Refer the case to the protection litigation judge (credits, house lease)

Verified 22 November 2024 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister), Ministry of Justice

You have a dispute about the residential lease or loans (consumption, real estate) ? It's the protection litigation judge who is competent, whatever the amount, less than or greater than €10,000. The lawyer is not obligatory. Depending on your situation, we will provide you with the information you need to know.

Warning  

The procedure is special in the case of over-indebtedness, of expulsion or protection of adults.

The protection litigation judge shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine disputes concerning:

  • The consumer credit or the mortgage. For example, as a borrower, you can apply to this judge for a grace period if you have difficulty paying the monthly installments of the credit (consumer credit, mortgage). The judge may postpone or stagger, within two years, the payment of the sums due, in particular in the event of dismissal.
  • The residential lease (lease). For example, as a tenant, you can apply to the judge for restitution of the security deposit after the state of the exit. As a landlord, you can ask the judge to order the tenant to pay unpaid rents and to find the termination of the house lease leading to the eviction.

You can refer to the protection litigation judge by request, by subpoena or by joint request.

You can use the request only if the amount of your requests does not exceed €5,000. To set the amount of your dispute, you need to consider the total amount of your claims.

Warning  

You must obligatory attempt a reconciliation, a mediation or a participatory procedure when your claims are less than or equal to to €5,000.

If you agree with your opponent to have your dispute decided by the judge, you can make a joint request, even if the amount of the applications exceeds €5,000.

Query

You can prepare the application yourself or ask a lawyer to do so.

Who shall I contact

You can make your request on free paper or use the following form:

Application for referral to the protection litigation judge

You must attach copies of your supporting documents (invoice, contract, quotation...) to your request.

The query should include the following:

  • Full identity of the parties
  • Court seised
  • Purpose of the claim (damages, delivery of property, cancelation of a contract...)
  • Grounds for the dispute
  • Company steps towards an amicable resolution of the dispute or the justification for waiving such an attempt
  • List of parts.

You must encrypt your requests (€100 damages, for example).

The request must be dated and signed.

FYI  

it is possible to ask for a sum corresponding to the costs you had to incur for the procedure (travel expenses, stamps...).

Once the request is forwarded (preferably by registered letter) or filed in court, you are informed by the graft the place, day and time of the hearing. Your opponent is summoned by registered letter with notice of receipt.

You can request that the procedure take place without a hearing, using the following form:

Consent to the conduct of the proceedings without a hearing - Oral proceedings before the court or the protection litigation judge

Assignment

You can go to court by having your opponent deliver a subpoena by a commissioner of justice.

Your assignment must include mandatory information:

  • Appointment of the competent court
  • Place, day and time of the hearing (information to be obtained from the court)
  • Purpose of the claim (damages, delivery of property, cancelation of a contract...)
  • Full identity of the parties
  • Grounds for the dispute
  • Parts List
  • Company steps towards an amicable resolution of the dispute or the justification for waiving such an attempt
  • How your opponent will appear before the court, i.e. if he has to take a lawyer, within what time frame
  • Consequences if your opponent does not appear.

You must encrypt your requests (€100 damages, for example).

The assignment is your conclusions, i.e. your requests and your arguments.

FYI  

it is possible to ask for a sum corresponding to the costs you had to incur for the procedure (travel expenses, stamps...).

The summons must be written in fact and in law and the assistance of a lawyer may be necessary, in view of this difficulty

Who shall I contact

You can request in your summons that the proceedings proceed without a hearing. Your opponent must accept that this procedure is without a hearing. If not, there will be at least a hearing in court.

The summons must be filed in court at least 15 days before the hearing date.

If you don't meet the deadline, your assignment lapses, meaning that the assignment is null and void and you have to make a new one.

Joint Query

In agreement with your opponent, you can bring a joint application before the protection litigation judge.

This request, signed jointly by you and your opponent, must indicate the points of agreement and the points of disagreement.

The joint request shall include the following:

  • Full identity of the parties
  • Court seised
  • Purpose of the application (return of a security, cancelation of the credit ...)
  • Grounds for the dispute
  • List of parts.

It must be dated and signed.

The proceedings may take place without a hearing. In this case, the joint application must include the agreement of the applicants.

FYI  

You can use a interim proceedings. It's a emergency procedure which allows the judge to take interim and prompt action to resolve a dispute. For example, ask eviction of a tenant in case of unpaid rent.

There is at least one protection litigation judge in each community court and in each court of law.

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Dispute concerning a residential lease (rental agreement)

You have to go to the litigation judge of the community court or the court of law of the location of the rented property.

Who shall I contact

Dispute concerning consumer credit or property credit

You have to go to the litigation judge of the community court or the court of law of the opponent's location or the place of residence of the debtor contract.

Who shall I contact

The procedure before the court is free.

However, the costs incurred by you for the work of your lawyer or the Commissioner of Justice are borne by you. If you don't have enough resources, you can legal aid to cover all or part of these costs.

Please note

If you lose your business, you are normally ordered to pay back the costs of the trial to your opponent. That's what we call the costs.

Application for referral to the protection litigation judge

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