Depositions in Brussels

Brussels, Belgium, is an international, multilingual center for business serving as a hub for Europe and the world at large. Brussels is a remarkable Western European nation that hosts a multitude of international conferences and business forums. Depositions in Brussels are common. It is convenient location for witnesses and foreign legal teams to navigate. Brussels prides itself on being cosmopolitan city that welcomes international visitors and makes travel and stay easy. It boasts numerous languages and most major hotels are prepared for English speaking travelers as well as the technical aspects of international meetings.

For legal proceedings, Brussels holds a special place in Western Europe. If you have an Austrian witness, you will most likely be traveling to Brussels. Austria is among the countries that do not allow depositions, requiring witnesses to travel outside of Austria to Brussels or the Czech Republic most commonly.

Belgium, though small, is an extremely diverse country, densely populated by over 10 million people. The official languages are German, Dutch and French, and more than half of Belgium speaks Flemish, a local Dutch variant. The country’s culture displays strong French, German, and Dutch influences. These influences especially come into play in Belgium’s culinary arts, considered by many to be superior even to the French.

Taking Depositions in Brussels

Belgium is an excellent location for depositions. Nearby Austria does not permit the taking of depositions. So, if your Austrian witness is willing to travel, you could depose him in Belgium without needing prior permission from the Belgian Central Authority for The Hague Convention. Belgium’s proximity to France and Germany also makes it an appealing alternative to the more complicated deposition processes in those countries, again assuming the witness is willing to travel.

The actual scheduling of depositions in Belgium is not too different from scheduling in the U.S., especially if you partner with a court reporting firm with experience there, as well as realtime reporters and videographers living throughout Europe.  

The court reporting agency or reporter can reserve a conference room, assist with the printing, and eventual shredding of exhibits, in addition to providing a verbatim record of the proceedings. The videographer’s technical skill will ensure a polished video recording of the deposition, and instant resolution of any technical glitches, should they occur. A qualified interpreter experienced in depositions will ensure minimal interruptions in the deposition as well.

Historical Points of Interest Around Brussels

Belgium’s northern (Flemish) region of Flanders is famous thanks, in part, to the poem In Flanders Fields, written by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, who served in the Second Battle of Ypres in that region. Today, Flanders Fields contains the Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial and, of course, the poppies immortalized as much as the servicemen in Lt. Col. McCrae’s poem.

World War I and II saw Belgium’s capital of Brussels occupied by the Germans. After WWII, Brussels was modernized and, by the early 1960s, was becoming the de facto capital of the eventual European Union. Though the EU has no official capital, both the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have their primary institutions in Brussels. Brussels also serves as the seat of both the European Commission and the Council of the European Union.

For more information on scheduling depositions in Belgium, throughout Europe, and elsewhere, contact Planet Depos International Scheduling at 888.433.3767 or international@planetdepos.com.