Belgian Advocate Aptitude Test key terms

The rule allocating a dispute to a particular court according to the nature or value of the claim, such as justice of the peace, tribunal of first instance or labour court. It is checked by the judge on his own motion.

The rule determining which geographic court hears a case, usually the defendant's domicile or the place of performance. Parties may sometimes contractually designate a competent forum.

The duty to establish the facts on which a claim or defence rests. The claimant proves the facts founding the claim; the defendant proves facts extinguishing or defeating it.

An ordinary remedy allowing a party to have a first-instance judgment reviewed on fact and law by a higher court. It must be lodged within the statutory period and through a bailiff's writ.

The binding finality of a judgment that can no longer be appealed, preventing the same parties from relitigating the same claim and subject matter before another court.

A fundamental principle holding that anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent until guilt is legally established at trial, placing the burden of proof on the prosecution.

The rule that where the evidence leaves reasonable doubt about guilt, the court must acquit. Doubt is resolved in favour of the accused rather than against him.

The legality principle: no conduct is punishable unless a statute in force at the time defined it as an offence and fixed its penalty. It bars analogy and retroactive criminal liability.

The lapse of time after which prosecution or enforcement of a penalty is barred. Periods vary with the gravity of the offence and may be interrupted by procedural acts.

Custody of a suspect before conviction, ordered by a judge on statutory grounds such as risk of absconding, reoffending or public disorder. It is reviewed periodically.

The capacity to hold rights and duties. Companies acquire it on incorporation, allowing them to contract, own property, sue and be sued in their own name.

The principle that shareholders risk only their contribution and are not personally liable for company debts, protecting private assets from business creditors.

Exceptional judicial disregard of separate legal personality where it is misused to defraud creditors or evade legal duties, making shareholders or directors personally liable.

A collective enforcement procedure opened against a trader unable to pay debts, lasting cessation of payments being required. A trustee realises assets and distributes proceeds among creditors.

A court-supervised procedure protecting an enterprise in difficulty while it negotiates a recovery plan or transfers assets, aiming to preserve viable activity and employment.

The ending of an employment contract by resignation, dismissal, mutual consent or expiry of term, governed by notice periods and formal requirements protecting the employee.

Immediate termination without notice or compensation where the employee commits a grave fault making continued cooperation impossible. The employer must notify the ground within three working days.

The advance warning required to end an employment contract, calculated according to seniority and remuneration, during which work continues and salary is paid.

Compulsory levies on employment income financing pensions, health care and unemployment benefits, withheld by the employer and declared to the social security office.

A written agreement between employers and trade unions setting working conditions for a sector or enterprise. It binds members and may be extended by royal decree.

A constitutional order in which public power is exercised only under law, subject to judicial review and respecting fundamental rights, rather than by arbitrary decree.

The organisation of the state into legislative, executive and judicial branches with distinct functions and mutual checks, preventing concentration of authority in one organ.

The requirement that administrative acts rest on a legal basis, pursue the purpose the law allows and respect higher norms, failing which annulment may follow.

Proceedings before the Council of State challenging an administrative act for illegality. Annulment erases the act; suspension temporarily neutralises it pending judgment.

A standard of review requiring that measures restricting rights be suitable for a legitimate aim, necessary and not excessive. It constrains administrative discretion and penalties.

The amount or value on which tax is computed after deductions and exemptions, multiplied by the applicable rate to produce the tax due.

The schedule of rates applied to slices of the taxable base. Progressive rates rise as income grows, while flat rates apply uniformly.

Tax collected at source by a payer on income such as salaries or dividends and remitted to the treasury, often creditable against the recipient's final tax liability.

The duty of lawyers not to disclose information confided in them by clients, a cornerstone of trust and a ground for refusing testimony, subject to narrow statutory exceptions.

A situation where the lawyer's own interests or duties to another client risk impairing the representation, requiring withdrawal or informed consent where permitted.

The duty to advise and defend without improper influence from clients, the state, employers or personal interest, preserving the lawyer's freedom of judgment.

The capacity of certain EU provisions to be invoked before national courts without further implementation, notably regulations and sufficiently clear directives against the state.

The principle that EU law prevails over conflicting national law, obliging national courts to set aside incompatible provisions and to interpret domestic law consistently with EU norms.

A procedure allowing a national court to ask the Court of Justice to interpret EU law or rule on validity, ensuring uniform application across member states.

The national law designated by conflict rules to govern a private law relationship with a foreign element, covering formation, validity and effects of the obligation.

The situation where a conflict rule refers to foreign law and that law's own conflict rules refer back or onward. Most instruments exclude it to avoid circularity.

A safeguard allowing a court to refuse application of foreign law whose result is manifestly incompatible with the forum's fundamental values and essential legal principles.

A clause in which parties designate a forum to hear disputes, valid where the designated court has jurisdiction under applicable rules and the clause meets formal requirements.

The ratio is the legal reasoning essential to a court's conclusion and carries authority in later cases; an obiter dictum is a passing remark that does not bind.

The weight later courts give to earlier decisions. In civil law systems precedent is persuasive rather than formally binding, though consistent case law stabilises interpretation.

The structure of legal reasoning: a major premise stating the applicable rule, a minor premise establishing the facts, and a conclusion applying the rule to those facts.

An interpretive argument concluding that where the law attaches a consequence to one situation, the opposite consequence follows for situations it does not cover.