Book 9, Title 1 is a SECURITY

On Thursday, May 16, the federal parliament approved Title 1 of Book 9 of the Civil Code. This new legislative work brings together the rules on personal securities—such as the traditional suretyship, autonomous guarantees, and comfort letters—into a coordinated and modernized framework. The law is based on established case law and legal doctrine while also introducing several significant innovations.

The creation of Book 9 is a key milestone in the broader recodification of civil law, launched in 2015 under the initiative of then-Minister of Justice Koen Geens. Previously published were:

• Book 1 (General provisions),
• Book 2 (Law of persons, family, and patrimonial relationships),
• Book 3 (Property),
• Book 4 (Inheritance, gifts, and wills),
• Book 5 (Obligations),
• Book 6 (Non-contractual liability),
• and Book 8 (Evidence).

Title 1 of Book 9 was drafted by the late Professor Eric Dirix and finalized by an expert commission chaired by Prof. Dr. Vincent Sagaert.

From Suretyship to Personal Security

The new Code moves away from the narrow concept of “suretyship” and adopts the broader term “personal security.” This allows other legal instruments—such as joint guarantees, autonomous guarantees, and comfort letters—to be legally codified in a coherent way. This not only improves legal clarity but also supports further European harmonization.

Consumer Protection as a Priority

The legislator pays particular attention to protecting consumers who act as guarantors. This is crucial: a personal security can have serious consequences for the guarantor’s private assets, often without full awareness. Therefore, for consumers, the law provides:

• a mandatory pre-contractual information obligation for the creditor,
• a required maximum amount clause (under penalty of nullity),
• the exclusion of certain complex instruments like autonomous guarantees,
• an annual duty to inform the guarantor,
• and protection against disproportionate obligations, with the possibility of judicial reduction.

These provisions are intended to better protect consumers from the risks of acting as guarantors—lessons drawn from past abuses and the economic realities of credit. Parliament also stresses the need to streamline the current proliferation of (parallel) protection rules in insolvency law into one coherent system.

What’s Next?

With Title 1, Book 9 is not yet complete. Further titles (on pledges, mortgages, retention of title, liens, and privileges) are in preparation. A commission led by Prof. Dr. Vincent Sagaert is currently working on Title 3 (mortgage law), after which the remaining titles will follow. These efforts take into account earlier reforms, such as the 2013 Pledge Law.

📅 The law has not yet been published in the Belgian Official Gazette. Based on the expected timeline, it is likely to enter into force by the end of 2025 or early 2026.

📅 The new rules will only apply to legal acts and facts occurring after the entry into force. The previous rules remain applicable to (i) the subsequent effects of legal acts and facts from before that date, and (ii) acts occurring after the entry into force that relate to obligations created before that date, unless expressly agreed otherwise by the parties.

Would you like to know more? Don’t hesitate to contact us.