The judicial vacation and Belgian appeal deadlines

The rule in brief

• Period. The judicial vacation (vacances judiciaires / gerechtelijke vakantie) runs from 1 July to 31 August (Judicial Code, art. 334). The new judicial year starts on 1 September.
• No suspension. Every day counts in July and August (art. 52).
• Extension. An appeal or opposition deadline under arts. 1048, 1051 and 1253quater, c) and d) that both starts and expires during the vacation is extended to the fifteenth day of the new judicial year: 15 September (art. 50, al. 2).
• Then art. 53. If 15 September is a Saturday, Sunday or legal public holiday (jour férié légal / wettelijke feestdag), the deadline moves to the next working day.
• Not extended. Cassation, criminal matters, the Council of State and special time limits that art. 50 does not name.

The judicial calendar shows the vacation, the legal public holidays and 15 September for each year. The procedural deadline calculator applies the extension when its conditions are met.

Which deadlines are extended

Appeal and opposition only

Art. 50, al. 2 names the appeal and opposition periods of arts. 1048, 1051 and 1253quater, c) and d) of the Judicial Code.

• Appeal (art. 1051). One month from service (signification / betekening) of the judgment, or from its notification by judicial letter (pli judiciaire / gerechtsbrief) where the law provides for it. Appeals against judgments of a justice of the peace are covered too.
• Opposition (art. 1048). One month from service or notification. Since 3 August 2017, opposition is open only against default judgments given in last resort (art. 1047, al. 1); an appealable default judgment must be appealed.

Both conditions: it starts and it expires in the vacation

The period must start and expire between 1 July and 31 August. "Start" means day 1, the day after service (art. 52). "Expire" means the last day of the term, before any move under art. 53.

• A judgment served on 30 June has its day 1 on 1 July: the period starts in the vacation.
• A judgment served on 29 June has its day 1 on 30 June: no extension, even though the period ends in July.
• A judgment served on 3 August ends on 3 September: no extension, even though it started in August.

The legislator chose "starts and expires" in 1970, replacing a 1967 rule based on the expiry date alone (during the vacation or in the eight days after it). The Constitutional Court upheld the cut-off in judgment 30/2008: service on 1 August 2005 gave a deadline of 1 September 2005, with no extension. One summary sentence on the French page of the EU e-Justice portal reads "starts or ends"; the statute, the page's own examples and the Constitutional Court require both.

The order of the steps

1. Compute the term under arts. 52 and 54.
2. If day 1 and the end of the term both fall between 1 July and 31 August, the end becomes 15 September.
3. Apply art. 53 to 15 September only. If 31 August is a Saturday or Sunday, the end is not moved under art. 53 before the extension.

15 September falls on a Tuesday in 2026, a Wednesday in 2027 and a Friday in 2028. In 2029 it is a Saturday: the extended deadline ends on Monday 17 September 2029.

What the vacation does not extend

• Cassation. The three-month period of art. 1073 is not named in art. 50, al. 2.
• Criminal matters. The time limits of the Code of Criminal Procedure are not extended. A criminal appeal (art. 203) runs 30 days from the pronouncement, July and August included: see the criminal appeal preset.
• Council of State. Its 60-day annulment period is not extended. Its own procedure rules (art. 91) add 15 days only to procedural time limits of 30 days or less that both start and end between 1 July and 31 August.
• Special time limits and administrative decisions. A remedy that art. 50 does not name gets no extension. The Constitutional Court held in judgment 144/2019 that al. 2 does not cover remedies against administrative decisions. Social security and tax court actions are not extended either.
• The conclusion calendar. The art. 747 time limits run in summer; see the conclusion calendar guide.

A party abroad during the vacation

For appeal and opposition, a party with no domicile, residence or elected domicile in Belgium gets 15, 30 or 80 extra days (art. 55). The texts do not settle whether these days are added before or after the vacation extension.

The calculator adds the art. 55 days first, then checks the vacation condition on the extended end, and shows a warning. That reading always gives the earliest date. For a party in France served on 20 July 2026, it gives 4 September 2026 (one month to 20 August, plus 15 days, no extension); extending first and adding 15 days to 15 September would give 30 September. Plan for the earliest date.

Holidays and the judicial year

• Two legal public holidays fall in the vacation: 21 July and 15 August. In 2026, 15 August is a Saturday.
• 11 July, the Flemish Community holiday, is not a legal public holiday and does not move a deadline.
• The vacation does not change the computation of other days: a deadline that is not extended ends on its normal day, even in August.

On the judicial calendar, legal public holidays are marked H, the vacation JV and 15 September E. Its calendar file (.ics) is free.

Worked examples

Each date was computed with the calculator's engine.

A judicial letter in July. A judgment in a social security case brought by petition, notified by judicial letter presented on Wednesday 15 July 2026: day 1 is Thursday 16 July (art. 53bis, § 1, 1°), the month ends on Saturday 15 August, in the vacation. The appeal deadline is Tuesday 15 September 2026.

A party in France. A judgment served on Tuesday 30 June 2026 on a party living in France, with no Belgian address: one month ends on Friday 31 July, plus 15 days gives Saturday 15 August, in the vacation. The calculator shows Tuesday 15 September 2026, the earliest reading, with a warning on the order of the extensions; extending first would give 30 September.

A criminal appeal. A judgment pronounced on Monday 6 July 2026: the 30 days end on Wednesday 5 August 2026, with no extension.

Check your own dates with the civil appeal or opposition preset of the procedural deadline calculator, and see the year at a glance on the judicial calendar.

Common mistakes

• Treating the vacation as a suspension. Days in July and August count.
• Extending a period that only starts or only ends in the vacation. Both are needed.
• Extending a cassation or criminal deadline. Art. 50, al. 2 covers appeal and opposition only.
• Forgetting art. 53 after the extension, as in 2029.
• Treating 11 July as a holiday. It does not move a deadline.

The calendar and the calculator assist the lawyer, who remains responsible for the calculation and for checking the applicable rule. The guide to computing procedural deadlines covers the other steps.

Sources

• Judicial Code, arts. 50, 52, 53, 53bis, 55, 334, 1047, 1048, 1051 and 1073: text on Justel. Verified on 4 October 2026.
• Constitutional Court, judgments 144/2019 (art. 50, al. 2 quoted), 30/2008 (history of art. 50). Verified on 4 October 2026.
• Law of 4 January 1974 on public holidays: text on Justel. Verified on 4 October 2026.
• Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 203. Verified on 4 October 2026.
• Council of State, procedure rules (Regent's Decree of 23 August 1948), arts. 88, 89 and 91: consolidated text. Verified on 4 October 2026.
• EU e-Justice portal, Belgium: time limits on procedures. Verified on 4 October 2026.