Obligation to attempt a settlement before trial

An attempt to reconciliation, of mediation or participatory procedure, at the choice of the parties, is obligatory before any legal action is taken.

This concerns a dispute not exceeding €5,000 or requests for the following disputes:

• Bounding
• Certain easements (right of way, water line, sewer...)
• Distances from plantations (trees and hedges)
• Respect of distances for certain constructions (e.g. for a well built close to a wall)
• Ditching of ditches and canals used for irrigation of properties
• Neighborhood disorder abnormal

Waiver of attempt to reach agreement before trial

The parties shall be exempted from the obligation to attempt conciliation, mediation or participatory proceedings before any legal action in the following cases:

• One of the parties is requesting approval of an agreement, that is, its validation
• A prior appeal is mandatory
• There is a legitimate reason for not doing so (e.g. unavailability of the competent conciliator within a reasonable time)
• The judge or administrative authority must make an attempt at conciliation in advance. This is the case, for example, if referral to the departmental conciliation board or the amicable appeal board is mandatory before referral to the judge.

Negotiation

Amicable settlement is the agreement of the parties to an arrangement. It avoids a trial.

The parties can agree on compensation, that is to say a sum of money, work to be done, goods to be delivered...

A written undertaking is required for the amicable agreement, which is the purpose of the transaction. This document has legal value and can serve as a proof in a future trial.

A third party may facilitate the agreement. There are 3 choices.

Conciliator of justice

The conciliator of justice may invite the parties to come to the place where it carries out its task. He may also go to the premises and hear any person who is relevant to the conciliation, with the agreement of the conciliation officer.

In the event of conciliation, even partial conciliation, a statement of agreement shall be signed by the parties and the conciliator of justice. A copy shall be given to each party and sent to the registry of the competent court.

The parties may ask the court to validate the finding of agreement by seizing it by a request written.

Mediator

It can be a mediator specialized: civil mediator, family mediator, consumer ombudsman,...

The Ombudsman has no powers of inquiry.

The mediator may receive the parts together or separately.

If there is no amicable agreement, he offers them a solution to settle the dispute, by simple mail or by email.

It shall set a time limit for acceptance or refusal of its proposal.

Lawyer (Participatory Procedure Agreement)

Negotiation between lawyers takes place only after the signature of a first agreement between the parties, called convention on participatory procedure.

The Convention includes various mutual commitments and guarantees. It makes it possible to lay down the terms of the negotiation (time limits, exchange of documents, subject matter of the dispute). The parties shall set a time limit in the agreement during which they may not bring the matter before the court. This period may be reduced or abolished in the event of an emergency.

Validation of the agreement

Certain arrangements must be validated by the judge in order to be carried out. The parties may seize it by a request to get this agreement approved.

When they are signed by the lawyers of the parties, agreements resulting from mediation, conciliation or participatory proceedings can be executed without going before the judge. The registry of the court shall include the enforcement order, i.e. a statement permitting the enforcement of the agreement.