Summary proceedings

1 Summary proceedings are proceedings aimed at settling an urgent problem situation between the parties as quickly as possible.

One of the conditions for initiating summary proceedings is that it must be so urgent that if immediate settlement were not provided, the damage to one of the parties would be of great magnitude or cause serious inconvenience. Nor should it lead to a ruling on the rights of the parties. So the situation must be pretty self-evident.

However, this judge will never be able to pronounce a final judgment and resolve the dispute definitively.

2. It may therefore be a protective measure (an expert, a sequester, an inventory, ...) or it may be intended to remedy a blatantly illegal or unlawfull situation (a construction ban, a sales ban - eg of a property whose right of ownership is disputed) .

3. Either at the same time or after the execution of the measure, the case will still have to be brought to court “on the substance of the case” to deal with the question of responsibilities and damages.

Summary proceedings are always instituted with the chairman of the court that is competent for the dispute (first instance, corporate court, labor court).

The term for citations can be reduced to 3 working days.

4. Summary proceedings can also be started with a unilateral petition. This is only in cases of absolute necessity, or when the requested measure is exceptionally urgent, that the other party cannot be notified (and it is best not to be notified in advance to still be effective). In this course of action, the defendant is therefore not summoned at first, so that this is really the exception for starting this procedure.

If this urgency is accepted, the chairman will immediately make a decision at the introductory session. Usually he will then impose that the other party must then be further involved in order to enable a contradictory debate.

The decision of the Chairman is always enforceable provisionally notwithstanding any opposition or appeal. If absolutely necessary, the decision can be enforced even to the minute (i.e. on the first document of the judgment). After all, normally an issue (or “gross” or “expedition”) must be ordered first.

5. An appeal or opposition is always possible against the decision and must be lodged within one month from the notification of the decision if the procedure was started by means of a citation and one month after the notification of the decision by court letter if the procedure was started. by means of unilateral petition.

Attention, urgency is assessed at the time of the decision. I.e. If the Court only grants a late date for hearing, it is quite possible and even likely that the urgency has disappeared in the meantime. It would be a tempting means to reduce the workload of the Court were it not for the Court of Casstion (16.6.2011, RCJB, 2012/13, p. 389) to state that the disappearance of this urgency does not prevent the Court from ensuring the regularity of examine the decision of the 1st Judge and, if necessary, annul it.