. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/N/BEL/20
26 July 2001
(01-3727)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:  French
NOTIFICATION
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6.
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   BELGIUM
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):
2. Agency responsible:
Ministry of Justice
Directorate-General of Criminal Legislation and Human Rights
Weapons ServiceBoulevard de Waterloo 115
B-1000 Brussels
Tel.: +32 2 542-6792
Fax: +32 2 542-7034
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [  X ], 2.10.1 [    ], 5.6.2 [    ], 5.7.1 [    ], other:
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):   Arms, ammunition and
parts thereof.
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   Draft Law on the
Amendment to the Law of 3 January 1933 on the Manufacture, Trade and Carrying of Arms
and Trade in Ammunition
6. Description of content:  This draft Law brings all firearms (with the exception of antique
weapons) under the same regime, namely that of preliminary licences, which prevents the
free sale of firearms and their ammunition and parts.  It also bolsters the licence system: in
future, all applicants for a firearms licence shall, be subject to a morality investigation and
a theoretical and practical examination and shall also be required to furnish both a medical
certificate attesting aptitude and the assent of the members of his or her family, as well as to
state on which of the legal grounds for firearms possession the application is being made.Licences shall henceforth come under more centralized control and be issued by provincial
governors.  Hunters and marksmen/wom en shall enjoy special exemptions.
The regulations on weapons with blades (in particular knives) shall be clarified and
the list of proscribed weapons extended to include those which, in legal practice, have long
been considered proscribed.
Arms traders shall be more strictly controlled and levels of professional competence
established for this sector. Arms carriers shall also be required to register from now
onwards.
Confiscated weapons shall be definitively withdrawn from circulation.
Imported firearms that do not bear a unique serial number must have a firearm
identification number assigned by the Belgian Firearms Test Facility.G/TBT/N/BEL/20
Page 2
7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:   
The present Law is too liberal as regards the possession of arms by private
individuals, which is a potential source of public safety risks (accidents, suicides, crimes of
passion, etc.).
Moreover, the former law is far too complicated and confusing in practical terms
and the way it is implemented in practice shows a marked lack of consistency. The
traceability of firearms needs to be improved and arms trading is still open to the
uninformed. The reasons for amending this Law are set out in detail in the preamble to the
draft.
8. Relevant documents:
9. Proposed date of adoption:
Proposed date of entry into force: }60 days
10. Final date for comments:
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [  X ] or address, telephone and fax
numbers and E-mail and Web site addresses, if available, of another body:
CIBELNOR