BELGIAN JUDICIAL CODE
Sixth Part: Arbitration
(adopted 4 July 1972 and last amended on 19 May 1998)
Article 1676
1. Any dispute which has arisen or may arise out of a specific legal relationship and in respect of which it is permissible to compromise may be the subject of an arbitration agreement.
2. Anyone who has legal capacity or the right to conclude a settlement can conclude an arbitration agreement. Without prejudice to specific laws, legal persons governed by public law can however only conclude an arbitration agreement if the object thereof is to resolve disputes relating to the conclusion or the performance of an agreement. The conditions that apply to the conclusion of the contract, the performance of which constitutes the object of the arbitration, also apply to the conclusion of the arbitration agreement. Moreover, legal persons governed by public law may conclude an arbitration agreement on all matters defined by law or by royal decree decided by the Council of Ministers. The decree may also set forth the conditions and rules to which the conclusion of such an agreement is subject.
3. The above mentioned stipulations shall apply without prejudice to the exceptions provided by law.
Article 1677
An arbitration agreement shall be constituted by an instrument in writing signed by the parties or by other documents binding on the parties and showing their intention to have recourse to arbitration.
Article 1678
1. An arbitration agreement shall not be valid if it gives one of the parties thereto a privileged position with regard to the appointment of the arbitrator or arbitrators.
2. Without prejudice to the exceptions provided by law, an arbitration agreement concluded before a dispute has arisen that comes under the jurisdiction of the Labour Court pursuant to Articles 578 through 583, shall by operation of law be null and void.
Article 1679
1. The Court seized of a dispute which is the subject of an arbitration agreement shall, at the request of either party, declare that it has no jurisdiction, unless, in so far as concerns the dispute, the agreement is not valid or has terminated; the plea must be raised before any other plea or defense.
2. An application to the Court for preservation or interim measures shall not be incompatible with an arbitration agreement and shall not imply a renunciation of the agreement.
Article 1680
Any person who has the capacity to enter into contracts, except those who are under age, whether they are emancipated or not, those who are provided with a legal administrator as well as those who are permanently excluded from voting or whose electoral rights are suspended, may act as an arbitrator.
Article 1681
1. The arbitral tribunal shall be composed of an uneven number of arbitrators. There may be a sole arbitrator.
2. If the arbitration agreement provides for an even number of arbitrators an additional arbitrator shall be appointed.
3. If the parties have not settled the number of arbitrators in the arbitration agreement and do not agree on the number, the arbitral tribunal shall be composed of three arbitrators.
Article 1682
The parties may, either in the arbitration agreement or subsequently thereto, appoint the sole arbitrator or the arbitrators or entrust the appointment to a third person. If the parties have not appointed the arbitrators and have not agreed on a method of appointment, each party shall, when the dispute arises, appoint an arbitrator or an equal number of arbitrators, as the case may be.
Article 1683
1. The party who intends bringing a dispute before an arbitral tribunal shall give notice to the other party. The notice shall refer to the arbitration agreement and specify the subject-matter of the dispute, unless the arbitration agreement already does so.
2. If there is more than one arbitrator, and if the parties are entitled to appoint them, the notice shall specify the arbitrator or arbitrators appointed by the party invoking the arbitration agreement; the other party shall be invited, in the notice, to appoint the arbitrator or arbitrators whom he is entitled to appoint.
3. If a third person has been entrusted with the appointment of a sole arbitrator or of arbitrators and has not done so, he also shall be given notice in accordance with paragraph 1 and invited to make the appointment.
4. The appointment of an arbitrator may not be withdrawn after notification of the appointment.
Article 1684
1. If the party or third person to whom notice has been given in accordance with Article 1683 has not, within a period of one month from the notice, appointed the arbitrator or arbitrators whom the party or third person is entitled to appoint, the President of the Civil Court shall make the nomination at the request of either party.
2. If the parties have agreed that there shall be a sole arbitrator and they have not appointed him by mutual consent within a period of one month from the notice under Article 1683, his appointment shall be made as provided in paragraph 1 here above.
Article 1685
1. Where the arbitrators appointed or nominated in accordance with the foregoing provisions are even in number, they shall nominate another arbitrator to be president of the arbitral tribunal. If they do not agree and if the parties have not provided otherwise, the President of the Civil Court shall make the necessary nomination at the request of either party. The President may be seized after the expiration of a period of one month from the acceptance of his office by the last arbitrator or as soon as the failure to agree is established.
2. Where the arbitrators appointed are uneven in number they shall nominate one of themselves to be president of the arbitral tribunal, unless the parties have agreed on another method of appointment. If the arbitrators do not agree, the appointment shall be made as provided in paragraph 1 here above.
Article 1686
1. In the cases mentioned in Articles 1684 and 1685, the decision of the President of the Civil Court shall not be subject to an appeal of any sort.
2. The decision of the President shall limit neither the powers of the arbitrators to rule on their own jurisdiction, nor the right of a party to invoke the arbitral tribunal’s lack of jurisdiction.
Article 1687
1. If an arbitrator dies or cannot for a reason of law or of fact perform his office, or if he refuses to accept it or does not carry it out, or if his office is terminated by mutual agreement of the parties, he shall be replaced in accordance with the rules governing his appointment or nomination. However, if the arbitrator or arbitrators are named in the arbitration agreement, the agreement shall terminate ipso jure.
2. A disagreement arising out of any case envisaged in paragraph 1 shall be brought before the President of the Civil Court on the application of one of the parties. If the Court decides that there are grounds for replacing the arbitrator, it shall nominate his successor, taking into account the intention of the parties, as appearing from the arbitration agreement.
3. The parties may derogate from the provisions of this Article.
Article 1688
Unless the parties have agreed otherwise, neither the arbitration agreement nor the office of arbitrator shall be terminated by the death of one of the parties.
Article 1689
Once he has accepted his mission, an arbitrator cannot withdraw, unless the Civil Court allows him to do so at his request. The Court shall rule only after having heard the parties or having had them convoked by the Office of the Civil Court. The Court’s decision shall not be subject to an appeal of any sort.
Article 1690
1. Arbitrators may be challenged if circumstances exist which cause legitimate doubts regarding their impartiality or independence.
2. A party may not challenge an arbitrator appointed by him except on a ground of which the party becomes aware after the appointment.
Article 1691
1. The challenge shall, as soon as the challenger becomes aware of the ground of challenge, be notified to the arbitrators and, where applicable, to the third person who has, in pursuance of the arbitration agreement, appointed the arbitrator challenged. The arbitrators shall thereupon suspend further proceedings.
2. If, within a period of ten days of the notice of the challenge being given to him, the arbitrator challenged has not resigned, the arbitral tribunal shall so notify the challenger. The challenger shall, on pain of being barred, summon the arbitrator and the other parties before the Civil Court within a period of ten days from receiving such notification. Otherwise, the proceedings before the arbitrators shall be resumed ipso jure. The appeal against the Civil Court’s ruling shall be decided in accordance with the provisions of Articles 843 through 847 of this Code.
3. If the arbitrator resigns or if the challenge is upheld by the Court the arbitrator shall be replaced in accordance with the rules governing his appointment or nomination. However, if he has been named in the arbitration agreement, the agreement shall terminate ipso jure. The parties may derogate from the provisions of this paragraph.
Article 1692
1. The parties may in the arbitration agreement exclude certain categories of persons from being arbitrators.
2. If such an exclusion has been disregarded with respect to the composition of the arbitral tribunal, the irregularity shall be invoked in accordance with the provisions of Article 1691.
Article 1693
1. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 1694, the parties may decide on the rules of the arbitral procedure and on the place of arbitration. If the parties do not indicate their intention before the first arbitrator has accepted his office, the decision shall be a matter for the arbitrators. If the seat of the arbitration has not been determined by the parties or by the arbitrators, the place where the award is rendered, as stated in the award, shall serve as the seat of the arbitration.
2. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, and after consulting with them, the arbitral tribunal may hold its hearings and meetings in any other location that it considers appropriate.
3. The president of the arbitral tribunal shall regulate the hearings and conduct the proceedings.
Article 1694
1. The arbitral tribunal shall give each party an opportunity of substantiating his claims and of presenting his case.
2. The arbitral tribunal shall make an award after oral proceedings. The parties may validly be summoned by registered letter, unless they have agreed upon any other method of summons. The parties may appear in person.
3. The procedure shall be in writing where the parties have so provided or in so far as they have waived oral proceedings.
4. Each party shall have the right to be represented by an advocate or by a representative specially empowered in writing and admitted by the arbitral tribunal. Each party may be assisted a lawyer or by any person of his choice who is admitted by the arbitral tribunal. The parties may not be represented or assisted by a business agent.
Article 1695
If, without legitimate cause, a party properly summoned does not appear or does not present his case within the period fixed, the arbitral tribunal may, unless the other party requests an adjournment, investigate the matter in dispute and make an award.
Article 1696
1. Without prejudice to Article 1679, paragraph 2, the arbitral tribunal may order interim and conservatory measures at the request of a party, with the exception of attachment orders.
2. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitral tribunal shall freely assess the admissibility and weight of the evidence.
3. The arbitral tribunal may call witnesses, appoint experts, organize site visits and order the personal appearance of the parties. The arbitral tribunal may administer a decisive oath and request from the parties a supplementary oath. It may also order a party to disclose documents in its possession under the terms of Article 877 of this Code.
4. When the arbitral tribunal has called witnesses and when those witnesses fail to appear voluntarily, or refuse the oath, or refuse to testify, the arbitral tribunal shall allow the parties, or one of them alone, to petition the Civil Court to appoint a magistrate to conduct the hearing of the witnesses. This shall be done as in civil proceedings. The time limits of the arbitral proceedings are ipso jure suspended until the end of this inquiry.
5. The arbitral tribunal may not order the verification of the authenticity of documents nor rule on disputes relating to the submission of documents or allegedly forged documents. In such cases, it shall leave it to the parties to refer the matter to the Civil Court within a given period.
6. The time limits of the arbitral proceedings are automatically stayed until the arbitral tribunal will have been officially informed by the most diligent party of a final decision on the incident.
Article 1696 bis.
1. Any interested third party may request from the arbitral tribunal to be allowed to intervene in the proceedings. The request must be put to the arbitral tribunal in writing, and the tribunal shall communicate it to the parties.
2. A party may call upon a third party to intervene in the proceedings.
3. In any event, the admissibility of such interventions requires an arbitration agreement between the third party and the parties involved in the arbitration. That agreement is subject, moreover, to the unanimous consent of the arbitral tribunal.
Article 1697
1. The arbitral tribunal may rule in respect of its own jurisdiction and, for this purpose, may examine the validity of the arbitration agreement.
2. A ruling that the contract is invalid shall not entail ipso jure the nullity of the arbitration agreement contained in it.
3. The arbitral tribunal’s ruling that it has jurisdiction may not be contested before the Civil Court except at the same time as the award on the main issue and by the same procedure. The Civil Court may at the request of one of the parties decide whether a ruling that the arbitral tribunal has no jurisdiction is well founded.
4. The appointment of an arbitrator by a party shall not deprive that party of his rights to challenge the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal.
Article 1698
1. The parties may, up to the time of acceptance of office by the first arbitrator, settle the period within which the award is to be made or provide for a method according to which the period is to be settled.
2. If the parties have not prescribed a period or a method of prescribing a period, if the arbitral tribunal delays in making the award and if a period of six months has elapsed from the date on which all the arbitrators accepted office in respect of the dispute submitted to arbitration, the Civil Court may, deciding at the request of one of the parties, stipulate a period for the arbitral tribunal. The Civil Court’s decision shall not be subject to an appeal of any sort.
3. The office of arbitrator shall terminate if the award is not made within the relevant period unless that period is extended by agreement between the parties.
4. Where arbitrators are named in the arbitration agreement and the award is not made within the relevant period, the arbitration agreement shall terminate ipso jure, unless the parties have agreed otherwise.
Article 1699
The arbitral tribunal may make a final award or render interlocutory decisions in the form of one or more awards.
Article 1700
Except where otherwise stipulated, arbitrators shall make their awards in accordance with the rules of law.
When a legal person governed by public law is a party to an arbitration agreement, the arbitrators shall always decide in accordance with the rules of law, without prejudice to special legal provisions.
Article 1701
1. An award shall be made after a deliberation in which all the arbitrators shall take part. The award shall be made by an absolute majority of votes, unless the parties have agreed on another majority.
2. The parties may also agree that, when a majority cannot be obtained, the president of the arbitral tribunal shall have a casting vote.
3. Except where otherwise stipulated, if the arbitrators are to award a sum of money, and a majority cannot be obtained for any particular sum, the votes for the highest sum shall be counted as votes for the next highest sum until a majority is obtained.
4. An award shall be set down in writing and signed by the arbitrators. If one or more of the arbitrators are unable or unwilling to sign, the fact shall be recorded in the award. However, the award shall bear a number of signatures which is at least equal to a majority of the arbitrators.
5. An award shall, in addition to the operative part, contain the following particulars:
| a. | the names and permanent addresses of the arbitrators; |
| b. | the names and permanent addresses of the parties; |
| c. | the subject-matter of the dispute; |
| d. | the date on which the award was made; |
| e. | the place of arbitration and the place where the award was made. |
6. The reasons for an award shall be stated.
Article 1702
1. The president of the arbitral tribunal shall give notice to each party of the award by sending him a copy thereof, signed in accordance with paragraph 4 of Article 22.
2. The president of the arbitral tribunal shall deposit the original of the award with the registry of the Civil Court; he shall inform the parties of the deposit.
3. The mission of the arbitrators ends with the notification of the award which puts an end to the procedure to the parties and its filing in accordance with the provisions mentioned here above.
Article 1702 bis.
1. Within thirty days of the notification of the award, unless the parties have agreed on another period:
| a. | One of the parties, with notice to the other party may request the arbitral tribunal to correct in the text of the award any clerical, computational or typographical error, or any other error of a similar nature. |
| b. | A party may, with notice to the other party, request that the arbitral tribunal interpret a given point or passage of its award, provided the parties have so agreed. |
If the arbitral tribunal considers the request founded, it shall correct or interpret its award within thirty days of the request. The interpretation shall form part of the award.
2. The arbitral tribunal may, on its own motion, correct any error mentioned in paragraph 1(a) here above within thirty days of the date of the award.
3. The arbitral tribunal may, if necessary, extend the period within which it is allowed to correct or interpret its award pursuant to paragraph 1 here above.
4. The provisions of Article 1701 apply to the correction or interpretation of the award.
5. When the same arbitrators cannot be reconvened, the request for interpretation or correction of the award shall be submitted to the Civil Court, whose President has jurisdiction to grant the exequatur in accordance with the rules of jurisdiction set forth in Articles 1717 and 1719, paragraph 2.
Article 1703
1. Unless the award is contrary to ordre public or the dispute was not capable of settlement by arbitration, an arbitral award has the authority of res judicata when it has been notified in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 1702 and may no longer be contested before the arbitrators.
2. An appeal against an arbitral award is only possible if the parties have provided for that possibility in the arbitration agreement. Unless provided otherwise, the period for an appeal is one month from the notification of the award.
Article 1704
1. An arbitral award may be contested before a judicial authority only by way of an application to set aside and may be set aside only in the cases mentioned in this Article.
2. An arbitral award may be set aside:
| a. | if it is contrary to ordre public; |
| b. | if the dispute was not capable of settlement by arbitration; |
| c. | if there is no valid arbitration agreement; |
| d. | if the arbitral tribunal has exceeded its jurisdiction or its powers; |
| e. | if the arbitral tribunal has omitted to make an award in respect of one or more points of the dispute and if the points omitted cannot be separated from the points in respect of which an award has been made; |
| f. | if the award was made by an arbitral tribunal irregularly constituted; |
| g. | if the parties have not been given an opportunity of substantiating their claims and presenting their case, or if there has been disregard of any other obligatory rule of the arbitral procedure, in so far as such disregard has had an influence on the arbitral award; |
| h. | if the formalities prescribed in paragraph 4 of Article 1701 have not been fulfilled; |
| i. | if the reasons for the award have not been stated; |
| j. | if the award contains conflicting provisions. |
3. An award may also be set aside:
| a. | if it was obtained by fraud; |
| b. | if it is based on evidence that has been declared false by a judicial decision having the force of res judicata or on evidence recognized as false; |
| c. | if, after it was made, there has been discovered a document or other piece of evidence which would have had a decisive influence on the award and which was withheld through the act of the other party. |
4. A case mentioned in sub-paragraph c, d or f of paragraph 2 shall be deemed not to constitute a ground for setting aside an award where the party availing himself of it had knowledge of it during the arbitration proceedings and did not invoke it at the time.
5. Grounds for the challenge and exclusion of arbitrators provided for under Articles 1690 and 1692 shall not constitute grounds for setting aside within the meaning of paragraph 2.f of this Article, even when they become known only after the award is made.
Article 1705
If there are grounds for setting aside any part of an award, that part shall be set aside only if it can be separated from the other parts of the award.
Article 1706
1. The grounds for setting aside an arbitral award shall, on pain of being barred, be put forward by the party concerned in one and the same proceedings, except, however, in the case of a ground for setting aside provided for in paragraph 3 of Article 1704 where the ground is not known until later.
2. An application to set aside an award shall be admissible only where the award may no longer be contested before the arbitrators.
Article 1707
1. An application to set aside an award, based on one of the grounds provided for in paragraph 2.c to j of Article 1704 shall, on pain of being barred, be made within a period of three months from the date on which the award was notified. However, that period shall begin to run only from the date on which the award is no longer capable of contestation before arbitrators.
2. The defendant in an application to set aside an award may apply, in the same proceedings, for the award to be set aside, even if the period laid down in paragraph 1 has expired.
3. An application to set aside an award, based on one of the grounds provided for in paragraph 3 of Article 1704, shall be made within a period of three months from either the date of the discovery of the fraud, document or other piece of evidence, or the date on which the evidence was declared false or recognized as false, provided that a period of five years from the date on which the award was notified in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 1702 has not expired.
4. The Court seized of an application to set aside an award shall examine proprio motu whether the award is contrary to ordre public and whether the dispute was capable of settlement by arbitration.
Article 1708
1. When the arbitral tribunal has omitted to decide on one or more issues of the dispute which can be separated from those on which it has decided, it may, at the request of a party, complete the award, even if the periods mentioned in Article 1698 have expired, unless the other party disputes that issues have been omitted or that the omitted issues can be separated from those which the tribunal has decided.
2. In that case, the dispute shall be brought before the Civil Court by the most diligent party. Should the Civil Court decide that the omissions can be separated from those issues on which the arbitral tribunal did decide, it shall refer the parties back to the arbitral tribunal in order to complete the award.
Article 1709
The arbitrators may order their award to be provisionally enforceable notwithstanding an appeal, and without prejudice to the rules of consignment. They may also subject the provisional enforcement to the establishment of security in accordance with the provisions of this Code.
Article 1709 bis.
The arbitrators may order a party to pay a penalty. Articles 1385 bis through octies apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 1710
1. An arbitral award may be enforced only when an enforcement formula has been apposed to it by the President of the Civil Court on the application of the interested party; the party against which the enforcement is requested cannot, at this stage of the proceedings, claim to be heard.
2. The President can grant leave to enforce the award only if it can no longer be contested before the arbitrator or arbitrators or if the arbitrators have declared it to be provisionally enforceable notwithstanding an appeal. The decision of the President is enforceable notwithstanding an appeal, without prejudice to Article 1714.
3. The President shall refuse the application if the award or its enforcement is contrary to ordre public or if the dispute was not capable of settlement by arbitration.
4. The decision shall be notified to the petitioner, by judicial post, by the Office of the Court within five days of its pronouncement.
Article 1711
1. Where the request is dismissed, the petitioner may file an appeal with the Court of Appeal within one month of its notification. This appeal is served on the party against which the enforcement of the award is requested by bailiff’s notification, containing a summons to appear before the Court of Appeal.
2. Should that party wish to request that the award be set aside without having already made an application to that effect, it must bring such an application before the Civil Court, on pain being barred, within one month of the notification of the appeal. The Court of Appeal shall postpone its decision until a final decision will have been rendered on the application to set aside the award.
Article 1712
1. A decision apposing an enforcement formula to an award shall be notified by the petitioner to the other party. An opposition may be filed before the Civil Court within a period of one month from the date on which the decision is notified.
2. A party who files this opposition and seeks the setting aside of the award without having previously made application for this shall, on pain of being barred, make his application in the same proceedings and within the period prescribed in paragraph 1. A party who, while not exercising the right of opposition provided for in paragraph 1, seeks to secure the setting aside of an award shall, on pain of being barred, make his application for setting aside within the period prescribed in paragraph 1.
Article 1713
1. In the cases mentioned in Articles 1711 and 1712, the applications for setting aside the award which are based on the absence of a valid arbitration clause, are not subject to the period mentioned in Article 1707, paragraph 1.
2. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 1707, paragraph 3, the party that learned of one of the grounds for setting aside the award mentioned in Article 1704, paragraph 3, only after the notification of the decision granting enforcement, may request nevertheless that the award be set aside on such ground in spite of the fact that the one-month period mentioned in Articles 1711 and 1712 have expired.
Article 1714
1. In the case either of an appeal against the decision apposing an enforcement formula to an award or of an application for an award to be set aside, the Court may, at the request of one of the parties, order the enforcement of the award to be stayed or make the enforcement subject to the establishment of security.
2. A decision apposing an enforcement formula to an award shall be without effect to the extent that the arbitral award has been set aside.
Article 1715
1. Where, before an arbitral tribunal, a compromise has been entered into between the parties in order to put an end to a dispute of which the tribunal is seized, that compromise may be recorded in an instrument prepared by the arbitral tribunal and signed by the arbitrators as well as by the parties. The instrument shall be subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 1702. The instrument may, on the application of the interested party, have an enforcement formula apposed to it by the President of the Civil Court.
2. The President of the Civil Court shall refuse the application if the compromise or its enforcement is contrary to ordre public or if the dispute was not capable of settlement by arbitration.
3. The decision is notified by judicial post by the Office of the Civil Court within five days of its pronouncement.
Article 1716
1. The decision apposing an enforcement formula to the settlement must be notified by the petitioner to the other party. Within one month of the date of its notification, an opposition may be filed against it before the Civil Court.
2. If the request is denied, the petitioner may file an appeal in accordance with Article 1711.
3. The decision that apposing an enforcement formula to the settlement becomes ineffective to the extent the award is set aside.
Article 1717
1. Subject to the provisions of Article 1719, paragraph 2, the Court that has jurisdiction for applying Part Six of this Code shall be the Court mentioned in the arbitration agreement or any later agreement reached prior to the determination of the seat of the arbitration.
2. When no agreement exists, the Court of jurisdiction shall be the Court of the seat of the arbitration. When no seat has been determined, the Court of jurisdiction shall be the Court that would have had jurisdiction, had the matter not been submitted to arbitration.
3. […]
4. The parties may, by an express statement in the arbitration agreement or by a later agreement, exclude any application for the setting aside of an arbitral award, in case none of them is a physical person of Belgian nationality or a physical person having his normal residence in Belgium or a legal person having its principal office or a branch office in Belgium.
Article 1718
1. When an agreement to arbitrate is reached regarding an appeal against a decision of the Civil Court or of the Commercial Court, the arbitral award can only be executed after the Court of Appeal has apposed an enforcement formula to the award and after the party against which the enforcement is requested has been summoned.
2. Should that party wish to set aside the award without having previously filed an application in this respect, it must file its application, on pain of being barred, in the same proceedings, subject to the provisions of Article 1713.
3. The decisions of the Court of Appeal are not subject to appeal.
Article 1719
1. The President of the Civil Court shall, upon request, rule on the application for exequatur for foreign awards rendered on the basis of an arbitration agreement.
2. The application is brought before the President of the Civil Court in the jurisdiction of which the person against whom the enforcement is sought has his domicile or, in the absence of a domicile, his place of residence. If that person is neither domiciled in or a resident of Belgium, the application is brought before the President of the Civil Court where the award is to be enforced.
3. The petitioner shall elect domicile in the jurisdiction of the Court.
4. He shall enclose with his request the original copy of the award and of the arbitration agreement, or a copy thereof that fulfils the conditions for their authenticity.
5. The President of the Court examines the requests; to this end, he may summon to chambers the petitioner as well as the party against which the enforcement is sought. The summons is sent by the Office of the Court.
Article 1720
Within five days of its pronouncement, the decision of the Civil Court is notified to the petitioner by judicial post by the Office of the Court.
Article 1721
When the request is denied, the petitioner may, within one month of its notification, appeal to the Court of Appeal. This appeal is served by bailiff’s notification on the party against which the enforcement has been requested, with a summons to appear before the Court of Appeal.
Article 1722
The decision which grants enforceability must be communicated by the petitioner to the person against whom the enforcement is requested. An opposition may be filed against this decision with the Civil Court within one month of its notification.
Article 1723
Unless there is a reason to apply an existing treaty between Belgium and the country in which the award was rendered, the Court shall deny the exequatur:
1. If the award can still be appealed before the arbitrators and if the arbitrators did not make the award provisionally enforceable notwithstanding an appeal
2. If the award or its enforcement is contrary to public policy or if the dispute was not arbitrable.
3. If a ground for setting aside the award pursuant to Article 1704 is established.