The Parliament of the Kingdom of Belgium has recently adopted two pioneer laws to prevent vulture funds’ predatory behavior. On July 1st, 2015 the Parliament passed a law “against the activities of vulture funds” while on July 24, 2015, it adopted a law “on the attachment of assets belonging to foreign powers or supranational or international public law organization”.The international community has welcomed the country’s pioneering move to pass a law reinforcing Belgian tribunals’ legal framework to tackle so-called “vulture funds”.

The legislation prevents vulture funds’ from using Belgian courts to extract exorbitant and inequitable profits following a country’s debt restructuring. Belgian tribunals will now be equipped with more effective tools to implement a more stringent regulation against such speculative behavior and will therefore ensure greater protection against vulture funds’ exploitative practices that hinder economic growth and development.

Both laws are expected to be ratified by the King in the coming weeks and published in the Belgian Official Gazette thereafter. They will enter into force 10 days after such publication, and will apply to enforcement proceedings commenced in Belgium after its entry into force.