Court of appeal (Belgium)

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The courts of appeal (Dutch: hof van beroep, French: cour d'appel, German: Appellationshof) are the main appellate courts in the judicial system of Belgium, which hear appeals against judgements of the tribunals of first instance, the enterprise tribunals and the presidents of those tribunals in their judicial area. There are five courts of appeal for each of the five judicial areas, which are the largest geographical subdivisions of Belgium for judicial purposes. The division of the Belgian territory into the five judicial areas (Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Liège and Mons) is laid down in article 156 of the Belgian Constitution. A judicial area covers multiple judicial arrondissements ("districts"), except for the judicial area of Mons. Each arrondissement has a tribunal of first instance. Further below, an overview is provided of the five courts of appeal and the judicial arrondissements their judicial area covers. It is important to note that the courts of appeal do not hear appeals against judgements of the labour tribunals; these are heard by the courts of labour.^[1][2]

The organisation of the courts of appeal and the applicable rules of civil procedure and criminal procedure are laid down in the Belgian Judicial Code and the Belgian Code of Criminal Procedure. The language in which the proceedings of the courts of appeal are held depends on the official languages of their judicial areas: Dutch for the courts of appeal of Antwerp and Ghent, Dutch and French for the court of appeal of Brussels, French for the court of appeal of Mons, and French and German for the court of appeal of Liège. The use of languages in judicial matters is a sensitive topic in Belgium, and is strictly regulated by the law.^[1][2][3]