Arbitration in Belgium : A Practitioner's Guide

Abstract

Despite the obvious advantages accruing from its central location and the presence of the EU institutions in its capital city Brussels, Belgium has never fully fulfilled its potential to emerge as an attractive jurisdiction for international arbitration. Now, however, with the adoption in 2013 of an entirely new arbitration law, and the accompanying overhaul of the rules of CEPANI, the Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation, Brussels is poised to progress rapidly towards the top rank of European and global seats of arbitration. This is the first comprehensive treatise in English to provide practical guidance to arbitration practitioners, in-house counsel, and judges on how to conduct arbitrations in Belgium. To facilitate its use, it is structured as an article-by-article commentary on the 2013 Law addressing the following aspects of each article: • the purpose of the provision; • comparison with the UNCITRAL Model Law on Commercial Arbitration; • party autonomy; • issues of costs; and • interplay with the rules of other major arbitration institutions and the New York Convention. The core of each article commentary is an in-depth analysis that provides recommendations to practitioners and judges. The analysis goes beyond the contents of the commented article and deals with related issues that are not addressed expressly in the Law but may be of relevance for the issues covered in the provision in question. Arbitration professionals will find here convincing evidence of the liberal system for arbitration now prevailing in Belgium, along with rules that reflect the most recent trends in international practice. The description and analysis offered are sure to contribute to the recognition of Belgium as a global arbitral jurisdiction.