Council of State

It is not uncommon that persons other than the applicant and the opposing party also have an interest in the way the litigation will be settled. If these persons can be identified, the Registry will notify them of the appeal. They have 30 days at their disposal to submit an application to intervene. However, in the case of an appeal against a regulatory act regarding a general category of persons, a notice is published in the Moniteur belge, the Belgian official gazette. In that case, the period for lodging an application to intervene, is thirty days from that publication. A later intervention can only be accepted in the absence of notification or publication, and insofar it does not delay the proceedings.

The application has to bear the heading ‘verzoekschrift tot tussenkomst’, ‘requête en intervention’ or ‘Beitrittsantragschrift’ and has to be signed by the intervener or his lawyer. It shall include the following data and statements:

• the full name and address of each intervener;
• an expressly elected address for service, i.e. an address in Belgium that will be used for all correspondence concerning the appeal;
• the case in relation to which an intervention is asked, mentioning the registration number, if it is known;
• a statement of the interest the intervener has in the settlement of the case.

If the intervener is a legal person, a copy of its published and its coordinated articles of association has to be enclosed. If a legal person’s application to intervene is not lodged by a lawyer, the decision of the body authorised to lodge it, as well as a copy of this body’s designation are also required.

The application is to be sent to the Registry of the Council of State, rue de la Science 33 – 1040 Brussels, either by registered mail or by means of the electronic procedure (for more details, see the ‘e-Procedure’ tab on this website).

A duty of 150 euros has to be paid for each intervener within a term of 30 days. To this end, the Registry shall send a bank transfer form after receipt of the application.

If the application to intervene is granted, the party is given a deadline to submit its observations.