What is the RPV (Belgium)?

The RPV (rechtsplegingsvergoeding in Dutch, indemnité de procédure in French, Verfahrensentschädigung in German) is a fixed, lump-sum amount that the losing party in a lawsuit must pay to the winning party. English is not an official language in Belgium, so the law has no English name for it; this site uses the Dutch abbreviation RPV. It serves as a partial contribution toward the winning party's attorney costs and is set by government tariff, not a reimbursement of actual legal fees. Note that the actual attorney fee can be significantly higher than this tariff-based amount.

The RPV is not the same as court fees. Court fees include, among other things, the court registration fee (rolrecht / droit de mise au rôle / Eintragungsgebühr), bailiff costs and any expert costs. The RPV is separate and relates solely to a contribution toward the winning party's attorney costs.

The RPV system in its current form was introduced by the Law of 21 April 2007 on the recoverability of fees and costs associated with the assistance of a lawyer. Before this law, the losing party was in principle not liable for the other party's attorney costs. Since then, the RPV has been a standard cost item that is automatically charged in every judgment.