The new law of 15 July 2021 reforming aspects of civil and commercial legal procedure was published this week.
Parliament voted unanimously for this reform with the aim of improving the efficiency of civil and commercial court proceedings. The majority of the new provisions will come into force on 16 September 2021.
The law responds to the strain currently placed on the judicial system by the growing population of Luxembourg and the increasing number and complexity of cases. It will shorten the length of certain proceedings commenced under existing procedural options while also creating new procedures to make the courts more accessible and efficient.
The text of the law notably includes the following provisions:
The courts of the Justices of the Peace will have jurisdiction over claims of up to 15.000 euros, an increase of the current limit of 10.000 euros. The expanded jurisdiction of the Justices of the Peace will permit the adjudication of more cases via oral proceedings where parties may represent themselves without a lawyer.
In written proceedings, lawyers will be required to submit final written pleadings that synthesise all of the claims and arguments made in prior written pleadings. If they fail to do so, the court will rule only on the content of the most recently filed written pleadings and will consider other arguments to be forfeited.
The law will notably also introduce a simplified pre-trial procedure in cases involving no more than two parties when the amount in controversy does not exceed 100.000 euros.
It is expected that implementation of these measures will ensure that decisions in civil and commercial matters will be rendered within a reasonable time period.
