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New rules for the justice system aim at speeding up court proceedings. Photo: Romain Gamba 

The changes to court proceedings form part of the government’s 2018 coalition agreement and will come into force on 16 September.

“Streamlining procedures and thus reducing delays goes hand in hand with increasing the efficiency of the functioning of courts in civil and commercial matters. I am deeply convinced that the measures provided for by this law will be beneficial for all the actors involved,” said justice minister Sam Tanson in a statement.

For example, justices of the peace will have jurisdiction over civil claims up to an amount of €15,000 up from €10,000. These cases are handled by one judge only--with justices of the peace located in Luxembourg, Diekirch and Esch-sur-Alzette.

Parties aren’t obliged to be represented by a lawyer in oral proceedings. Written proceedings meanwhile will have to be filed by lawyers before the end of the investigation to save time.

The reform also simplifies pre-trial procedures for uncomplicated cases in which a maximum of two parties are involved and in which the value of the dispute does not exceed €100,000. The updated rules set new time limits within which lawyers must file their documents.

Other changes make it easier to correct errors and know in advance whether an intermediate judgment can be appealed or not.