National Chamber of
Judicial Officers of Belgium
NKGB - CNHB

The judicial officer who arrives for the purpose of attaching your assets may rely on a legal presumption. In this way, he may presume that all assets that he finds on site – i.e. at your address - belong to you and he may therefore attach those assets. Where appropriate, he will note your comments in this regard on his writ of attachment. What should you do after the attachment? You must urgently contact the real owner of the goods and inform him/her of the attachment. The owner can then institute an action for the recovery of the goods before the attachment section of the court and provide proof of ownership. Where appropriate, and with a view to preparing the draft summons for the recovery action, it is advisable for the owner to contact a lawyer.

The tariffs for the various services performed by a judicial officer are statutorily determined in the Royal Decree of 30 November 1976. There is a fixed or determinable fee for every activity. The cost price of an intervention can accordingly vary according to the necessary activities and the complexity of the case. If you ask a judicial officer to intervene, he will usually ask you to make an advance payment. He will make every effort to recover the advanced costs from the judgment debtor, unless he has provided a personal service to you that falls outside the scope of his compulsory judicial mandate. Before instructing a judicial officer, you can always contact him to make an estimate of the costs to be incurred.

If the judicial officer's settlement statement is unclear, if you have questions about one or more items on the settlement statement, or if it appears that statutory or ethical rules have not been observed, it is best to first contact the office of the judicial officer concerned to obtain clarification. If this proves ineffective, you can contact the chairman or reporter of the judicial district chamber to which the judicial officer belongs (to possibly submit a complaint), and/or the legal department of the National Chamber of Judicial Officers (but then only for legal advice, as the National Chamber is not a disciplinary organ or tribunal).

In that case, you can consider submitting an application to court for a collective debt settlement order. That application can be signed by you or a lawyer. If the court allows such a procedure, your debts will be consolidated. A debt mediator will be appointed, who will then try to reach a debt settlement arrangement with your creditors. The execution of orders for unpaid amounts will be suspended from the time this procedure is sanctioned. Although this procedure offers a possible solution to your problems, you should nevertheless be aware that it will require significant personal effort from your side.

No, attachment is not possible without the "prior service" of an "enforceable instrument". An "enforceable instrument" is a judicial decision (by the court), a public notarial deed (executed by a civil-law notary) or, in certain cases, a document drawn up by the applicant itself (e.g. a writ of execution for indirect taxes or the assessment register of direct taxes). "Prior service" means that you must be given notice of the enforceable instrument before the attachment. As a rule, you will also receive an order for payment before the attachment. Where appropriate, the service of the enforceable instrument will be accompanied by this order for payment. The attachment may take place one day after the order for payment is served.

No. Some possessions are indeed exempt from attachment. This exemption from attachment may arise by law, from the nature of the assets, or from the fact that the assets are closely connected with the debtor's person. Assets that are exempt from attachment therefore include: 1. The assets listed in Article 1408 of the Belgian Judicial Code and which guarantee reasonable living conditions; for instance: a bed (or beds), clothes, a washing machine and iron, appliances needed to heat the family home, a table and chairs enabling the family to have a meal together, as well as the dinnerware and household utensils that are absolutely necessary for the family, a cooker, a refrigerator, items intended for use by the children (i.e. for hobbies, studies and occupational training) who are dependent on those who live under the same roof, pets, the items and products needed for personal hygiene and for keeping the rooms clean and tidy, the tools needed for maintaining the garden and the items needed for worship. 2. Assets that have no commercial value and are accordingly of no use to the creditor; for instance: ornaments, photographs and family mementos 3. Assets that are inalienable because they are so closely connected with the debtor's person; for instance: false teeth or an ear prosthesis 4. Assets that are declared exempt from attachment by law; for instance: the income and salary of a minor, the income of prisoners from their penal labour.

One can resort to a judicial officer for any unpaid debt (arrear rental, invoices, etc). In order to limit the costs of a procedure as far as possible, the judicial officer will firstly try to recover the money by way of amicable settlement. To this end, he will send a demand to the debtor inviting him to pay his debt within a specific period. If the debtor pays, the settlement will be economically advantageous for both the creditor and the debtor. If the debtor does not pay, the creditor can ask a judicial officer to summons the debtor before a court. If the court orders the debtor to pay the debt, the debtor must either voluntarily comply with that judgment, or the judicial officer can compel the judgment debtor to observe the court's ruling through various enforcement measures (e.g. attachment of movable assets, attachment of salary by way of garnishment, attachment of a current account or attachment of immovable property).

arious scenarios are possible: - you actually owe the money and have the financial means to pay it. In this case, pay your debt at the earliest possible opportunity into the judicial officer's account to limit the costs for which you are liable as far as possible. - you actually owe the money but do not have the financial means to pay it. In that case, it is best to contact the office of the judicial officer concerned as soon as possible to try and arrange a payment plan. - you do not agree with the letter of demand and do not intend paying the requested amount. In that case, you must immediately inform the judicial officer of your decision by means of a letter. If you do not do this, you run the risk of being summoned by the alleged creditor.

Article 516 of the Belgian Judicial Code determines that judicial officers may proceed to make findings on purely material facts at the request of individuals. Numerous examples of this exist in practice. A judicial officer may draw up an inventory of fixtures of an apartment. He can also determine the progress of building works or damage due to weather conditions. In this way, he describes an existing situation – i.e. everything he can see or hear. He may not give any advice or his opinion because he must aim for complete objectivity.