Enforcing a Switzerland Court Judgment in Belgium

To enforce a Switzerland court judgment in Belgium, a creditor must obtain formal recognition from a Belgian court before any enforcement measures can be taken. Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, so EU enforcement regulations do not apply directly. Instead, the process is governed primarily by the Lugano Convention, which creates a structured but procedurally distinct pathway compared to intra-EU enforcement. This guide explains the legal framework, the step-by-step procedure, realistic timelines, cost levels, available defences, and the practical strategy a creditor should adopt to maximise the chances of a successful outcome.

The starting point for any attempt to enforce a Switzerland judgment in Belgium is identifying the correct legal instrument. Because Switzerland is not an EU member state, EU Regulation 1215/2012 (Brussels Ia) does not apply. However, Switzerland is a signatory to the 2007 Lugano Convention on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. Belgium is bound by the Lugano Convention as an EU member state. This shared treaty framework is the cornerstone of the entire process.

The Lugano Convention closely mirrors the earlier Brussels Regulation regime. It provides that a judgment given in one contracting state shall be recognised in other contracting states without any special procedure being required, and that it shall be declared enforceable in another contracting state on the application of any interested party. The Convention covers civil and commercial matters. It expressly excludes revenue, customs and administrative matters, as well as certain family law, insolvency and arbitration proceedings.

A non-obvious requirement is that the judgment must be enforceable in Switzerland itself before a Belgian court will consider an exequatur application. The creditor must therefore obtain a certificate of enforceability from the Swiss court that issued the judgment. This document is a prerequisite, and failing to obtain it before filing in Belgium is one of the most common mistakes foreign creditors make.

Belgian courts apply the Lugano Convention through their domestic procedural law, primarily the Belgian Code of Private International Law and the Belgian Judicial Code. The competent court for an exequatur application is the Court of First Instance (Tribunal de première instance / Rechtbank van eerste aanleg) in the district where the debtor is domiciled or where enforcement is to take place.

Assembling the correct documentary package before filing is critical. An incomplete application will be rejected or delayed, adding weeks to the process. The Lugano Convention sets out a minimum list of required documents, and Belgian courts apply these requirements strictly.

The core documents are:

• A copy of the Swiss judgment that satisfies the conditions necessary to establish its authenticity under Swiss law.
• A certificate issued by the Swiss court using the standard form in Annex V of the Lugano Convention, confirming that the judgment is enforceable and has been served on the defendant.
• Where the judgment was given in default of appearance, the original or a certified copy of the document establishing that the party in default was served with the document instituting the proceedings.

All documents issued in Switzerland will be in German, French or Italian depending on the canton. Belgian courts require a certified translation into French or Dutch, depending on the linguistic region of the competent court. For proceedings before a Brussels court, both French and Dutch translations may be needed, or the court may accept one language depending on the specific chamber. A common mistake is to submit a translation that is certified by a general notary rather than a sworn translator recognised by the Belgian courts. Only sworn translators (traducteurs jurés / beëdigde vertalers) produce translations that Belgian courts accept without question.

In practice, founders and creditors should consider engaging a Belgian lawyer at this stage. The lawyer can verify that the Swiss judgment falls within the material scope of the Lugano Convention, confirm the correct court and linguistic requirements, and prepare the application in the required format.

The exequatur procedure in Belgium under the Lugano Convention is an ex parte process at first instance. This means the debtor is not notified at the initial stage, and the court decides solely on the basis of the documents submitted. This design is intentional: it prevents a debtor from dissipating assets before the creditor can act.

The application is filed with the clerk of the competent Court of First Instance. The clerk assigns the matter to a judge, who reviews the documents. At this stage, the court does not examine the merits of the Swiss judgment. It only verifies that the formal requirements of the Lugano Convention are met and that none of the grounds for refusal set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention are manifestly present.

If the application is complete and the formal requirements are satisfied, the court issues a declaration of enforceability (exequatur). This declaration is then served on the debtor by a Belgian bailiff (huissier de justice / gerechtsdeurwaarder). From the moment of service, the debtor has one month to lodge an appeal if domiciled in Belgium, or two months if domiciled abroad. During this appeal period, the creditor may take protective measures - such as a precautionary attachment (saisie conservatoire / bewarend beslag) - but cannot yet proceed with enforcement proper.

Once the appeal period expires without challenge, or once any appeal is resolved in the creditor's favour, the exequatur becomes final. The creditor can then instruct a Belgian bailiff to enforce the judgment using the full range of Belgian enforcement mechanisms: attachment of bank accounts, seizure of movable assets, garnishment of wages or receivables, or forced sale of immovable property.

A practical scenario: a Swiss company obtains a judgment for unpaid invoices against a Belgian distributor. The Swiss court issues the Annex V certificate. The creditor's Belgian lawyer files the exequatur application in Brussels. The court grants the declaration within three to four weeks. The bailiff serves it on the debtor. The debtor does not appeal. Six weeks after service, the creditor instructs the bailiff to attach the debtor's bank accounts. The entire process from filing to first enforcement action takes approximately three to four months.

Understanding the grounds on which a Belgian court can refuse recognition is essential for both creditors assessing risk and debtors considering their options. The Lugano Convention limits the grounds for refusal to a closed list, which cannot be expanded by Belgian domestic law.

The main grounds for refusal under Articles 34 and 35 are:

• Recognition is manifestly contrary to Belgian public policy (ordre public).
• The judgment was given in default and the defendant was not served in sufficient time to arrange a defence.
• The judgment is irreconcilable with a judgment given in a dispute between the same parties in Belgium.
• The judgment is irreconcilable with an earlier judgment given in another state involving the same cause of action and the same parties, provided the earlier judgment fulfils the conditions for recognition in Belgium.
• The Swiss court assumed jurisdiction in a way that conflicts with the protective jurisdiction rules of the Convention covering insurance, consumer contracts or employment.

Critically, the Belgian court cannot review the substance of the Swiss judgment. It cannot re-examine the facts, reassess the evidence or substitute its own legal analysis for that of the Swiss court. This principle of non-révision au fond is fundamental to the Lugano system and is consistently applied by Belgian courts.

In practice, the public policy defence is the most frequently invoked but the least often successful. Belgian courts interpret ordre public narrowly in this context. A judgment will only be refused on public policy grounds if recognising it would violate a fundamental principle of Belgian legal order in a manifest and intolerable way. Mere differences in substantive law between Switzerland and Belgium are not sufficient.

A common mistake by debtors is to attempt to re-litigate the merits of the Swiss judgment in the Belgian exequatur proceedings. Belgian courts will reject such arguments summarily. The correct approach for a debtor with a legitimate grievance about the Swiss judgment is to pursue an appeal or revision in Switzerland itself.

Realistic planning requires an honest assessment of both the time and the financial investment involved. Enforcement of a Switzerland judgment in Belgium is not instantaneous, but the Lugano Convention framework makes it significantly faster and more predictable than enforcement in non-convention countries.

The typical timeline breaks down as follows. Preparing the documentary package, including obtaining the Annex V certificate from the Swiss court and arranging certified translations, generally takes two to four weeks depending on the canton and the complexity of the judgment. Filing and obtaining the first-instance exequatur decision typically takes three to six weeks from the date of filing, assuming the application is complete. Service of the declaration on the debtor and expiry of the appeal period adds a further five to nine weeks. If the debtor appeals, proceedings before the Court of Appeal (Cour d'appel / Hof van Beroep) can add six to eighteen months. A further appeal to the Court of Cassation (Cour de cassation / Hof van Cassatie) on points of law is possible but rare in straightforward cases.

The overall cost picture has several components. State fees for filing the exequatur application are modest. Translation costs depend on the length and complexity of the Swiss judgment and can range from a few hundred to several thousand euros for lengthy commercial judgments. Belgian lawyer fees for the exequatur procedure typically start from the low thousands of euros for a straightforward matter and increase with complexity, the number of hearings and any appeal proceedings. Bailiff fees for service and enforcement actions are regulated by Belgian law and are generally proportionate to the amount being enforced. The creditor can usually recover costs from the debtor if the exequatur is granted and enforcement is successful, but recovery depends on the debtor's solvency.

Many creditors underestimate the translation costs and the time needed to obtain the Annex V certificate from the Swiss court, particularly if the Swiss proceedings concluded some time ago and the court file needs to be retrieved. Engaging a Swiss lawyer to coordinate the certificate and a Belgian lawyer to handle the exequatur in parallel can compress the overall timeline significantly.

If you are assessing whether enforcement is commercially viable, contact info@vlolawfirm.com. We can help structure the setup correctly the first time and provide a realistic cost-benefit analysis before you commit to proceedings.

A creditor who approaches Belgian enforcement strategically will achieve better outcomes than one who treats it as a purely mechanical process. Several practical considerations deserve attention.

Asset tracing is a prerequisite for effective enforcement. An exequatur without identified assets to attach is a hollow victory. Before or during the exequatur process, the creditor should investigate the debtor's Belgian assets. Belgian law permits a creditor holding an exequatur to request information from third parties, including banks, about the debtor's assets. A Belgian bailiff can also conduct asset investigations. In some cases, it is worth commissioning a commercial due diligence report on the debtor before even beginning the exequatur process, to confirm that enforcement is economically worthwhile.

Precautionary attachment (saisie conservatoire) is a powerful tool that can be used as soon as the exequatur is served on the debtor, even before it becomes final. This allows the creditor to freeze the debtor's assets during the appeal period, preventing dissipation. To obtain a precautionary attachment, the creditor must demonstrate urgency and the existence of a claim. A granted exequatur is strong evidence of both. The bailiff can attach bank accounts, receivables owed to the debtor by third parties, or movable assets.

A second practical scenario illustrates the strategic dimension: a Swiss private bank obtains a judgment against a Belgian individual for an unpaid loan. The individual has significant assets in Belgium, including a property and investment accounts. The creditor's Belgian lawyer files the exequatur and simultaneously instructs the bailiff to place a precautionary attachment on the investment accounts the moment the declaration is served. The debtor appeals, but the accounts remain frozen throughout. When the appeal is dismissed, the creditor proceeds immediately to enforcement, and the debtor settles rather than face a forced sale of the property.

Timing matters. If the creditor has reason to believe the debtor is planning to transfer assets, it may be worth applying for a precautionary attachment in Belgium even before the Swiss judgment is final, relying on Belgian domestic law rather than the Lugano Convention. Belgian courts can grant such measures on an urgent basis. This requires a separate application and a showing of urgency, but it can be decisive in protecting the creditor's position.

The linguistic dimension of Belgian proceedings should not be underestimated. Belgium has three official language communities, and the language of proceedings before a Belgian court depends on the location of the court and the domicile of the parties. Errors in choosing the correct linguistic regime can result in the case being transferred to another court, adding delay. A Belgian lawyer with experience in cross-border enforcement will navigate this automatically.

Does the Lugano Convention cover all types of Swiss court judgments?

The Lugano Convention covers civil and commercial matters broadly, but it excludes several important categories. Judgments in revenue, customs or administrative matters fall outside its scope entirely. Family law matters such as divorce, parental responsibility and maintenance are subject to separate rules, and maintenance judgments may be governed by a different EU regulation applicable between Belgium and Switzerland. Arbitral awards are also excluded and must be enforced under the New York Convention instead. Before assuming the Lugano Convention applies, a creditor should verify that the Swiss judgment falls within its material scope. A judgment in a straightforward commercial dispute - contract, tort, debt recovery - will almost always qualify. Judgments touching on insolvency proceedings or the constitution of companies may require separate analysis.

How long does the full enforcement process take if the debtor contests the exequatur?

If the debtor does not appeal, the process from filing to first enforcement action typically takes three to five months. If the debtor lodges an appeal before the Court of Appeal, the proceedings can extend to twelve to twenty-four months in total, depending on the court's docket and the complexity of the arguments raised. A further appeal to the Court of Cassation on a point of law is possible but adds additional time. In practice, many debtors do not appeal if the Swiss judgment is clearly within the Lugano Convention's scope and no obvious ground for refusal exists. A well-prepared exequatur application that anticipates potential objections reduces the risk of a contested appeal. The creditor can mitigate the commercial impact of delay by using precautionary attachment to freeze assets during the appeal period.

What happens if the debtor has no assets in Belgium but has assets elsewhere in the EU?

The Lugano Convention allows a creditor to seek enforcement in any contracting state where the debtor has assets. If the debtor has assets in multiple EU member states, the creditor can pursue parallel enforcement proceedings in each relevant jurisdiction. Within the EU, EU Regulation 1215/2012 governs enforcement between EU member states, but for a Swiss judgment, the Lugano Convention applies in each EU state separately. This means the creditor may need to obtain an exequatur in each country where enforcement is sought. Some EU member states have faster or cheaper exequatur procedures than others, so a creditor with enforcement options in multiple jurisdictions should assess where to proceed first based on asset location, procedural speed and cost. A coordinated multi-jurisdiction strategy, managed by lawyers in each relevant country, is often the most effective approach for significant claims.

Enforcing a Swiss court judgment in Belgium is a structured, treaty-based process that is achievable for a well-prepared creditor. The Lugano Convention provides a reliable legal pathway, and Belgian courts apply it consistently. The key variables are the quality of the documentary package, the speed of asset identification, and the strategic use of precautionary measures during the appeal period.

VLO Law Firm advises international clients on judgment enforcement matters involving Switzerland and Belgium. We can assist with exequatur applications, asset tracing, precautionary attachments, and coordination with Swiss counsel to obtain the required certificates. To request a consultation, contact: info@vlolawfirm.com