Which Language for Your Documents at Belgian Courts?

In Belgium, the language in which you submit your documents to a court is not a simple administrative detail - it is a strict legal obligation. Producing a contract in English before the Enterprise Court of Ghent or a French notarial act before the Rechtbank of Antwerp without a sworn translation exposes your file to inadmissibility. This guide explains the applicable rules region by region.

The principle of linguistic territoriality in judicial matters

Belgium is a federal state founded on three linguistic communities. In judicial matters, the language of the procedure is determined by the Coordinated laws on the use of languages in judicial matters (laws of 15 June 1935, coordinated by royal decree). The central principle is linguistic territoriality: each court applies the language of the region in which it is located, independently of the nationality or the mother tongue of the parties.

This principle applies to all procedural acts, to pleadings, to judgments and, crucially for foreign litigants, to the documents produced at the hearing. Any document written in a language foreign to the procedure must be accompanied by a translation in the language of the procedure to be admissible.

The rules by region: Dutch, French or German?

The rule varies depending on the judicial district where the court seized sits:

• Flemish Region: Dutch is mandatory before all courts - Rechtbank van eerste aanleg, Rechtbank van koophandel, Arbeidshof, Hof van Beroep. This includes the courts of Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Louvain, Hasselt, Termonde, Mechelen and Tongeren.
• Walloon Region: French is the language of the procedure before the courts of Liège (outside the district of Eupen), Namur, Charleroi, Mons, Dinant, Arlon, Marche-en-Famenne and Neufchâteau. The Liège-Eupen district constitutes an exception: German is also admitted there as a language of the procedure for the residents of the Eastern cantons.
• Eastern cantons (Eupen-Malmedy-Sankt Vith): German is the third official judicial language. German-speaking residents can conduct their procedure in German before the competent courts.
• Brussels-Capital: the regime is bilingual (FR/NL). The language of the procedure is in principle determined by the language of the first procedural act. The parties can, under certain conditions, request referral to a chamber in the other national language.

Consequences of an untranslated document: inadmissibility and nullity

The sanctions for non-compliance with the linguistic rules in judicial matters are severe. The Belgian Court of Cassation has confirmed on numerous occasions that the violation of the laws on the use of languages in judicial matters is sanctioned by the absolute nullity of the act concerned. In practice:

• A document produced in a foreign language without translation may be set aside from the debates by the judge, which deprives the party of the evidence it intended to provide.
• A writ or an introductory petition drafted in a language other than that of the procedure may be struck with nullity, obliging the party to start the procedure again with the delays and costs that this implies.
• A service of an act in the wrong language may be invalidated, which affects the time limits for appeal or recourse.

Practical cases: when is it imperative to have a translation made?

Here are the most common situations encountered by Belgian and foreign litigants:

• Commercial contract in English before the Enterprise Court of Ghent: sworn translation into Dutch mandatory for each contractual document produced.
• French notarial act before a Flemish court: even if the act was drafted by a Belgian notary in French, it must be translated into Dutch to be produced before a Flemish court.
• Foreign court decision to be recognised in Belgium: the foreign judgment must be translated into the language of the procedure of the Belgian court seized. For an exequatur procedure before the Court of First Instance of Brussels, a translation into French or Dutch will be required depending on the chamber.
• Document in Arabic, Chinese or Russian: any document in a non-official language of procedure must imperatively be translated by a sworn translator registered in the RNEJ register, whatever the language of the procedure.