professional judges across a structure of first-instance courts, courts of appeal, and the Court of Cassation, with commercial matters heard by the enterprise courts (tribunaux de l'entreprise / ondernemingsrechtbanken).
For foreign parties, the most relevant features are the specialised enterprise courts for business disputes and Belgium's bilingual/multilingual legal environment, reflecting its language communities. Brussels also hosts EU-institutional and competition matters, which can intersect with commercial disputes.

ENFORCEMENT & RECOGNITION

Enforcing judgments and awards in Belgium

For civil and commercial judgments from other EU member states, recognition and enforcement in Belgium run through the Brussels Ia Regulation (Recast). A qualifying judgment can be enforced without separate exequatur proceedings: the creditor applies directly to the competent enforcement authority, and the debtor bears the burden of raising the limited grounds for refusal, such as a genuine public-policy conflict or defective service.
For arbitral awards, Belgium applies the New York Convention, and its courts recognise and enforce foreign awards under the Convention's narrow refusal grounds. For judgments from outside the EU and outside applicable treaties, Belgium applies its domestic rules on the recognition of foreign judgments, examining matters such as the jurisdiction of the originating court, proper service, and public policy.
As everywhere, the legal test is rarely the obstacle. The real work is locating enforceable assets in Belgium, sequencing the application to prevent dissipation, and anticipating the procedural defences a sophisticated debtor will raise. We coordinate the Belgium enforcement with any parallel action elsewhere.
Belgian procedure provides for protective attachment (saisie conservatoire / bewarend beslag) to secure assets pending or during proceedings, a tool of particular use to cross-border creditors given Belgium's role as a logistics and trading hub through which goods and receivables flow. Securing such an attachment early can be decisive where movable assets are at risk.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION FORUMS

Where Belgium disputes are resolved

Belgium has an established arbitration framework, with CEPANI (the Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation) as the principal institution, and Belgian courts apply the New York Convention. For litigation, the enterprise courts handle commercial disputes.
Brussels's status as an EU centre means arbitration and litigation there can intersect with EU regulatory and competition dimensions, which is relevant to the structuring of certain cross-border matters.

WHEN CLIENTS COME TO US

Common Belgium scenarios

ILLUSTRATIVE MATTER

What a Belgium engagement looks like

OUR APPROACH

How a Belgium matter is run

Belgium rewards familiarity with its enterprise courts and multilingual environment. We scope the Belgian issues alongside every other jurisdiction in play, deliver a strategy memo within five business days, and report to you in English.

Elena Moretti

Matters in Belgium are coordinated through the Continental Europe desk. For a matter routed to Elena, use the main contact form — enquiries are routed by jurisdiction and practice area.

PARTNER · CONTINENTAL EUROPE

EM

BELGIUM DESK LEAD

WHY VLO FOR BELGIUM

What we bring to a Belgium matter

Belgium combines a French-influenced civil-law system, specialised enterprise courts, and a position at the heart of the EU. VLO's Continental Europe desk handles the Belgian element with the requisite language capacity and coordinates it with the wider cross-border matter, including any EU-regulatory dimension.
For clients, this means the Belgian component is handled with genuine understanding of its specialised courts and EU context, under one partner, with transparent fees and discretion.
Belgium's position as the seat of the EU institutions means certain commercial disputes carry a regulatory or competition dimension that intersects with the underlying matter. Where that is the case, coordinating the commercial dispute with its EU-regulatory aspect — rather than treating them as separate workstreams — is part of the value we bring.

PARTNER OWNERSHIP

Belgium is handled as part of the wider strategy, not as an isolated engagement.

CROSS-BORDER COORDINATION

TRANSPARENT FEES

Confidential by default. No press without explicit consent.

DISCRETION

FREQUENTLY ASKED · BELGIUM

Common questions about Belgium matters

How are commercial disputes decided in Belgium?

Yes. As an EU member, Belgium applies Brussels Ia to EU judgments and the New York Convention to arbitral awards. We coordinate recognition and execution.

Can you enforce a foreign judgment or award in Belgium?

Does Belgium's EU role matter for my dispute?

Our Continental Europe desk works across the languages relevant to Belgian matters and coordinates local counsel where required, reporting to you in English.

Do you work in French and Dutch?

RELEVANT PRACTICES IN BELGIUM

How we help in Belgium

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Matters in Belgium often connect with