Stefaan Voet

Civil Procedure in Cross-cultural Dialogue: Eurasia Context

The Idea of the book is to discuss the evolution of civil procedure in different societies, not only in the well-known civil or common law systems, but also in different countries of Eurasia, Asia, etc. Civil procedure in Europe and North America is a subject of enormous scientific and practical importance. We know a lot about these systems. But we do not know enough about civil procedure in the rest of the world. How does it work and what are the main principles? Culture is one of the main factors that makes civil procedure of these countries different. Therefore it is necessary to discuss the main links between different systems of civil procedure. The discussion was held on the basis of National reports from 24 countries.

Belgium’s new specialized judiciary

This brief national report was written for the First Siberian Legal Forum on the ‘Specialization of Judges and Courts: Comparative and Russian Context’. It gives an overview of the Belgian judicial structure. After a short analysis of the judicial organization before 2014, that presents an outline of the Belgian first instance and appellate courts, particular attention is paid to the comprehensive judicial reforms of 2014. The enlargement of the judicial districts and the introduction of (internal and external) judicial mobility will lead to more specialized courts and judges. The creation of a Family and Juvenile Court and the re-allocation of some civil and commercial competences, between the Justice of the Peace and the Commercial Court, will have the same effect. Nevertheless, this report concludes that the 2014 reform is a missed opportunity to create a large “unified” district court in which all first instance courts are merged.

The First Siberian Legal Forum ‘Specialization of Courts and Judges’

the First siberian Legal Forum was held in tyumen (russia) from october 14–16, 2014, and was devoted to the 150 anniversary of the russian Judicial reform of 1864. the conference was organized by tyumen state university, with the support of the tyumen oblast Court, the west siberian district Commercial Court and in association with the Russian Law Journal, which published some of the reports that were presented at the conference.

Mediation in Belgium: A Long and Winding Road

This chapter offers a comprehensive overview of mediation in Belgium. The 2005 Belgian Mediation Act is the leitmotif. First, attention is paid to the mediation agreement and the voluntariness of the mediation process. Second, the accreditation of mediators is discussed and the role the Belgian Federal Mediation Commission plays in that regard. Third, the important issue of confidentiality in the mediation process is analysed. Chaps. 5-7 focus on voluntary (or out-of-court) mediation, including the role of ODR (online dispute resolution), and judicial (or court-connected) mediation. Brief attention is paid to the costs of mediation and legal aid (Chap. 8). The chapter ends with some future perspectives on mediation in Belgium.