2026-09-03 - LD Brussels - In(k)control v. Esko-Graphics et al. - UPC-CFI-0000871/2026

R. 296.3 RoP dient als dusdanig te worden begrepen dat na het hervatten van een opgeschorte procedure, de lopende proceduretermijnen worden hervat vanaf de beschikking tot hervatting rekening houdend met de reeds verlopen termijnen vóór de opschorting van de procedure.

The Brussels Local Division decided what a stay does to running procedural periods and reached a reading that departs from two other divisions. R. 296.3 RoP suspends time rather than interrupting it: on resumption a period continues for its unexpired remainder, counted from the resumption order, instead of starting over at its full original length. The first sentence of the rule says time ceases to run, which the Court of Appeal has described as automatic suspension, and 'begin to run afresh' in the second sentence must be read with it, so 'afresh' means 'again' and not 'anew' — on the opposite reading the first sentence would be redundant. The French and German versions on the Court's website support that, and the order notes that no RoP language version is designated authentic. Applied here, twenty-nine of the ninety days for the Statement of Defence remained when the stay began, so the new deadline is 2 October 2026 rather than the 30 November 2026 the defendants sought. A party wanting a different schedule must ask under R. 9.3 RoP and show special circumstances.