As a general rule, lodging an appeal against a judgment no longer suspends its enforceability. This should accelerate the recovery of outstanding debt in Belgium.

Recovering outstanding debt in Belgium can feel like a long-winded and sometimes frustrating job. A creditor who obtained a judgment against a defaulting debtor is often confronted with an appeal by that debtor, lodged with the only intention to put the enforcement of this judgment on a back burner. Most courts of appeal built up a large backlog as a result of the massive workload of among others these dilatory appeals.

Legal & Regulatory

BRRD: FCA publishes modification by consent for Article 55 rules

The Belgian Act of 11 July 2013 on security over movables (the Security over Movables Act) will modernise Belgium's legislation in respect of security over movables. On 7 November 2016, a draft bill has been published postponing the entry into effect of the Security over Movables Act until 1 January 2018 at the latest. In addition to the postponement, the draft bill also fine-tunes certain technical aspects of the Security over Movables Act to achieve maximum legal certainty and practical usefulness.

Since the entry into force of the Financial Collateral Act of 15 December 2004 (the "Collateral Act") implementing Directive 2002/47/EC on financial collateral arrangements as regards linked systems and credit claims (the "Collateral Directive"), financial collateral arrangements have benefitted from increased flexibility and legal certainty in Belgium.

Recent Developments

On 18 November 2009, the Commission approved a restructuring and asset relief package for KBC under the EC State aid rules. KBC is a Belgian integrated banking and insurance group, based primarily in Belgium and Central and Eastern Europe. KBC has received three aid measures to support it during the economic crisis: in December 2008 a recapitalisation of €3.5 billion; in June 2009, a second recapitalisation of €3.5 billion and an asset relief measure on a portfolio of Collateralised Debt Obligations (“CDO”). Approval of these measures was subject to KBC submitting a restructuring plan.

The National Assembly of Republic of Srpska adopted a Law that regulates the deadlines for settlement of financial obligations and penalties applicable in case of failure to comply. The law – published in the Official Gazette no. 31/18 – is effective as of 24th April 2018. The Law applies to legal entities on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the exception of financial institutions, economic entities under insolvency proceedings or economic entities under garnishment or foreclosure. The main novelties introduced by the Law concerning commercial transactions are as follows:

Thomaz Bastos, Waisberg, Kurzweil Advogados and Pinheiro Neto Advogados have helped Máquina de Vendas close a deal to restructure its 3 billion reais debt (US$779 million), in what is thought to Brazil’s largest ever debt restructuring by a retailer. 

Pinheiro Neto advised Máquina de Vendas’ founding partner, Ricardo Nunes.

O Tribunal de Justiça do Estado de São Paulo (TJ-SP) manteve a obrigação do Fundo Garantidor de Créditos (FGC) de restituir a dois clientes do extinto Banco BVA os valores de R$ 10 mil e R$ 94,5 mil, respectivamente. A Corte, porém, entendeu não ser devido danos morais. A decisão, da 37ª Câmara Direito Privado, reformou parte da sentença da 4ª Vara Cível do Foro Regional de Pinheiros, que havia fixado uma indenização de R$ 15 mil para cada um deles.

Direito processual civil e tributário. Execução fiscal ajuizada contra pessoa jurídica falida. Recurso repetitivo (art. 543-C do CPC e Res 8/2008 - STJ)

A constatação posterior ao ajuizamento da execução fiscal de que a pessoa jurídica executada tivera sua falência decretada antes da propositura da ação executiva não implica a extinção do processo sem resolução de mérito.Recurso Especial 1.372.243