The new Belgian Arbitration Act of 24 June 2013 entered into force on 1 September 2013. On the first anniversary of this progressive and modern piece of legislation, it is appropriate to briefly review its most important innovations.
The act of 24 June 2013 (the "Act") amended Chapter VI of the Judicial Code (articles 1676–1723 Judicial Code). The Act was published in the Official Gazette on 28 June 2013 and entered into force on 1 September 2013. It applies to arbitration and court procedures related to arbitration initiated after its entry into force (article 59 of the Act).
The legislator wished to introduce a global reform, and hence to establish one of the most modern, progressive arbitration acts in the world. The legislator took the UNCITRAL Model Law as a basis, and introduced the following innovations.
First, the legislator clarified the conditions for objective arbitrability, namely the material criterion of the pecuniary nature of the dispute (article 1676, §1 Judicial Code): Any pecuniary claim may be submitted to arbitration. Non-pecuniary claims with regard to which a settlement may be made may also be submitted to arbitration.
Secondly, some basic principles were introduced and/or confirmed, such as procedural fairness and the equality of the parties (article 1699 Judicial Code).
Moreover, the legislator adopted measures to speed up arbitration proceedings and to make them more efficient.
For instance, the annulment of an award can only be requested on a more limited number of grounds and, in certain cases, only in the event that the violation has had an influence on the award (article 1717, §3 Judicial Code). The annulment procedure can only be started within a period of three months of notification of the award (article 1717, §4 Judicial Code). Also, the "three tier system", which slowed down arbitration proceedings, has been abolished. Hence, court decisions regarding annulment will be taken by the courts of first instance in first and last resort. However, a procedure before the Court of Cassation ("Cour de Cassation"/"Hof van Cassatie") remains possible under article 609 Judicial Code. Furthermore, the legislator wished to enhance the degree of specialisation. The request for annulment must be submitted to the competent court of first instance situated in the seat of one of the courts of appeal. Thus, only the courts of first instance of Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp, Liège and Mons continue to have jurisdiction.
In addition, the principle of favor arbitrandum has been enhanced (article 1717, §6 Judicial Code). Indeed, the legislator wanted to ensure that the annulment of an award would remain the solution of last resort in order to remedy an irregularity. At the request of one of the parties, the court of first instance, when receiving a request for annulment of an award, may suspend the annulment proceedings for a period that it shall determine, in order to give the arbitral tribunal the possibility of resuming the arbitration procedure or to take any other measure to eliminate the grounds for annulment.
Finally, the condemnation enclosed in an arbitration award becomes time-barred after a period of 10 years as from the date of the communication of the award to the parties (article 1722 Judicial Code).