Steven Segaert Feb 10, 2014:

Look at the procedures Cassation is a whole different procedure that comes after the main litigation has been handled and in which the application of the law in that particular case is checked. Any party in a litigation can launch an appeal in cassation, and the one who launches is, is the claimant in cassation.

Afaik, there is no such thing as a "burgerlijke partij" in cassation, so the term refers to the role of the curator in the main proceedings. I suspect that cassation has nothing to do with that, but that the fragment points to what the curator was doing in the original proceedings = he was "burgerlijke partij".

"Burgerlijke partij" is always in a criminal proceeding, so if you use the translation Kitty proposed - injured party - in context, you have the right one. If you just translate the word without context, you would indeed have to add "claiming damages in criminal proceedings".

Why this is a criminal proceeding in the first place is not really relevant. It could simply be that the main case is about a burglar who stole things that were part of the goods looked after by the curator.

John Holloway Feb 9, 2014:

Peter: I'm (default) assuming that it's UK English here, with a UK (professional) legal audience. While both terms would work in the UK, appellant would indeed be better in the states, being in common usage. I think private party refers more to the party in the trial court of the case under review. In any event, neither term could be confused with the people, crown, court or state, however described, i.e. the other 'party' and the one to which the claimant/appellant brings its appeal.

Peter Leeflang Feb 9, 2014:

John, I'm concerned if the term 'civil claimant' would be used, since it is very uncommon in most of the USA (at best in a couple of states). 'Private party; is the common term there. By thee way, as to the translation agencies needing to profile the target audience, I fully agree. It is therefore one of my standard questions in my quotes.

John Holloway Feb 9, 2014:

Good question Peter. One should indeed use the terms used by the target group. Thus possibly appellant in the US, but can again vary by state. Either would be meaningful in UK English. In my experience translation agencies and their clients don't know what communication strategy is and never therefore brief target group profile, let alone objectives or any of the other 3 components of a communication strategy. The default seems to be UK English in practice so assuming it here.

Peter Leeflang Feb 9, 2014:

Is this translation meant for an UK English audience or for a US English audience?

John Holloway Feb 8, 2014:

A court of cassation is an appeal court on matters of law and the burgerlijke partij here must therefore be the appellant, also termed claimant. It is not necessary to qualify claimant with civil. In this case the claimant is the curator of an insolvent company, a civil role, but whether civil or criminal matters are to be heard in cassation, only one party can be the claimant and the other is always the court/state. So adding civil to claimant is correct in this case, though unnecessary. Its omission introduces no risk of confusing the two parties. Also, the appellant in cassation could have been either defendant or claimant in the case under review, but would remain claimant in cassation.

Adrian MM. (X) Feb 7, 2014:

Termium minus Yes, but we need to ask why this character is popping up in a (civil vs. criminal) bankruptcy case, unless there is a fraudulent aspect.

Michael Beijer Feb 7, 2014:

interesting 'Yes. In criminal proceedings, one can choose to either just draft the criminal complaint as ‘injured party’, or become a ‘civil party’ (burgerlijke partij / partie civile) which means that that party will be informed of the investigation (one can become ‘civil party’ from the beginning, when introducing the claim, or later on in the procedure if wanted). A civil party also has the right to suggest certain investigatory measures and will be heard when is decided upon referral to the criminal court. Being a ‘civil party’ gives a party more rights, but is also more costly because of the time spent in following up the investigation (looking in the criminal files and drafting a petition for additional investigatory measures if needed, attending the oral hearings in order to ask for referral of the infringer, etc.). Remedies include imprisonment and fines. In addition, if the offender is convicted, the holder of the trade secret who has chosen to become a ‘civil party’ may subsequently claim damages.'

(Appendix 8 Country Specific Questionnaires – Criminal Law: ec.europa.eu/internal_market/iprenforcement/docs/trade-secrets/130711_appendix-8_en.pdf )

Michael Beijer Feb 7, 2014:

See also: TERMIUM Plus:

partie civile =
plaintiff claiming damages; civil party

(http://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?la... )
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Google search for: "plaintiff claiming damages" burgerlijke partij: https://www.google.co.uk/search?espv=210&es_sm=93&q="plainti...

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'An important exception, however, applies in the framework of criminal investigations. Pursuant to Article 460ter of the Belgian Criminal Code, the use by a suspected party or a plaintiff claiming damages (burgerlijke partij/partie civile) of information obtained in the framework of an access to a (criminal) file is illegal and gives rise to criminal sanctions if that use hampers the investigation or violates the privacy rights, the physical or moral integrity, or the property of a person mentioned in the file.' http://goo.gl/kHgwh7

Alexander Schleber (X) (asker) Feb 7, 2014:

Tom Thumb Check "civil claimant" on Google UK and you get lots of hits. Civil here is a perfectly acceptable abbreviation amongst others for civil law => claimant under civil law and is not meant as polite.

Michael Beijer Feb 7, 2014:

@Tom: Civil claimant does seem to be used, in Belgian/EU contexts.

Adrian MM. (X) Feb 7, 2014:

civil claimant surely a private, rather than a civil = polite claimant. But by all means, Michael, go ahead and post the entry.

Alexander Schleber (X) (asker) Feb 7, 2014:

Context Hi all,
the rest of the context is not much help - lot's of legal mumbo-jumbo. In my opinion, an early suggestion by Michael fits best => "civil claimant". Enter it and get points from me! ;-)

Michael Beijer Feb 7, 2014:

See: 'Article 14
The applicants also complained that they had been discriminated against in comparison with the position of a person lodging a complaint against someone other than a judge. The Court considered that this distinction pursued a legitimate aim, namely to shield members of the judiciary from illconsidered proceedings and to allow them to perform their judicial duties dispassionately and independently. Since the applicants retained a right to bring a civil action against the Belgian State, the Court found that the requirement for a reasonable relationship of proportionality between the means used by the Belgian legislature and the aim pursued was satisfied.' (Netherlands Institute of Human Rights, Utrecht School of Law: Ernst and others v. Belgium: http://sim.law.uu.nl/sIm/CaseLaw/hof.nsf/1d4d0dd240bfee7ec12... )

Michael Beijer Feb 7, 2014:

this 'burgerlijke partij' is basically the person, or applicant, bringing a civil action against the Belgian state. I think he or she can be called a/the civil party, but I am not entirely sure.

Michael Beijer Feb 7, 2014:

~ @Hans: Yeah, I think 'tegenpartij' should probably be opposing party, other party, opposite party, adverse party, etc. (as per JurLex).

@Alexander: Can we a have a little more of the actual context?

Michael Beijer Feb 7, 2014:

#2 'Filing a complaint as a victim is not sufficient for a victim to receive information on the decision (not) to prosecute. In order to obtained this information, the victim has to acquire the status of an aggrieved person (personne lésée FR, benadeelde persoon NL) or civil party (partie civile FR, burgerlijke partij NL).' (A Comparative study on Legal Standing (Locus Standi) before the EU and Member States’ Courts: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/etudes/join/201... )

Michael Beijer Feb 7, 2014:

hmm, not sure about that but I just found 2 interesting refs, which I am currently reading:

'3.7 Criminal Procedural Law in Belgium

In addition to the Franchimont Act, multiple victim-oriented guidelines are enforced in Belgium. A Guideline published in 1990188 outlined the prosecutor’s duty to victims of crime to communicate clearly with them about any progress in the investigation. Belgian victims can also become civil claimants (burgerlijke partij, partie civile). As such, they differ from other victims only in their express desire to receive compensation for their injuries. Under the Franchimont Act, a civil claimant has the right to examine those parts of the prosecutor’s file that are relevant to the claimant’s case. Only those victims who register themselves as ‘civil claimants’ or ‘injured persons’ can expect to be notified of any decisions concerning the prosecution of the case by the Public Prosecutor.' (Amsterdam International Law Clinic: Victim’s access to case files as an element of procedural obligations under European and International Human Rights Law: http://www.srji.org/files/resources/access.pdf )

Hans Geluk Feb 7, 2014:

Just one doubt... Maybe 'counterparty' can be used for 'tegenpartij' but I find it a bit awkward. To my understanding it is the 'other one' involved in a financial transaction or contract, but I am not sure it is really common for legal proceedings. Shouldn't that be adverse party, opponent...? Michael, what do you think?

Michael Beijer Feb 7, 2014:

see also: https://www.google.co.uk/search?espv=210&es_sm=93&q="civil c... (Google search for: "civil claimant" burgerlijke partij)

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http://www.proz.com/kudoz/italian_to_english/law_general/258...

Michael Beijer Feb 7, 2014:

maybe useful: http://www.linguee.com/english-dutch/search?source=auto&quer... (Linguee has added NL-EN)

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zich burgerlijke partij stellen =
to claim compensation in proceedings
to claim damages in proceedings (JurLex)