Until recently, the general rule was that an appeal or opposition suspended the execution of a court ruling, unless the ruling was declared “provisionally enforceable” (“uitvoerbaar bij voorraad / exécutoire par provision”), in which case the winning party could immediately force the losing party to execute the sentence even if the latter had lodged an appeal (or opposition). The provisionally enforceable judgment, however, was the exception (for example, rendered in the case of an imminent danger of insolvency of the debtor). Yet, due to a reform of the Belgian judicial law system, the provisionally enforceable judgment has now become the rule for claims introduced as of November 1, 2015. Also, as part of this recent judicial law reform, written pleadings now need to be drafted in accordance with a predetermined structure. If not, the court will not need to respond to the written pleadings.
Belgium