Insights

A number of important Belgian and EU legislative changes are likely to have an impact in 2024. On the one hand, there are new laws that have been adopted and will start to bite, and, on the other, there are proposals that are expected to firm up into law.

The Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation (CEPANI) has published its newest revision of its rules since July 2020.  The new Rules will enter into force as of 1 January 2023. Highlights of the revision include specific consideration of diversity and inclusion (D&I) in the appointment of arbitrators, more flexibility around the use of virtual hearings, and recognition of the need for more sustainable and greener arbitrations.

Last Thursday, Deminor closed the registration for its new Arco case in view of the upcoming time-bar in January 2023. The Arco case, which commands much media attention, concerns an investor dispute in which 800,000 Arco shareholders are at risk of losing their full investment after Dexia’s bankruptcy in 2011. The investors allege among others that the contracts concluded with the Arco companies are null and void on the basis of fraud (or at least error).

Class actions and their (possible) role in European law jurisdictions have been a hot topic for quite a while and this is not likely to change. The new EU directive 2020/1828 imposes the obligation upon EU member states to introduce a specific legal procedure for collective repair by 25 June 2023. In Belgium, such a procedure for collective repair was already introduced in 2014. With the imminent implementation of said EU directive into Belgian law, this procedure is likely to undergo some substantial changes. During this in-person seminar, Werner Eyskens, Evelien Van Espen, Yaël Rager and Charlotte Stynen will discuss the current and future role of class actions in Belgium, the contours of the existing procedure for collective repair and the potential impact of the expected new rules, as well as the role of third-party litigation funding and the fate of collective proceedings that fall outside the scope of the existing procedure and the new directive.