COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 2023 Rule of Law Report Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 2023 Rule of Law Report The rule of law situation in the European Union
Date: 2023-07-05
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: Belgium, administrative transparency, corruption, democracy, independence of the judiciary, infringement of EU law, pluralism in the media, political rights, rule of law

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 5.7.2023  SWD(2023) 801 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 2023 Rule of Law Report    Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 2023 Rule of Law Report               The rule of law situation in the European Union {COM(2023) 800 final} - {SWD(2023) 802 final} - {SWD(2023) 803 final} - {SWD(2023) 804 final} - {SWD(2023) 805 final} - {SWD(2023) 806 final} - {SWD(2023) 807 final} - {SWD(2023) 808 final} - {SWD(2023) 809 final} - {SWD(2023) 810 final} - {SWD(2023) 811 final} - {SWD(2023) 812 final} - {SWD(2023) 813 final} - {SWD(2023) 814 final} - {SWD(2023) 815 final} - {SWD(2023) 816 final} - {SWD(2023) 817 final} - {SWD(2023) 818 final} - {SWD(2023) 819 final} - {SWD(2023) 820 final} - {SWD(2023) 821 final} - {SWD(2023) 822 final} - {SWD(2023) 823 final} - {SWD(2023) 824 final} - {SWD(2023) 825 final} - {SWD(2023) 826 final} - {SWD(2023) 827 final}  
 
 
ABSTRACT 

The independence of the judiciary is expected to increase further with the transfer of budgetary 
management powers from the executive to the judiciary planned for 2024. Following criticism 
by the High Council for Justice, the Government is now reflecting on revisions to the proposal 
to introduce regular security checks conducted by the National Security Agency on all judges, 
which would otherwise raise concerns. Concerning budgetary and staff shortages in the justice 
system despite important investments and initiatives, structural resource deficiencies persist. 
New  binding  directives  prohibit  the  recording  of  meetings  between  lawyers  and  clients, 
safeguarding lawyer-client confidentiality. A number of steps have been taken to significantly 
increase the level of digitalisation of the justice system by 2026, notably by allowing for the 
electronic  submission  of  documents.  A  persistent  lack  of  data  on  court  proceedings  still 
hampers progress on the efficiency of justice, with efforts ongoing to map judicial backlogs. 

Elements relating to anti-corruption are included in various relevant strategies and action plans. 
The Central Office for the Repression of Corruption and prosecution services continue to tackle 
high-level  corruption  cases,  despite  overall  limited  resources.  Specific  measures  are  being 
taken to address corruption linked to organised crime groups and drugs trafficking, which is 
seen  as a  growing phenomenon. The investigation and prosecution of  foreign bribery  cases 
remain  difficult.  On  integrity  policy,  the  overall  Code  of  Conduct  for  federal  public  office 
holders is to be extended to all members of ministerial private offices, and a code of conduct 
for Ministers was put in place, which includes guidance on conflicts of interest, revolving doors 
and gifts and benefits. However, important gaps remain in the integrity policy for Ministers 
and their private offices as well as for members of Parliament, in areas such as revolving doors 
as  well  as  rules  on  gifts  and  benefits,  with  overall  awareness  of  the  concept  of  conflicts  of 
interest  being  low.  Shortcomings  also  exist  regarding  asset  declarations.  There  is  still  no 
cohesive  integrity  policy  within  the  police  forces,  although  several  integrity  initiatives  are 
ongoing.  No  concrete  steps  were  taken  on  the  reform  of  lobbying  legislation.  New 
whistleblowing  legislation  was  adopted  covering  the  private  and  public  sector  to  different 
degrees.  

Media freedom and pluralism continue to be ensured by a robust legal framework providing 
for independent media regulators and public service broadcasters. However, the response time 
and appeal procedures regarding the public access to documents still have to be improved. The 
safety  of  journalists  remains  an  issue,  particularly  online,  and  measures  are  being  taken  to 
improve  it.  In  Flanders  the  initiative  PersVeilig  was  launched,  with  safety  training  for 
journalists, ad-hoc legal and non-legal assistance, and a possibility to report attacks.  

The judicial scrutiny of COVID-19 pandemic legislation has continued after the end of the state 
of epidemic emergency in March 2022. The Federal Human Rights Institute has continued to 
play  an  active  role  during  its  second  year  of  activity,  while  the  establishment  of  a  separate 
Flemish Human Rights Institute requires close cooperation between the two governance levels. 
Non-compliance  of  the  Federal  Government  with  court  judgments  and  orders  imposing 
periodic penalty payments, raises concerns. Some concerns have been raised regarding the civil 
society landscape. 

1 

 
 
RECOMMENDATIONS 

Overall, concerning the recommendations in the 2022 Rule of Law Report, Belgium has made:  

  Some further progress on measures to provide adequate human and financial resources for 
the justice system as a whole, taking into account European standards on resources for the 
justice system. 

  Significant progress on strengthening the integrity framework as regards the extension of 
the  existing  Code  of  Conduct  to  cover  all  members  of  ministerial  private  offices;  some 
progress on rules on gifts and benefits for members of Parliament and Government; and 
some progress on rules on revolving doors for Government and their private offices.  
  No progress  on completing the legislative reform on lobbying, including  a transparency 
register and a legislative footprint, covering both members of Parliament and Government. 
  Some  progress  on  strengthening  the  framework  for  access  to  official  documents,  in 
particular  by  improving  request  and  appeal  processes,  taking  into  account  European 
standards on access to official documents. 

On this basis, and considering other developments that took place in the period of reference, it 
is recommended to Belgium to: 

  Further continue efforts made to provide adequate human and financial resources for the 
justice  system  as  a  whole,  taking  into  account  European  standards  on  resources  for  the 
justice system.  

  Strengthen the integrity framework, including by adopting rules on gifts and benefits for 
members of Parliament and by strengthening rules on revolving doors for Government and 
their private offices. 

  Complete  the  legislative  reform  on  lobbying,  establishing  a  framework  including  a 
transparency register and a legislative footprint, covering both members of Parliament and 
Government. 

  Continue efforts to strengthen the framework for access to official documents, in particular 
by  improving  request  and  appeal  processes,  taking  into  account  European  standards  on 
access to official documents. 

2 

 
 
 
 
I. 

JUSTICE SYSTEM  

The  justice  system  includes  13  first-instance  courts  of  general  jurisdiction1,  a  number  of 
specialised first instance courts2, five appeal courts, a Court of Cassation3 and a Constitutional 
Court. The judicial branch of the Council of State4 acts as the highest administrative court. A 
non-permanent court of assizes hears the most serious criminal cases5. The Constitutional Court 
is exclusively competent to scrutinise the  constitutionality of legislation. Most competences 
related to justice are federal6. The independence of the judiciary and of the prosecution service 
is  enshrined  in  the  Constitution7.  An  independent  High  Council  for  Justice8  is  tasked  with 
recruitment  for  the  judiciary  and  with  fostering  the  quality  of  justice  through  control 
mechanisms  such  as  audits,  as  well  as  by  giving  advice  on  justice-related  matters  to  the 
Government and to Parliament, both on request and on its own initiative. Candidate judges are 
selected by the High Council for Justice and are appointed for life by the King on the proposal 
of  the  Minister  of  Justice9.  The  College  of  Courts  and  Tribunals,  which  consists  of  court 
presidents elected by their peers, is responsible for the general functioning of the courts. The 
Flemish  Bar  Association  and  the  French-  and  German-speaking  Bar  Association  represent 
lawyers  from  different  parts  of  the  country.  Belgium  participates  in  the  European  Public 
Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). 

Independence  

The level of perceived judicial independence in Belgium continues to be high among the 
general  public  and  is  now  average  among  companies.  Overall,  66%  of  the  general 
population and 59% of companies perceive the level of independence of courts and judges to 
be ‘fairly or very good’ in 202310. According to data in the 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard, no 
clear trend can be identified in the evolution of the perceived level of independence among the 
general  public  since  2016.  Nevertheless,  the  figure  has  increased  in  comparison  with  2022 

1  These courts also hear appeal cases against decisions by the justices of the peace and by the police courts. 
2 

Including 162 justices of the peace, 15 police courts, 9 commercial courts, 9 labour courts and 5 administrative 
courts. 

3  The Court of Cassation reviews decisions of lower courts on points of law in cassation proceedings. 
4  The  Council  of  State  also  has  an  advisory  branch,  which  renders  opinions  on  legislative  and  regulatory 

5 

proposals. 
It is composed of 3 judges and a jury of 12 citizens. Proceedings against the suspects of the terrorist attacks in 
Brussels and Zaventem commenced in front of the court of assizes in December 2022. 

6  A number of specialised Flemish administrative courts exist. 
7  Article 151 of the Constitution. 
8  The High Council for Justice comprises 22 members of the judiciary, 8 lawyers, 6 professors and 8 members 

from civil society. Half of its members are French-speaking and half are Dutch-speaking. 

9  The executive can only refuse to appoint the candidate nominated by the High Council for Justice on explicit 
grounds (for example an irregularity) and cannot decide to appoint a different candidate. Instead, the executive 
must refer the appointment  file back to the High  Council  and ask  for a new proposal. The decision of the 
executive not to appoint a candidate judge can be challenged before the Council of State. The lawfulness of 
the proposal of the High Council can also be assessed in the context of such legal action. Figures 61 and 62, 
2018 EU Justice Scoreboard.  

10   Figures 49 and 51, 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard. The level of perceived judicial independence is categorised 
as follows: very low (below 30% of respondents perceive judicial independence as fairly good and very good); 
low (between 30-39%), average (between 40-59%), high (between 60-75%), very high (above 75%). 

3 

 
                                                           
 
(60%) and 2016 (62%). The perceived judicial independence among companies has decreased 
in comparison with 2022 (63%), although it remains higher than in 2016 (54%). 

The independence of the judiciary is expected to increase further through the transfer of 
budgetary management powers from the executive to the judiciary planned for 202411. 
Once  completed,  the  three  ‘pillars’  of  the  judiciary  (the  Court  of  Cassation,  the  College  of 
Courts and Tribunals and the College of Public Prosecutors) will be  directly responsible for 
managing  staff  budgets  and  policy12,  including  decisions  on  the  transfer  of  magistrates  and 
court staff referred to in the 2022 Rule of Law Report13. The law adopted on 26 December 
2022  with  regard  to  the  judicial  organisation14  already  allows  for  greater  flexibility  in  the 
allocation  of  human  resources  among  judicial  entities15.  The  High  Council  for  Justice  has 
continued its efforts to improve safeguards for judicial independence, including by drawing up 
reports  on  disciplinary  procedures  conducted  regarding  judges  and  prosecutors  and  on 
initiatives taken concerning the compliance with general ethical principles applicable to them16. 
A first consolidated report on disciplinary actions was adopted by the General Assembly of the 
High Council for Justice on 23 November 202217. On 12 April 2022, the  High Council for 
Justice also issued an advisory opinion on asset declaration by magistrates and on registration 
of their outside activities18.  

Following criticism by the High Council for Justice, the Government is now reflecting on 
revisions to the proposal to introduce regular security checks conducted by the National 
Security  Agency  on  all  judges,  which  would  otherwise  raise  concerns.  The  Minister  of 
Justice has proposed to  introduce both  initial  and regular (every five  years) security  checks 
conducted by the National Security Agency on magistrates and employees in the judiciary19. 
This  has  been  criticised  by  the  High  Council  of  Justice20,  which  submits  that  the  proposal 

11   The judiciary, represented by the College of Courts and Tribunals, the College of Public Prosecutors and the 
Court  of  Cassation,  continues  to  negotiate  with  the  Ministry  of  Justice  on  the  implementation  of  their 
autonomous management of human and budgetary resources, in execution of the law of 18 of February 2014. 
The intention is to conclude the first autonomous management agreements in early 2024; Input received from 
Belgium in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 
12   Input from Belgium for the 2023 Rule of Law Report. 
13   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 4. 
14   The Law of 26 December 2022 laying down various provisions on judicial organisation II, published in the 

Belgian Official Gazette on 12 January 2023. 

15   The adoption of a Royal decree will make it possible to more rapidly address the need to increase the fixed 
number of staff of a court, provided that all the positions are not filled in another court and that filling that 
vacancy is not necessary for the proper functioning of that other court. Therefore, if it appears that an entity 
requires more magistrates than foreseen in the numbers of staff fixed by law and that another entity requires 
less of them, the College of courts and tribunals and the College of the public prosecutor’s office may propose 
to the King to deviate from the numbers of staff fixed by law, within certain limits, by using the so-called 
flexible numbers of staff; Input from Belgium for the 2023 Rule of Law Report. 

16   Information received from the High Council for Justice in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 
17   Ibidem.  
18   Ibidem. 
19   The stated aim of the proposed measure is to prevent corruption risks and infiltration of criminal organisations. 
The  security  checks  would  be  introduced  both  upon  commencement  of  employment  or  participation  in 
examinations,  and  afterwards  every  5  years  during  active  service.  An  already  existing  regime  of  security 
checks for high-risk professions (such as staff in nuclear power plants) would be extended to also cover the 
judiciary  (Law  of  11  December  1998  on  classification  of  security  certifications,  attestations  and  advices). 
Written contribution from the Ministry of Justice in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 

20   High Council of Justice (2023), Advice on the draft proposal for a law concerning the social statute of the 
magistrate and the introduction of a security screening, 11 April 2023; Negative opinions have also been issued 

4 

 
                                                           
threatens  the  separation  of  powers  due  to  the  risk  of  interference  by  the  executive  in  the 
functioning of the judiciary. The High Council also argues that the proposal does not comply 
with the principles of legality, legal certainty, the right to a fair hearing, and proportionality 
because it would apply indiscriminately to any existing or candidate magistrate and judicial 
staff, under penalty of heavy sanctions21. Finally, the High Council submits that guarantees of 
integrity  already  exist,  notably  through  the  ethics  and  judicial  discipline  framework.  It  is 
important that the regime on security checks takes into account European standards regarding 
judicial independence and autonomy of prosecutors, which provide that ‘independence means 
that  the  judiciary  is  free  from  external  pressure,  and  is  not  subject  to  political  influence  or 
manipulation, in particular by the executive branch’22. Security checks on judges, especially 
when  carried  out  by  an  executive  body,  may  constitute  such  an  external  pressure23.  The 
introduction of such regular security checks on all existing magistrates (and judicial staff)24, 
and which are conducted by the National  Security  Agency,  a body under the control of the 
executive, would raise concerns. The proposal is not yet adopted by the Government, and a 
revised proposal that would take into account the advice of the High Council remains under 
preparation25.  

New binding directives prohibit the recording of meetings between lawyers and clients, 
safeguarding  lawyer-client  confidentiality.  The  2022  and  2021  Rule  of  Law  Reports 
mentioned that meetings between suspects in criminal proceedings and their lawyers in a police 
station  had  potentially  been  recorded,  triggering  allegations  of  breaches  of  lawyer-client 
confidentiality26.  Criminal  investigations  with  respect  to  these  alleged  breaches  are  still 
ongoing27.  On  22  July  2022,  the  College  of  Prosecutors-General  drafted  new  binding 
directives28 clarifying that the police is not allowed to record meetings between suspects and 
their  lawyers  in  a  police  station29.  At  the  same  time,  Bar  associations  report  that  public 

by the College of Courts and Tribunals and the Court of Cassation. These opinions have not been made public; 
Information received from the High Council for Justice in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 

21   The High Council furthermore the practical feasibility of the proposal due to the large amount of employees 

that would need to be screened (more than 15.000) every five years). 

22   Venice  Commission,  Rule  of  Law  checklist  (CDL-AD(2016)007),  para.  74.  See  also  Recommendation 

CM/Rec(2000)19 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, para. 11. 

23   Venice Commission opinion (CDL(2022)005), para. 13. When security/integrity checks are not carried out by 
self-governing bodies of the judiciary themselves but by an external body, utmost consideration must be given 
to respecting the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances. Venice  Commission opinion 
(CDL-AD(2021)046), para. 16. 

24   From a comparative perspective, in the few Member States where bodies comparable to the National Security 
Agency conduct security checks on judges, this happens only regarding candidates or for judges in specific 
positions. In one Member State, where such security checks were introduced on all judges, the amendments 
were since, in February 2023, annulled by the Constitutional Court. Figure 56, 2022 EU Justice Scoreboard. 

25   Written contribution from the Ministry of Justice in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 
26   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 4 and 2021 Rule of Law 

Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 3. 

27   2022 and 2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 4 and p. 3 
respectively; Contribution from the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe for the 2023 Rule of Law 
Report, p. 16; Contribution of the French- and German-speaking Bar Associations for the 2023 Rule of Law 
Report, p. 12. 

28   The  Public  Prosecutor's  Office  issues  circulars  containing  guidelines  for  the  management  of  the  public 
prosecutor's office. These directives are binding on the attorneys general at the courts of appeal, the federal 
prosecutor and all members of the public prosecutor's office who are under the supervision and direction of 
the latter. 

29   Circular No 09/2022 of the College of General Prosecutors of the Courts of Appeal, 11 July 2022. 

5 

 
                                                           
authorities, including Government ministers criticising lawyers for defending certain clients, 
increasingly raise hurdles as to the free exercise of their profession30.  

Quality  

Some  further  progress  has  been  made  on  providing  adequate  human  and  financial 
resources  for  the  justice  system  but  despite  important  investments  and  initiatives, 
structural  resource  deficiencies  persist.  The  2022  Rule  of  Law  Report  recommended  to 
Belgium  to  “continue  measures  to  provide  adequate  human  and  financial  resources  for  the 
justice system as a whole, taking into account European standards on resources for the justice 
system”. As noted in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 Rule of Law Reports31, a lack of adequate32 
human and financial resources remains a challenge for the justice system. According to the 
2023  EU  Justice  Scoreboard,  the  number  of  professional  judges  per  100  000  inhabitants  in 
2021 remained below the EU average33. Budget spent on the justice system is below the EU 
average as well34. A particularly serious example concerns the Brussels Court of Appeal on 
which the High Council for Justice performed an audit, concluding that further problems may 
arise due to the combination of the staff shortages with the heavy and complex case load35. The 
Government’s 2021 Plan36 provided for additional financial resources for the justice system. 
In  this  context,  further  policy  and  legislative  initiatives  have  been  taken  to  remedy  the 
budgetary and staff shortages37. In 2022, these additional financial resources continued to be 
distributed among the three pillars of the judiciary38. The High Council for Justice indicates 
that although serious efforts are made in the field of recruitment, the availability of sufficient 
human resources  remains a concern, particularly at  certain  courts of appeal39. The Court of 
Cassation and the High Council for Justice point out that the career of judge and prosecutor 
clearly suffers from a lack of attractiveness, but that attempts are made to counter this. The 

30   Other  issues  mentioned  concern  the  access  by  law  enforcement  authorities  to  confidential  correspondence 
between lawyers and their clients and prosecutions for alleged participation in the criminal behaviour of which 
their client is suspected. Contribution from the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe for the 2023 Rule 
of Law Report, p. 16; Contribution from the French- and German-speaking Bar Associations for the 2023 Rule 
of Law Report, p. 12. 

31   2022, 2021 and 2020 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 4. 
32   According to Council of Europe recommendations, each state should allocate adequate resources, facilities 
and equipment to the courts to enable them to function in accordance with the standards laid down in Article 
6 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and to enable judges to 
work  efficiently,  see  Recommendation  CM/Rec(2010)12  of  the  Committee  of  Ministers  of  the  Council  of 
Europe, para 33. 

33   Figure 35, 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard. 
34   Figure 33, 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard. 
35   Audit of the Brussels Court of Appeal. Report approved by the Committee of Opinions and Inquiry of the 

High Council of Justice on 30 June 2022. 

36   Plan to make Justice Faster, more Human and Firmer. The plan is available on the Team Justice website. 
37   An additional EUR 0,5 billion by 2024 on top of the existing annual budget of EUR 2 billion.  
38   In  2021-2022,  119  vacant  positions  for  magistrates  were  planned,  102  of  which  have  been  filled  in  the 
meantime. Regarding court staff, 800 positions were planned, 690 of which have already been filled. For 2023-
2024, 96 vacant positions for magistrates are planned, as well as 266 vacant positions for court staff; Input 
received from Belgium in the context of the 2023 country visit; The Court of Cassation expresses concerns 
about cassation not (or no longer) being seen as a priority despite the Court’s specific role with regard to legal 
unity, law formation and internal quality control. It also points out that notwithstanding repeated requests the 
number  of  judges  in  the  Court  has  not  been  increased  since  1997;  Information  provided  by  the  Court  of 
Cassation in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 

39   Contribution received from the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary for the 2023 Rule of Law 

report, p. 18.  

6 

 
                                                           
Government is for instance preparing a proposal for a “social statute” that is meant to improve 
magistrates’ working conditions40. In the context of its follow up to the backlog of cases first 
mentioned  in  the  2008  European  Court  of  Human  Rights  case  of  Bell  v.  Belgium41,  the 
Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe calls for ‘a long-term structural perspective’ 
on judicial staff and budget for Justice42. Furthermore, the Committee and several stakeholders 
expressed concerns regarding the Executive’s choice to condition the allocation of additional 
resources on results, which might undermine the quality of judicial work, its independence and 
citizens’ effective access to justice43. All this shows that despite efforts by the Government to 
increase the budget for the justice system, structural resource deficiencies persist and budgetary 
and staff shortages in the justice system remain an important challenge44. Therefore, there has 
been some progress on the recommendation made in the 2022 Report. 

New  measures  have  been  implemented  to  further  improve  the  quality  of  the  justice 
system. In line with GRECO recommendations45, the standard forms concerning the reporting 
by the courts and the prosecution service on their annual activity and functioning were adapted 
in 202246. The eligibility thresholds for legal aid have been steadily increasing with a fixed rate 
until  2023.  From  2024,  the  amount  will  be  indexed  each  year  in  light  of  changes  in  the 
consumer price index47. A slight increase is noted with regard to the number of people who had 
access to legal aid in years 2021-2022 compared to years 2020-202148. From a comparative 
perspective, the 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard shows that in consumer cases, the thresholds for 

40   Information received from the Court of Cassation in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 
41   Judgment of European Court of Human Rights of 4 November 2008, Bell v Belgium (application nr. 44826/05). 
42   Decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, 22 September 2022, H46-77, paragraph 7: 
‘took note with interest of the recent increase in judicial staff and the budget for Justice, while stressing the 
need for this to be part of a long-term structural perspective and not to be conditioned on results in such a way 
as to undermine the quality of judicial work, its independence and citizens' effective access to justice; once 
again,  encouraged  the  authorities  to  develop,  as  quickly  as  possible,  the  AMAI  model  aimed  at  a  better 
allocation of resources and, in the meantime, invited them to fill in the legal framework for judicial staff, or 
even to increase it where the judicial backlog is most significant’. 

43   Decision of the  Committee of Ministers adopted during its  meeting of 20-22 September 2022, H46-7 Bell 
group v. Belgium (Application No. 44826/05) CM/Del/Dec(2022)1443/H46-7, paragraph 7: ‘took note with 
interest of the recent increase in judicial staff and the budget for Justice, while stressing the need for this to be 
part of a long-term structural perspective and not to be conditioned on results in such a way as to undermine 
the quality of judicial work, its independence and citizens' effective access to justice’; Input received from the 
European Network of National Human Rights Institutions for the 2023 Rule of Law report, p. 11; Information 
provided by the Council of State in the context of the country visit to Belgium; The High Council for Justice 
will  also  prepare  an  advisory  opinion  to  the  Minister  of  Justice  on  the  extension  of  amicable  settlement 
chambers to most courts and tribunals handling civil and commercial cases. 

44   Decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, 22 September 2022, H46-77, paragraph 7, 

as cited in footnote 42. 

45   GRECO Fourth Evaluation Round – Evaluation Report, recommendation xiv.  
46   The  regulation  formalising  the  adaptation  of  the  standard  forms  was  published  in  in  the  Belgian  Official 
Gazette on 18 February, 2022. GRECO had evaluated the recommendation as being only partly implemented 
until such regulation would be adopted. See GRECO Fourth Evaluation Round – Second Compliance Report, 
p. 10. The standard forms will be used in the preparation of the activity reports for the year 2021.  

47   The eligibility thresholds for legal aid were raised in September 2020 by EUR 200 and are increased by EUR 

100 every year until 2023. 

48   Information received from the Ministry of Justice in the context of the country visit to Belgium and input from 
Belgium for the 2023 Rule of Law Report. The increase of 3,6% is counted on the basis of the number of 
lawyers who have been appointed for a case under the legal aid system. The increase of 9,1% is counted on 
the number of cases by categories of people eligible to legal aid, based on the completed cases per year (the 
moment of giving a closure report by the lawyer to the legal aid bureau). 

7 

 
                                                           
accessing legal aid remain above the Eurostat poverty threshold49. Finally, the High Council 
for Justice will conduct a further assessment of the judicial investigation into the death of Jozef 
Chovanec once the ongoing judicial investigation will be concluded50.  

A number of steps have been taken to significantly increase the level of digitalisation of 
the  justice  system  by  2026,  notably  by  allowing  for  the  electronic  submission  of 
documents. The Government’s Digital Transformation Plan51 aims at equipping all Belgian 
courts and tribunals with a digital case management system52. Some steps have already been 
taken to implement the plan, for instance, the Just-on-Web platform53 was made available to 
the public in 2022. The platform allows citizens to request access to and consult judicial files, 
to  submit  documents  to  the  courts,  make  applications,  manage  the  payment  of  traffic  and 
criminal fines, submit documents to the courts and tribunals and request documents from the 
civil registry. These developments are also reflected in the 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard, which 
shows improvement in the level of digitalisation of justice in Belgium54. Furthermore, a draft 
law  for  virtual  hearings  in  judicial  proceedings  in  civil  and  criminal  matters55  has  been 
approved by the Government on 23 December 2022 and will be submitted to Parliament for 
discussion,  after  receiving  opinions  from  the  Council  of  State  and  the  Data  Protection 
Authority. The legal basis for the Central Register for judicial decisions was published in the 
Belgian  Official  Gazette  on  24  October  202256.  Whilst  recognising  the  considerable  efforts 
made  to  increase  the  digitalisation  of  justice,  practitioners  consider  that  the  justice  system 
remains insufficiently digitalised57.  

Efficiency 

A persistent lack of data on court proceedings still hampers progress on the efficiency of 
justice,  with  efforts  ongoing  to  map  judicial  backlogs.  Significant  gaps  remain  in  the 
availability of data on court proceedings58. The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers 
continues its enhanced supervision of Belgium regarding the excessive length of proceedings 
in civil cases at first instance and has again expressed deep concerns at the persistent lack of 

49   Figure 24, 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard. 
50   Information received from the High Council of Justice in the context of the country visit to Belgium; 2022 and 
2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, pp. 6 and 4 respectively. 

51   Which is part of the Plan to make Justice Faster, more Human and Firmer, see footnote 36. 
52   A digital case management system is planned to be implemented at seven judicial entities by the end of 2025. 
The  new  system  will  be  introduced  by  the  end  of  the  second  quarter  of  2023  in  a  pilot  entity  (Court  of 
Cassation). 

53   An online platform available in Dutch, French, German and English where citizens can, among others, access 
to and consult judicial files, manage traffic and criminal fines and submit petitions, conclusions and letters to 
courts. 

54   Figures 40, 45 and 46 of the 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard.  
55   The Bar Associations, in the context of the country visit to Belgium, expressed their concerns that the draft 
law would result in a lack of physical appearance of the suspect before a judge and risk to deny the lawyer the 
possibility to assist the client in person.  

56   The  first part of the law related to the  non-public component,  containing  non-pseudonymised decisions of 
courts will enter into force on 30 September 2023. The second part of the law related to the public component, 
containing pseudonymised decisions of courts, will enter into force on 31 December 2023; Royal decrees are 
prepared to implement Just Restart, the digital counterpart in collective debt settlement, before the end of this 
year. 

57   Information received from the Bar Associations and the Court of Cassation in the context of the country visit 

to Belgium. 

58   Figures 6, 7, 14, and 15 of the 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard. 

8 

 
                                                           
comprehensive statistical data on the first-instance civil tribunals59. The limited data currently 
available  shows  that  the  rate  of  resolving  first-instance  civil  and  commercial  cases  has 
increased above 100% for 202160 and above 130% for administrative cases61. Furthermore, the 
overall clearance rate of cases before the Court of Cassation for 2021 was above 100% for civil 
and  commercial  litigious  cases,  yet  below  100%  for  administrative  and  criminal  law  cases 
(78,6% and 94,8% respectively)62.  Particularly lengthy delays are reported in  certain  courts 
including the Brussels Court of Appeal63. As mentioned above in the context of the quality of 
the  justice  system,  the  High  Council  for  Justice  carried  out  an  extensive  audit  into  its 
functioning  and  published  a  report  in  2022  including  recommendations64.  The  College  of 
Courts  and  Tribunals  and  the  Public  Prosecutor’s  Office  are  preparing  a  model  for  better 
distribution of resources taking into account their workload. They completed the first phase of 
mapping judicial backlogs across courts in 2021 and are currently analysing the results65. 

II. 

ANTI-CORRUPTION FRAMEWORK  

The competence to investigate and prosecute corruption is shared between several authorities. 
The Central Office for the Repression of Corruption (CDBC-OCRC) remains the specialised 
central  service  within  the  federal  police  with  competences  to  investigate  and  support  the 
investigation of serious corruption offences. The ‘Committee P’ is the external independent 
oversight body of the police forces responsible for monitoring compliance with integrity rules. 
The  Court  of  Audit  exercises  external  scrutiny  of  the  budgetary,  accounting,  and  financial 
operations of the federal state, whilst the Interfederal Corps of the Inspectorate of Finance is a 
public service performing controls related to the legality, feasibility, and appropriateness of 
public expenditure. The Unit for Integrity and Culture within the Federal Public Service for 
Policy and Support (FOD BOSA) will be transformed into a “Integrity Bureau” which remains 
in charge of developing the federal integrity policy and integrity management for federal civil 
servants. The Federal Deontological Commission serves as an advisory commission on ethics 
to  the  Parliament.  Other  preventive  systems  and  institutions  exist  at  regional  level.  Anti-

59   Decision of the  Committee of Ministers adopted during its  meeting of 20-22 September 2022, H46-7 Bell 
group  v.  Belgium  (Application  No.  44826/05)  CM/Del/Dec(2022)1443/H46-7,  paragraph  5:  ‘deplored  the 
persistent lack of data on the average processing time (“disposition time”) of civil proceedings at first instance 
and recalled that there is a more general weakness in judicial statistics, preventing the measurement of the 
efficiency of the Belgian Justice system, the full assessment of the execution of judgments and, above all, the 
adoption of appropriate policies and measures; invited thus the authorities to rapidly strengthen their dialogue 
with the Secretariat and with the CEPEJ to explore possible solutions and to deploy all other useful means to 
transmit,  as  soon  as  possible,  complete  judicial  statistics,  as  detailed  as  possible,  on  civil  and  criminal 
proceedings’; Report of the Federal Institute for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights from 29 July 
2022, p. 3; Interim Resolution CM/ResDH(2021)103 of the Committee of Ministers of 9 June 2021 and 2022 
Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 6. 

60   Figure 12, 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard.  
61   Figure 13, 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard.  
62   CEPEJ data, Belgium country fiches for year 2021. 
63   Input received from the Federal Institute for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights for the 2023 Rule 
of Law report. According to the information provided, excessively long proceedings do not concern all of the 
Belgian  courts,  but  particularly  those  placed  in  the  largest  Belgium  cities,  such  as  Brussels  and  Antwerp. 
According to the information received from the Bar Association in the context of the country visit to Belgium, 
in the Brussels court of appeal 12.000 cases were pending last year. 

64   High Council of Justice, Audit, Court of Appeal of Brussels, 30 June 2022. 
65   Input received from Belgium for the 2023 Rule of law report. 

9 

 
                                                           
 
corruption is part of relevant strategies and action plans while there is no single anti-corruption 
strategic framework; nor any overall coordination body in charge of anti-corruption policy66. 

The perception among experts and business executives is that the level of corruption in 
the  public  sector  remains  relatively  low.  In  the  2022  Corruption  Perceptions  Index  by 
Transparency International, Belgium scores 73/100 and ranks 9th in the European Union and 
18th globally67. This perception has been relatively stable68 over the past five years. The 2023 
Special  Eurobarometer  on  Corruption  shows  that  62%  of  respondents  consider  corruption 
widespread in their country (EU average 70%) and 14% of respondents feel personally affected 
by  corruption  in  their  daily  lives  (EU  average  24%)69.  As  regards  businesses,  54%  of 
companies consider that corruption is widespread (EU average 65%) and 30% consider that 
corruption  is  a  problem  when  doing  business  (EU  average  35%)70.  Furthermore,  40%  of 
respondents find that there are enough successful prosecutions to deter people from  corrupt 
practices  (EU  average  32%)71,  while  43%  of  companies  believe  that  people  and  businesses 
caught for bribing a senior official are appropriately punished (EU average 30%)72.  

The  Central  Office  for  the  Repression  of  Corruption  (CDBC-OCRC)  and  prosecution 
services continued to tackle several prominent high-level corruption cases, despite overall 
limited resources. There is good cooperation between the CDBC-OCRC and the prosecution 
service73, in particular during multiple complex and high-level cases that were handled in the 
reporting period74. While resources of the CDBC-OCRC have improved over the past years75, 
they  remain  limited  overall,  particularly  considering  the  increasing  number  of  complex 

66   Aspects of fraud are dealt with in the National Security Plan 2022-2025, as priorities for the police. There are 
several networks and cooperation platforms at federal level that deal with coordination of some aspects of anti-
corruption policy, although no body was identified that coordinates anti-corruption policy as a whole. 2022 
Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 8, information received from 
the Ministry of Justice in the context of the country visit to Belgium and written contribution from the Ministry 
of Justice received in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 

67   Transparency  International  (2023),  Corruption  Perceptions  Index  2022,  pp.  2-3.  The  level  of  perceived 
corruption  is  categorised  as  follows:  low  (the  perception  among  experts  and  business  executives  of  public 
sector corruption scores above 79); relatively low (scores between 79-60), relatively high (scores between 59-
50), high (scores below 50). 

68   In 2018 the score was 75, while, in 2022, the score is 73. The score significantly increases/decreases when it 
changes  more  than  five  points;  improves/deteriorates  (changes  between  4-5  points);  is  relatively  stable 
(changes from 1-3 points) in the last five years. 

69 Special Eurobarometer 534 on Corruption (2023). The Eurobarometer data on citizens’ corruption perception 

and experience is updated every year. The previous data set is the Special Eurobarometer 523 (2022). 

70 Flash Eurobarometer 524 on Businesses’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU (2023). The Eurobarometer 
data  on  business  attitudes  towards  corruption  as  is  updated  every  year.  The  previous  data  set  is  the  Flash 
Eurobarometer 507 (2022). 

71  Special Eurobarometer 534 on Corruption (2023).  
72   Flash Eurobarometer 524 on Businesses’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU (2023).  
73   Information  received  from  the  CDBC-OCRC  in  the  context  of  the  country  visit  to  Belgium  and  written 

contribution from the CDBC-OCRC received in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 

74   This includes the corruption scandal at the European Parliament, but also cases involving Members of regional 
Parliaments and corruption cases linked to drugs criminality. Information received from the CDBC-OCRC 
and Transparency International in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 

75   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 9. 

10 

 
 
                                                           
corruption  cases76.  Around  60  investigators  work  on  corruption  cases  at  the  CDBC-OCRC. 
80%  of  their  cases  involve  bribery  of  public  officials77.  The  Government  has  proposed  to 
allocate additional resources for the federal judicial police78. Cooperation with the European 
Public  Prosecutor’s  Office  (EPPO)  is  going  well,  with  only  minor  problems  as  regards 
reporting of cases signalled79.  

Specific measures are being taken to address corruption linked to organised crime groups 
and drugs trafficking, which is seen as a growing phenomenon, while integrity rules in 
the Police remain lacking. Investigators report an increasing number of cases of corruption of 
public officials linked to organised crime (mainly drug-related), for example public officials 
accessing  databases  unauthorised  to  obtain  specific  data  for  criminal  groups  in  return  for 
substantial payments80. This increase leads to difficulties in prioritising resources, for example 
when trying to determine which cases can lead to “ringleaders” instead of “smaller” cases81. In 
early 2023, the Federal Government appointed a federal magistrate as “drugs commissioner” 
to address all aspects linked to organised drugs criminality, including corruption and integrity, 
in a more coordinated and multidisciplinary manner82. In this context, existing integrity policy 
within the police force appears insufficient to adequately prevent cases of criminal infiltration 
within law enforcement. The 184 local police zones maintain disparate integrity policies, with 
few horizontal aspects shared between them83. Smaller police zones are not able or willing to 
maintain  an  effective  integrity  policy,  which  also  affects  the  response  to  possible  cases  of 
criminal infiltration84. Nonetheless, a “vision text” on integrity policy for the entire police is in 
the final stages of preparation, which, if approved, could represent a significant cooperation of 
the entire Police on integrity85. The authorities did not move forward on a Code of Conduct for 

76   Information  received  from  the  CDBC-OCRC  in  the  context  of  the  country  visit  to  Belgium  and  written 

contribution from the CDBC-OCRC received in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 

77   Belgian  Federal  Police  (2022),  Corruption,  a  difficult  to  prove  crime  (Statement  for  International  Anti-

Corruption Day).  

78   College of Prosecutors-General (2022), Press Release – The College responds to the parliamentary hearing of 
the ministers on the refinancing of the Judicial Police and Minister of Interior (2022), Additional resources for 
integrated police approved. 

79   In some cases, there is still lack of knowledge of the EPPO's powers and therefore immediate reporting to the 

EPPO has been affected (the cases get reported to the “regular” prosecution). EPPO input p. 3. 

80   The police indicated that the main targets of bribery by drugs-related organised crime groups are the police, 
customs,  port  and  local  officials.  Belgian  Federal  Police  (2022),  Corruption,  a  difficult  to  prove  crime 
(Statement for International Anti-Corruption Day), information received from the CDBC-OCRC in the context 
of the country visit to Belgium and written contribution from the CDBC-OCRC received in the context of the 
country visit to Belgium. See also 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in 
Belgium, p. 9. 

81   Information  received  from  the  CDBC-OCRC  in  the  context  of  the  country  visit  to  Belgium,  written 
contribution from the CDBC-OCRC received in the context of the country visit to Belgium and Federal House 
of  Representatives  (2022),  The  situation  in  the  federal  judicial  police,  report  of  an  exchange  of  views, 
55K2822001, pp. 7, 13, 37, 40. 

82   Information  received  from  the  Ministry  of  Justice  in  the  context  of  the  country  visit  to  Belgium,  written 
contribution from the Ministry of Justice received in the context of the country visit to Belgium, and Prime 
Minister’s Office (2023), National Drugs Commissioner and more police in Port of Antwerp to tackle drugs 
mafia.  

83   Information received from the Federal Police Integrity Department and the Committee P in the context of the 
country visit to Belgium. See also 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in 
Belgium, pp. 10-11. 

84   I.e. the use of corruption by organised criminal groups to gain access to certain public institutions. 
85   Information received from the Federal Police Integrity Department and the Committee P in the context of the 

country visit to Belgium. 

11 

 
                                                           
the  entire  integrated  police,  as  it  was  recommended  by  GRECO86  and  the  Federal  Police’s 
integrity cell remains understaffed and underfunded87. However, the results of an evaluation of 
the  entire  police  resulted  in  a  number  of  concrete  policy  proposals  on  the  importance  of 
integrity88. Other measures to improve integrity include an increased screening of staff working 
in  the  major  ports89,  the  use  of  multidisciplinary  investigation  teams  in  five  major  cities  to 
better  fight  infiltration90  and  a  proposal  to  better  assist  local  governments  in  their  public 
procurement procedures91.  

Shortcomings remain with regard to the investigation and prosecution of foreign bribery 
cases.  As  indicated  in  previous  Rule  of  Law  Reports,  the  implementation  of  some  OECD 
recommendations, in particular on investigations and prosecution of foreign bribery cases has 
not been finalised, including as regards the limitation period of investigations92. Investigations 
and prosecutions of foreign bribery cases continue to be difficult given the complex operations 
in third countries and the resource situation, and overall difficulties in gathering evidence in 
these cases93. The prosecution has reported eight cases of foreign bribery registered from 2019 
to 202294.  

Out-of-court  settlements  and  plea  deals  continue  to  be  positively  regarded  by  law 
enforcement  and  are  regularly  used  to  obtain  results  in  high  profile  corruption  cases, 
despite  criticism.  Out-of-court  settlements95  continue  to  be  used  for  deals  between  the 
prosecution and accused persons in order to drop proceedings without an admission of guilt. 
According to the prosecution, 16 such settlements were registered in cases of corruption over 

86   See 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 10 and GRECO, 

Fifth Evaluation Round – Compliance Report, Belgium, recommendation xvi, paras 75-81. 

87   Information received from the Federal Police Integrity Department and the Committee P in the context of the 

country visit to Belgium. 

88   Options include setting up a centre of expertise, a legislative approach, a network of integrity coordinators, or 
a focus on whistleblowing. Existing initiatives remain ongoing. A working group continues to examine ways 
to introduce integrity screening during the entire career of a police officer and not just at the start, while a 
legislative  proposal  introducing  integrity  checks  at  the  moment  of  promotion  of  a  police  officer  remains 
pending in the Parliament since September 2020. Minister of Interior (2023), Police hands vision of the future 
to Minister Annelies Verlinden and General Assembly of the Police (2023), A blueprint for the police of the 
future, pp. 489-511, information received from the Ministry of Justice, Federal Police Integrity Department 
and the Committee P in the context of the country visit to Belgium; written contribution from the Ministry of 
Justice received in the context of the country visit to Belgium and Federal House of Representatives (2020), 
Legislative proposal 55-1497/001 on the review of some elements of the statute of police services to introduce 
an institutionalised integrity check at the moment of promotion. 

89   Prime Minister’s Office (2023), National Drugs Commissioner and more police in Port of Antwerp to tackle 

drugs mafia. 

90   Information  received  from  the  CDBC-OCRC  in  the  context  of  the  country  visit  to  Belgium,  written 
contribution from the CDBC-OCRC received in the context of the country visit to Belgium and Government 
meeting (2022), draft law on various fiscal issues and the fight against fraud.  

91   The proposal, made by the Flemish Government, is scheduled to be discussed by the Interfederal Conciliation 
Committee, which discusses affairs between the regional and Federal governments. Information received from 
the Ministry of Justice in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 

92   OECD (2018), Phase 3 evaluation of Belgium: additional written report; 2021 Rule of Law Report, Country 

Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p.7. 

93   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 9. 
94   Two in 2019; two in 2020; three in 2021, one in 2022. Written contribution from the Prosecution Service in 

the context of the country visit. 

95   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, pp. 9-10. 

12 

 
                                                           
the past  four  years96. An  audit by the High Council for Justice of the current  framework is 
ongoing, while the College of Prosecutors-General sent an evaluation of the law to the Ministry 
of Justice in May 202297. A legal possibility for suspects to conclude plea deals was notable 
for its first-time use in two high-level corruption cases, leading to additional investigatory acts 
and  suspects  pursued98.  This  includes  the  recent  high-profile  corruption  case  involving 
members of the European Parliament99. While the tools are appreciated by law enforcement as 
a way to reach results more efficiently, in particular when a case is procedurally stalled or close 
to the statute of limitations100, concerns remain over the secrecy of the settlements and fairness 
of treatment101. 

Significant progress has been made as regards the Code of Conduct for federal public 
office  holders,  which  is  to  be  extended  to  all  members  of  ministerial  private  offices, 
although  integrity  policy  for  Ministers,  their  private  offices  as  well  as  members  of 
Parliament continues to have gaps. The 2022 Rule of Law Report recommended to Belgium 
to “[s]trengthen the integrity framework, including by adopting a Code of Conduct covering 
all members of ministerial private offices […]”. On 16 June 2023, the Government adopted a 
bill that would extend the application of the existing code of conduct for federal public office 
holders to all staff to members of the Federal Government (i.e., including the ministerial private 
offices),  whereas  previously  only  heads  and  deputy  heads  of  these  private  offices  were 
covered102.  This  proposal  still  has  to  be  voted  in  Parliament.  This  follows  opinions  on  the 
proposal by the Federal Deontological Commission, which gave a positive opinion in February 

96   Zero in 2019, seven in 2020, nine in 2021 and zero in 2022. See written contribution from the Prosecution 

Service in the context of the country visit. 

97   Information received from the High Council of Justice and the College of Public Prosecutors in the context of 
the country visit to Belgium and written contribution from the College of Public Prosecutors in the context of 
the country visit to Belgium. See also 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation 
in Belgium, pp. 9-10. In the meantime, an advice by the Human Rights Institute (FIRM-IFDH) stressed once 
again the importance of judicial control of such settlements. FIRM-IFDH, Evaluation of the mechanisms of 
penal transaction (art. 216 bis of the Criminal Procedure Code).  

98   The possibility to become an informer and conclude a plea deal in certain criminal cases (“spijtoptantregeling” 
/ “regime des repentis”) exists in Belgian law since 2018 (Law of 22 July 2018). Nonetheless, the regime has 
only been applied twice so far, both times in major corruption cases – once in a major sports corruption case 
concerning professional football (2021), and once in the ongoing corruption case involving Members and staff 
of the European Parliament (2023). The main suspects in the cases gave details about their modus operandi in 
return for a plea deal, which allowed investigators to identify and prosecute further persons of interest.  
99   Media articles from January 2023 quote a statement by the Prosecution Office given to the media: “One of the 
main protagonists in this case […] has signed a memorandum with the Federal Prosecutor pursuant to Articles 
216/1 to 216/8 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. […] With this memorandum, he undertakes to inform the 
investigators  and  Justice  in  particular  about  the  modus  operandi,  the  financial  arrangements  with  other 
countries involved, the financial constructions set up, the stakeholders of the structures set up and the benefits 
offered, the involvement of known and unknown persons within the investigation, including the identities of 
those he admits to bribing.” De Standaard (2023), Qatargate – “Informer” Panzeri names amounts and Knack 
(2023), #CorruptionEurope – Panzeri becomes informer. 

100  2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, pp. 9-10 and Information 

received from the CDBC-OCRC in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 

101  Knack  (2022),  Johan  Delmulle  on  the  out-of-court  settlements  (Johan  Delmulle  over  afkoopwet)  and 
VRTNWS (2022), More than 1500 Belgians bought off conviction in full secrecy, raising 1 billion Euro. See 
also 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, pp. 9-10 

102  Government Meeting (2023), Extension of deontological code for federal public office holders to all members 
of ministerial staff and House of Representatives, Draft Bill on Amendment of the Law of 6 January 2014 
concerning the foundation of the Federal Deontological Commission and the related Deontological Code of 
federal public office holders, Draft Bill 55K3421 

13 

 
                                                           
2023, although asked to  increase the scope to also cover parliamentary assistants103 and the 
Council  of  State104.  Significant  progress  was  therefore  made  on  this  part  of  the 
Recommendation from the 2022 Rule of Law report. On 16 June 2023, the Government also 
adopted and published a specific Code of Conduct for Ministers, containing integrity rules, as 
Ministers are currently not covered by the aforementioned Code of Conduct for federal public 
office holders105. This guidance on integrity for ministers was previously only dealt with in 
internal,  non-public  letters  sent  by  the  Prime  Minister106.  It  includes  rules  of  conduct  on 
integrity, responsibility, procedures in case of conflicts of interest, acceptance and exercise of 
other roles and functions, gifts, independence, respect for privacy, transparency, confidentiality 
and discretion and the obligations after the end of the mandate107. However, gaps remain in the 
integrity  policy,  particularly  due  to  the  absence  of  any  monitoring  and  enforcement 
mechanism108. The Federal Government adopted a prohibition on secondments from publicly 
traded  publicly  owned  companies,  following  revelations  that  private  offices  of  several 
ministers included seconded employees that were still being paid by such a  company which 
raised allegations of conflicts of interest109. At local level, a number of allegations of conflict 
of interest involving mayors were detected110. Overall, these cases raise concerns about a low 
awareness of the concept of conflict of interest at all levels of government. As regards public 
procurement, the Flash Eurobarometer on Businesses’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU 
shows  that  28%  of  companies  in  Belgium  (EU  average  26%)  think  that  corruption  has 

103  Federal Deontological Commission (2023), General Advice nr. 2023/2 of 24 February 2023 on the preliminary 
draft  of  amendment  of  the  law  of  6  January  2014  concerning  the  creation  of  the  Federal  Deontological 
Commission and the Code of Conduct of Federal Office Holders. 

104  Government Meeting (2023), Extension of deontological code for federal public office holders to all members 
of ministerial staff. In addition, the adoption of this reform would appear to partially fulfill a recommendation 
made by GRECO. GRECO, Fifth Evaluation Round – Evaluation Report (2020), Belgium, recommendation 
iii,  para  45  states 
taken 
to  ensure  that  members  of  strategy  units/private  offices  are  subject  to  a  clear  and  harmonised 
ethical 
supervisory 
the  code  or  codes 
arrangements and appropriate sanctions.” The current reform does not foresee any supervision or sanctions. 
See also GRECO, Fifth Evaluation Round – Compliance Report (2022), Belgium, recommendation iii, pars. 
18-24. 

that  “(i)  an  ethical  code  be  adopted  for  ministers  and  steps  be 

is/are  accompanied  by 

framework,  and 

that 

(ii) 

105  Government Meeting (2023), Circular on deontological code for government members 
106  Information  received  from  the  Prime  Minister’s  Office  in  the  context  of  the  country  visit  to  Belgium  and 
written contribution from the Ministry of Justice received in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 

107  Prime Minister’s Office (2023), Code of Conduct for Ministers 
108  As recommended multiple times by GRECO – a number of GRECO recommendations remain unimplemented. 
GRECO, Fifth Evaluation Round – Compliance Report (2022), Belgium, recommendation iii and pars. 115-
120 and GRECO, Fourth Evaluation Round – 3rd Interim Compliance Report (2022), pars. 60-62.  

109 In one case, the private office was responsible for the procurement of certain government contracts that were 
eventually  won  by  that  same  publicly  owned  company  that  paid  the  employees  in  questions.  Members  of 
Parliament from an opposition political party submitted allegations of criminal misconduct to the prosecution, 
while the minister in question disputes any criminal allegations, although the cabinet members were dismissed. 
It  is  unclear  if  this  complaint  will  be  taken  forward  by  the  prosecution.  VRTNWS  (2023),  N-VA  goes  to 
prosecution with documents on potential Bpost-cheating and VRTNWS (2023), Detached cabinet members 
on cabinet Minister De Sutter return to bpost. 

110  Separate  allegations  of  conflicts  of  interest  were  detected  in  at  least  four  municipalities  in  Belgium,  all 
involving possible conflicts of interest of mayors in relation to real estate transactions. See Apache (2023), 
Audit shows collusion between mayor and project developers in Boechout; De Standaard (2022), Moorslede 
and Staden under supervision after audit: possible conflicts of interest of mayors; De Morgen (2022), Possible 
scandal around new mayor in St Truiden; and De Standaard (2022), “I am a politician that earned some money 
on top of my mandate”. 

14 

 
                                                           
prevented them from winning a public tender or a public procurement contract in practice in 
the last three years111.  

Integrity policy for civil servants is undergoing reform. The non-binding Code of Ethics for 
federal civil servants was updated on 5 July 2022, focusing on five pillars. The Code contains 
concrete examples to aid in its implementation112. Through a royal decree on integrity policy 
and integrity management in different federal public sector organizations, the Unit for Integrity 
and Culture within the Federal Public Service Policy and Support will be transformed into a 
“Integrity Bureau” with the overall responsibility for the integrity management of federal civil 
servants113.  As  a  result,  each  Federal  Public  Service  will  also  have  their  own  integrity 
coordinator, who will be the single internal point of contact for integrity. Integrity coordinators 
will meet  in  a federal  network under the  aegis  of the Bureau114. The decree also foresees a 
yearly public report on the integrity management of federal public sector organizations115.  

Shortcomings  concerning  the  verification  and  transparency  of  asset  and  interest 
declarations  remain,  despite  some  steps  forward.  Asset  declaration  laws  were  revised  in 
2022 to include “liabilities” as a category that needs to be declared116. This aims to fulfil one 
specific  recommendation  by  GRECO117.  The  system  of  asset  declarations  does  not  ensure 
adequate verification and transparency, as the Court of Audit receives the declarations in sealed 
envelopes  and  declarations  are  only  accessible  by  investigating  judges  in  the  context  of 
criminal investigations118. This shortcoming was not addressed through the recent legislative 
revision. While consultations on improving the system of asset declarations are ongoing, no 
political agreement has been found so far119. In relation to declaration of additional mandates, 
9 573 persons out of the 9 609 required by law to submit a declaration of their mandates in 
2022  complied  with  this  requirement,  although  due  to  a  lack  of  adequate  verification,  the 

111 Flash Eurobarometer 524 on Businesses’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU (2023). This is 2 percentage 

points above the EU average. 

112  Input from Belgium for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 7 and information received from the Unit for Integrity 
and Culture in the context of the country visit to Belgium.  For the full version of the Code of Conduct, see 
https://etaamb.openjustice.be/nl/omzendbrief_n2022031697.html.   

113  Royal Decree on integrity policy of 18 April 2023. 
114 Information received from the Unit for Integrity and Culture in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 
115 Royal Decree on integrity policy of 18 April 2023. 
116 Input from Belgium for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, pp. 7-8. 
117  Additional  changes  included  in  the  law  include  practical  issues  signalled  by  the  Court  of  Audit.  GRECO, 
Fourth Evaluation Round – 3rd Interim Compliance Report (2022), recommendation iii, par. 20; Information 
received from the Ministry of Justice in the context of the country visit to Belgium and written contribution 
from  the  Ministry  of  Justice  and  Parliament  Legal  Service  received  in  the  context  of  the  country  visit  to 
Belgium. 

118  As noted in the 2022, 2021 and 2020 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in 
Belgium, p.12, p. 8 and p.8 respectively. GRECO repeated the previous remarks (as mentioned in the 2022 
Rule of Law report) from the Fifth Round Evaluation Report in its new compliance report. See GRECO, Fifth 
Evaluation Round – Compliance Report (2022), Belgium, recommendations xii and xiii, paras 63-66.  

119  GRECO, Fourth Evaluation Round – 3rd Interim Compliance Report (2022), recommendation iii, par. 20 and 
information received from the Ministry of Justice in the context of the country visit to Belgium. While GRECO 
reports  that  “a  special  bill  has  been  drawn  up  by  an  interparliamentary  working  group,  providing  that 
parliamentarians’ declarations of assets should be submitted annually”, the government stated no political 
agreement on the issue between the various assemblies and parliaments has been found. As reported last year, 
a number of other legislative initiatives on this topic remain pending in Parliament, and it remains unclear 
whether they would be able to collect a sufficient majority. 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the 
rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 12.  

15 

 
                                                           
complete correctness of declarations remains solely the individual responsibility of the person 
declaring them120. The Federal Deontological Commission published an own-initiative opinion 
concerning the accumulation of functions in the public sector in early 2023, where it calls for 
the establishment of a list of public mandates and an obligatory declaration of multiple public 
mandates121.  

There has been some progress in relation to rules on gifts and benefits, as ministers now 
have some provisions  in place  while Parliament remains without clear rules.  The 2022 
Rule  of  Law  Report  recommended  to  Belgium  to  “Strengthen  the  integrity  framework, 
including  by  adopting  […]  rules  on  gifts  and  benefits  for  members  of  Parliament  and 
Government […]”. Shortcomings identified in previous Rule of Law Reports122 have not been 
fully  addressed  so  far.  Parliament  remains  without  clear  and  consistent  rules  on  gifts  and 
benefits. The Ministerial Code of Conduct, adopted on 16 June, does include rules on gifts. In 
particular,  each  individual  member  of  the  government  is  asked  to  set  up  a  register  of  gifts 
received123. Given that the bill to extend the code of conduct for public mandate holders to all 
members  of  the  ministerial  private  offices  also  contains  general  rules  on  gifts  and  benefits, 
members of ministerial private offices would now also be covered by rules on gifts and benefits 
upon adoption of this bill by Parliament124. An assessment on the risks and policy measures 
related to post-employment conflicts of interest in the federal public service and ministerial 
private offices is also forthcoming in 2023125. While consultations within the Parliament itself 
on possible changes to the rules on gifts and benefits are reportedly ongoing, no progress could 
be identified126. Opinions requested by Parliament and provided during 2021 by the Federal 
Deontological Commission were not taken forward127. The Federal Deontological Commission 
continues to offer individual advice to Members of Parliament on potential issues of conflict 
of interest, but this function remains sparsely used128. As changes were made to rules on gifts 

120 Court of Audit (2023), Press Release – Nearly all lists of mandates and asset declarations were submitted. 
121  Federal  Deontological  Commission,  Opinion  2022/1  of  20  December  2022  –  Own  initiative  opinion  on 
conflicts of interest related to the cumulation of public mandates and functions, pp. 1-4. See also information 
received from the Federal Deontological Commission in the context of the country visit to Belgium. Neither 
government, the public administration nor parliament have so far responded to the opinion. 

122  2020 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 8; 2021 Rule of Law 
Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 8 and 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country 
Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, pp. 12-13. 
123 Prime Minister’s Office (2023), Code of Conduct for Ministers 
124 House of Representatives, Draft Bill on Amendment of the Law of 6 January 2014 concerning the foundation 
of the Federal Deontological Commission and the related Deontological Code of federal public office holders, 
Draft Bill 55K3421 

125 Information received from the Unit for Integrity and Culture in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 
126  GRECO, Fourth Evaluation Round – 3rd Interim Compliance Report (2022), recommendation I, pars. 10-12; 
GRECO, Fifth Evaluation Round – Compliance Report (2022), Belgium, recommendation x, pars 54-58 and 
written contribution from the Ministry of Justice in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 

127  Information  received  from  the  Federal  Deontological  Commission  in  the  context  of  the  country  visit  to 
Belgium and Federal Deontological Commission (2021), Advice nr. 2021/3 on prevention of corruption for 
parliamentarians  (gifts)  and  Federal  Deontological  Commission  (2021),  Interpretative  Advice  2021/5  on 
prevention of corruption for parliamentarians (gifts).  

128  One opinion to an MP in relation to travel paid by third countries was published in full, in which the Federal 
Deontological Commission concluded that sponsored travel can only be accepted by MPs if strict transparency 
requirements are taken into account (such as publishing these travels online). In addition, in the first quarter 
of  2023,  two  individual  confidential  opinions  regarding  conflicts  of  interests  were  issued  at  the  request  of 
Members of Parliament. Federal Deontological Commission, Individual advice of 9 February 2023 on three 
invitations received to travel to Qatar and the compliance with rules on deontology, ethics and conflicts of 

16 

 
                                                           
and benefits for Ministers, some progress was made on this part of the Recommendation from 
the 2022 Rule of Law report.  

Some progress was made on rules on “revolving doors” although gaps remain. The 2022 
Rule of Law report recommended Belgium to “Strengthen the integrity framework, including 
by adopting […] rules on revolving doors for Government and their private offices”.  There 
remain some rules in place on ‘revolving doors’ for members of Parliament and public officials, 
including in the existing Code of Conduct for public office holders129. As the Government is 
expanding the application of the Code of Conduct for public office holders to Cabinet members, 
this  would  also  expand  the  application  of  rules  on  revolving  doors.  In  addition,  similar 
provisions were included in the recently adopted Code of Conduct for Ministers. However, the 
existing rules on revolving doors continue to have important gaps. There are no clear or binding 
rules regarding cooling-off periods or transitory restrictions for either ministers, their staff, or 
members of Parliament, limiting their effectiveness130. This was confirmed in an own initiative 
opinion by the Federal Deontological Commission on the topic, published on 15 May 2023. It 
recommends introducing legally binding general rules on revolving doors, including a cooling-
off  period  for  particular  high-level  functions  (ministers,  heads  of  private  offices,  high-level 
civil servants), among other measures such as lobbying bans for former ministers and better 
preventative action on conflicts of interest131. As such, there has been some progress on this 
part of the Recommendation as regards the issue of revolving doors.  

So  far,  there  has  been  no  further  progress  on  completing  the  reform  of  lobbying 
legislation.  The  2022  Rule  of  Law  Report  recommended  to  Belgium  to  “[c]omplete  the 
legislative reform on lobbying, establishing a framework including a transparency register and 
a  legislative  footprint,  covering  both  members  of  Parliament  and  Government”.  Work  on  a 
lobbying  reform  is  proceeding  slowly,  with  no  concrete  steps  registered  in  the  reporting 
period132.  The  Government  remains  committed  to  lobbying  reform133,  although  previously 
reported plans to extend the existing transparency register of the Parliament to the Government 
remain  under  discussion134.  The  Government  has  chosen  to  proceed  with  its  own  lobbying 
regulation in the form of a royal decree, although a timeline for adoption remains unclear135. 

interest and Information received from the Federal Deontological Commission in the context of the country 
visit to Belgium. 

129  2020 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, pp. 8-9; 2021 Rule of Law 
Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 8 and 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country 
Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 13-14. 

130  2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 13-14. 
131  Federal  Deontological  Commission  (2023),  General  own  initiative  advice  nr.  2023/3  of  15  May  2023  on 

mobility between the public and private sectors, to avoid conflicts of interest (‘revolving doors’) 

132  See input from Belgium for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 7. Question 19 on progress in relation to the 
recommendations in the fight against corruption from the 2022 Rule of Law report was not answered by the 
Belgian authorities,  making it difficult to evaluate  progress.  The  Ministers responsible have answered oral 
questions in the Parliamentary Commission on the Constitution on the topic on 31 May. 

133  2022 Rule of Law  Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 13 and information 

received from the Prime Minister’s Office in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 

134  The  plans appear legally difficult, as it is complex to transpose or take as a basis the  existing rules on the 
transparency  register  for  Parliament  also  to  Government  members  due  to  different  legal  statuses  of  the 
positions. Information received from the Ministry of Justice and the Prime Minister’s Office in the context of 
the country visit to Belgium and written contribution from the Ministry of Justice received in the context of 
the country visit to Belgium.  

135  Information received from the Ministry of Justice and the Prime Minister’s Office in the context of the country 

visit to Belgium. 

17 

 
                                                           
Parliament  also  continues  the  discussion  on  improving  its  lobbying  legislation.  136. 
Nonetheless, at this point in time, no concrete steps forward on the lobbying reform for either 
Government or Parliament have been taken, and therefore so far, no further progress has been 
made as regards the recommendation from the 2022 Rule of Law Report.  

Preliminary discussions on a broader reform of the political party financing framework 
continue. The current Government had committed to political party financing reform, as the 
system which includes a large amount of government subsidies for political parties, is seen as 
outdated137.  In  October  2022,  an  academic  study  commissioned  by  Parliament,  proposed  a 
radical  overhaul  of  political  party  financing  rules  in  Belgium138.  Following  its  publication, 
additional expert advice from academia and civil society139 and a public consultation through 
citizens panels was requested by Parliament140, with some civil society organisations criticising 
this  as  a  delaying  tactic  pointing  that  political  agreement  on  any  sort  of  reform  remains 
lacking141. The citizens panel, concluded in May 2023, called for more checks on the expenses 
of political parties and their expenditure on social media, among others142; although it is unclear 
if any of these proposals will be taken forward by the authorities. A public debate over pension 
bonuses of retired Members of Parliament (at both federal and regional level) raised questions 
on the ethics of Members of Parliament managing their own pensions143. In a minor revision, 
both chambers of parliament voted to temporary lower subsidies to political parties by 5.32% 
for the years 2023 and 2024. This would represent savings of 1.98 million euro144.  

Two  laws  were  passed  to  strengthen  whistleblower  protection.  They  were  adopted  by 
Parliament  at  the  end  of  2022,  one  for  the  private  sector  coordinated  by  the  Ministry  of 
Economy and one for the public sector, led by the Federal Public Service Policy and Support145. 

136  Information received from the Ministry of Justice and the Prime Minister’s Office in the context of the country 
visit to Belgium and 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 
13. The legislative proposal pending in Parliament (55-2394) would expand the Transparency Register and 
introduce a legislative footprint for each piece of legislation.  

137 Government Coalition Agreement (2020), p. 83. 
138 This study includes recommendations such as a maximum ceiling of funds a political party can receive from 
the  government,  matching  funds  where  political  parties  need  to  raise  on  their  own  some  means  before 
government financing kicks in, limits on donations and clearly separating the financial means of parliament 
groups from political parties. House of Representatives (2023), Comparative legal study on the financing of 
political parties in Europe, as drafted by the experts of the commission of control on campaign and political 
party finances, p. 9. 

139 Information received from the Ministry of Justice in the context of the country visit to Belgium. According to 
the  government,  the  initial  report  consists  of  a  comparative  analysis  and  brief  recommendations.  These 
recommendations are a first step but more hearings on different topics were deemed necessary. 

140 For more information on the citizens panels, see https://weneedtotalk.be/nl/nieuws.  
141 Information received from Transparency International in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 
142 De Standaard (2023), Citizens panel wants checks on expenses of political parties. 
143 In early 2023, a number of special legal regimes were publicised. These regimes allegedly allowed a number 
of retired MPs (and, in certain cases, high level civil servants) to avoid the legal pension limit as determined 
by the pension law (the “plafond-Wijninckx”) and receive additional pension. This led to a public debate. See 
De Standaard (2023), Parliament chokes again on own pensions and RTL INFO (2023), Pensions of deputies 
should not have exceeded plafond-Wijninckx. 

144  Wetsontwerp  tot  wijziging  van  de  wet  van  4  juli  1989  betreffende  de  beperking  en  de  controle  van  de 
verkiezingsuitgaven  voor  de  verkiezingen  van  de  Kamer  van  volksvertegenwoordigers,  de  financiering 
en de open boekhouding van de politieke partijen 55-3025 and VRT, House of Representatives lowers party 
subsidies by 5.3%. 

145  Input from Belgium for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 8. The adopted laws are “The Law of November 28th 
2022on  the  protection  of  whistleblowers  in  the  private  sector”,  published  in  the  Official  Journal  on  15 

18 

 
                                                           
Stakeholders signal some differences between the protection regime foreseen in both laws. The 
law on the public sector provides a broad scope of protection for whistleblowers146 (anything 
reported “in the public interest”), although the foreseen procedure could prove to be somewhat 
cumbersome147.  However,  civil  society  considers  that  the  law  on  the  private  sector,  which 
follows the strict minimum level of protection148, could lead to a hesitation to report given that 
some topics would be covered by the protection whereas others would not149. The law on the 
public sector will apply to members of ministerial private offices and their staff, which was a 
recommendation of GRECO150.  

III.  MEDIA PLURALISM AND MEDIA FREEDOM 

In Belgium, a legal framework based on a set of constitutional safeguards, such as for the press 
and freedom of expression, aim to ensure media pluralism. The competences for safeguarding 
and promoting media pluralism lie with the three linguistic Communities (Flemish, French and 
German-speaking  Community).  Each  Community  has  its  own  media  regulatory  authority151 
and public service media provider152. There is room for improvement regarding public access 
to information, particularly in terms of the response time in practice153.  

Audiovisual media regulators continue to work independently and effectively while the 
press remains subject to effective self-regulatory supervision. The regulatory framework 
for media regulators, ensuring their independence and effectiveness, has remained stable154. 
While  the  current  resources  are  at  this  stage  adequate155,  new  tasks  following  from  EU 
legislation, such as the Digital Services Act, comes with a need for additional staff; challenges 
in  this  respect  are  not  only  budgetary  but  also  the  need  to  find  well-qualified  personnel156. 
There  are  two  journalistic  self-regulatory  bodies157  which  effectively  ensure  political 
independence of print media158. 

December  2022  and  entered  into  force  on  15  February  2023  and  “The  Law  of  December  8th 2022  on  the 
protection of whistleblowers in the federal public sector”, published in the Official Journal on 23 December 
2022 and entered into force on 3 January 2023.  

146 In some ways going beyond the requirements put in place by the EU Directive.  
147 Minister of Public Affairs, Better protection for civil servants that blow the whistle and Information received 

from Transparency International in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 

148 The minimum as required by the EU Directive; member states are able to go further on certain aspects.  
149 Information received from Transparency International in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 
150 GRECO, Fifth Evaluation Round – Compliance Report (2022), Belgium, recommendation xiv, par. 128 and 
written contribution from the Ministry of Justice received in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 
151 The Vlaamse Regulator voor de Media (VRM) for Flanders, the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA) for 

the French-speaking Community and the Medienrat for the German-speaking Community. 

152 This  is  VRT  for  Flanders,  RTBF  for  the  French-speaking  Community  and  BRF  for  the  German-speaking 

Community. 

153 Belgium ranks 31st in the 2023 Reporters without Borders World Press Freedom Index compared to rank 23 in 

the previous year. 

154 2023 Media Pluralism Monitor, country report Belgium, p. 12. 
155 Information received in the context of the country visit to Belgium from the the media regulators. 
156 Information received in the context of the country visit to Belgium from the the media regulators. 
157 The Journalistic Ethics Council (Conseil de déontologie journalistique), the self-regulatory media body for the 
French and German-speaking communities, and the Council for Journalism (Raad voor de Journalistiek), the 
self-regulatory body for the press in the Flemish community. 
158 2023 Media Pluralism Monitor, country report Belgium, pp. 9, 17.  

19 

 
                                                           
There  have  been  no  new  developments  regarding  media  ownership  transparency.  The 
Flemish  media  regulator  annually  publishes  a  very  detailed  media  concentration  report 
regarding all sectors159 and the three media regulators each provide websites with an overview 
of  the  available  audiovisual  media  offers160.  However,  information  concerning  beneficial 
ownership is only partly included161. Statutory safeguards exist against Government or political 
interference regarding the audiovisual sector162 and no instances of such interference have been 
reported for any sector163. As regards the high level  of media concentration reported in last 
year’s  Rule  of  Law  report164,  all  three  media  regulators  stressed  the  importance  of  taking 
account of the fact that citizens in their communities also consult media from the Netherlands, 
France, and Germany, respectively165. Even though concerns had been expressed by the media 
regulator for the French Community regarding the 2022 acquisition of RTL Belgium (a French-
language provider) by DPG Media and Groupe Rossel, they were not ultimately reflected in 
the competition assessment of the merger166. 

Well-established safeguards continue to ensure the independence of public service media. 
The  independent  supervisory  bodies  for  public  service  media  were  not  charged  with  cases 
giving  rise  to  concern167.  In  all  three  public  service  media  providers,  the  members  of  the 
supervisory boards are selected on the basis of the proportional representation of the political 
parties in  the respective  Parliament. Following the reform  that was reported on last  year168, 
since July 2022, the 12-person board of directors of the Flemish public service media provider 
VRT has four members that are appointed by the Government on the grounds of their expertise 
and independence and on the basis of recommendations of an independent external consultancy 
firm169. 

Some progress has been made as regards public access to documents, insofar as initiatives 
are on their way to allow the Commission for access to administrative documents (CTB-
CADA) to take binding decisions. The 2022 Rule of Law Report recommended to Belgium 
to  “Strengthen  the  framework  for  access  to  official  documents,  in  particular  by  improving 

159 VRM, 2022 report on media concentration in Flanders. 
160 2021 Rule of Law Report, country chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 10. 
161 This lack of information was already addressed by the 2022 Media Pluralism Monitor, country report Belgium, 
p. 13, and has been reiterated by the 2023 edition of the Monitor, p. 14. The report of the Flemish regulator 
contains information about owner families in the case of some big media outlets. 

162 Article 163, 174 of the Flemish decree on radio broadcasting and television;  Article 3.1.1-2, 3.2.1-4 of the 

decree of the French-speaking Community on audiovisual media services and video-sharing services. 

163 See also 2023 Media Pluralism Monitor, country report Belgium, p. 17, which attributes a low risk to political 

independence also for the other sectors due to ‘informal mechanisms’. 

164 2022 Rule of Law Report, country chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 15. 
165 Information received in the context of the country visit to Belgium from the the media regulators. 
166 Information received in the context of the country visit to Belgium from the the media regulator CSA. 
167 See 2023 Media Pluralism Monitor, Country Chapter Belgium, p. 18; VRM, Decisions related to 2022; CSA, 
Decisions related to 2022. According to European Parliament’s Flash Eurobarometer: News & Media Survey 
2022, p. 37, 56% of respondents in Belgium stated that they trust public TV and radio stations, above the EU 
average  of  49%.  The  Flemish  public  media  service  provider  VRT  faced  criticism,  though,  regarding  the 
broadcasting of a political programme produced on behalf of the Flemish government and moderated by two 
VRT  journalists  (DeMorgen  (2022),  Criticism  for  VRT  role  in  promo  show  for  Flemish  government);  the 
competent Minister stressed that no VRT resources were used for the production (Flemish Parliament, Report 
of the meeting of the Committee for Culture, Youth, Sport and the Media on 27 October 2022). 

168 See 2022 Rule of Law Report, country chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 16. 
169  See VRT, Composition of the Board of Directors; Art. 12(1) of the Flemish decree on radio broadcasting and 

television. 

20 

 
                                                           
request and appeal processes and by limiting the grounds for rejection of disclosure requests, 
taking into account European standards on access to official documents”. In principle, the right 
to public access to documents is anchored in the Belgian Constitution.  At Federal level, the 
body competent to handle an appeal in matters not related to environmental information170, the 
CTB-CADA171, remains only an advisory body so far172. This has been criticised not only by 
stakeholders173 but also by the Federal Institute for Human Rights174, an independent public 
institute.  They  also  indicated  that  the  procedures  to  obtain  information  take  too  long175. 
Furthermore, the CTB-CADA was inoperative for nine months from September 2021 to June 
2022 because the necessary royal decree for the re-appointment of its members had not been 
renewed in time176. Several members of Parliament have brought forward a legislative initiative 
in  2021  addressing  the  issue  of  public  access  to  documents;  the  Minister  of  the  Interior 
considers an own initiative and for this purpose delivered questions to the Federal Institute for 
Human  Rights177.  While  these  developments  are  still  ongoing178,  they  would  address  the 
transformation of the CTB-CADA into a body with the power to issue binding decisions179. In 
Flanders and Wallonia, the appeal body issues binding decisions180, but the lengthy application 
procedures in practice have been criticised by stakeholders in Flanders181 and Wallonia182. In 
Flanders, the introduction of an optional ground of refusal if the application concerns ‘internal 
communication’183  triggered  a  constitutional  complaint  by,  among  others,  the  Flemish 
Association of Journalists (Vlaamse Vereniging van Journalisten, VVJ). On 9 March 2023, the 
Constitutional  Court  rejected  the  complaint  considering  that  the  authorities  would  have  to 
always assess specifically whether disclosure adversely affects the internal decision-making 
process184.  Since  initiatives  are  pending  to  transform  the  CTB-CADA  into  a  body  with  the 
power  to  issue  binding  decisions,  it  is  concluded  that  there  has  been  some  progress  on  the 
recommendation made in the 2022 Report. 

170 As far as environmental informations are concerned, the legal framework is different because it transposes the 
Directive 2003/4 on public access to environmental information. That framework notably includes an appeal 
body whose decisions are binding, in accordance with Art. 6(1) of the Directive. 

171 (Federale)  Commissie  voor  de  toegang  tot  bestuursdocumenten  –  Commission  (fédérale)  d'accès  aux 

documents administratifs. 

172 Even  though  the  CTB-CADA’s  opinions  have  been  called  ’authoritative’  by  the  Flemish  Association  of 

Journalists in the context in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 

173 See 2022 Rule of Law Report, country chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 16. 
174 FIRM-IFDH (2022), FIRM-IFDH advisory opinion 1/2022, p. 13. 
175 FIRM-IFDH opinion 1/2022, pp. 14-15 (proposing also the introduction of an urgent procedure); European 
Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI), ENNHRI Rule of Law Reporting 2023, p. 24; 
Civil Liberties Union for Europe (2023), 2023 Liberties Rule of Law Report, country report Belgium, p. 20. 
This is not due to the statutory deadline which is 30 days from the receipt of the application (in line with the 
European  standard  which  is  identified  by  Article  3  of  Directive  2003/4 on  public  access  to  environmental 
information that sets a deadline of one month), but due to the handling of applications in practice. 

176 See 2023 Liberties Rule of Law Report, country report Belgium, pp. 19-20. 
177 See FIRM-IFDH (2022), FIRM-IFDH advisory opinion 9/2022. 
178 ENNHRI Rule of Law Reporting 2023, p. 23; Information given by the CTB-CADA during the country visit. 
179 See FIRM-IFDH advisory opinion 1/2022, p. 13; FIRM-IFDH advisory opinion 9/2022, p. 10. 
180 For Flanders see Contribution from the Belgian government for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 9; for Wallonia 

see Art. 8quinquies of the Decree on the publicity of the administration of 30 March 1995. 

181 See VVJ (2021), Open letter to the Flemish legislator. There are no signs that the situation has changed since 

then. 

182 See 2023 Liberties Rule of Law Report Belgium, p. 20; 2022 Liberties Rule of Law Report, p. 60. 
183 See 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 16. 
184 Constitutional Court, judgment no. 39/2023 of 9 March 2023. 

21 

 
                                                           
The safety of journalists remains an issue, in particular online, and measures are being 
taken to improve it. The Council of Europe Platform to promote the protection of journalism 
and  safety  of  journalists185,  the  Media  Freedom  Rapid  Response186  and  the  Report  by  the 
Flemish Association of Journalists187 cite several cases of online harassment and intimidation 
in  2022, notably of female journalists. According to  stakeholders, there  are so many online 
attacks, it would be difficult for the law enforcement agencies to follow suit188. Physical attacks 
diminished  with  the  fading  out  of  the  protests  against  government  measures  addressing  the 
pandemic,  but  in  the  context  of  riots  following  the  Football  World  Cup  games,  several 
journalists  were  attacked  by  rioters;  some  were  also  arrested  or  allegedly  threatened  by  the 
police, seemingly because they had filmed the scene or tried to do so189. The federal police and 
the  external  Permanent  Oversight  Committee  on  the  Police  Services  (Comité  P)  both  made 
clear that police guidelines would prohibit preventing a journalist from filming190. In October 
2022,  the  Flemish  Association  of  Journalists  launched  PersVeilig.be,  inspired  by  a  Dutch 
initiative. It offers safety trainings for journalists, ad-hoc legal and non-legal assistance, and a 
possibility to report attacks; it also involves a close (albeit not formalised) dialogue between 
journalists  and  the  police191.  The  issue  of  strategic  lawsuits  against  public  participation 
(SLAPPs)  also  continues  to  give  rise  to  concerns  for  journalists192.  The  Minister  of  Justice 
acknowledged the issue would deserve attention and a ‘thoughtful approach’193. Additionally, 
the reform of the penal code that the Federal Government presented in November contains the 
introduction of aggravated sentences for certain crimes committed against journalists and the 
abolishment of the prison sentence for cases of defamation194. 

IV.  OTHER INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES RELATED TO CHECKS AND BALANCES 

Belgium  is  a  federal  state  with  significant  powers  residing  at  the  level  of  the  Regions  and 
Communities.  At  the  federal  level,  Belgium  has  a  bicameral  parliamentary  system.  The 
Parliament is composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Legislative proposals 
can originate from the Government and from Members of both Houses of Parliament195. The 

185 Council of Europe, Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists – Belgium. 
186 Media Freedom Rapid Response – Belgium. 
187 VVJ (2022), Report on aggressions against journalists. 
188 Information received in the context of the country visit to Belgium from the VVJ. 
189 Council of Europe, Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists – Belgium; Media 
Freedom Rapid Response – Belgium. The issue if journalists filming scenes involving police forces with the 
latter trying to prevent it, was reported already last year (see 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on 
the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 17). 

190 Information received from the federal police and the external Permanent Oversight Committee on the Police 
Services during the country visit. See also Police Locale Ouest Brabant Wallon (2023), Photographier/filmer 
des policiers.  

191 Contribution from the Flemish Association of Journalists for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 9. 
192 VVJ (2022), Report on aggressions against journalists; Information received in the context of the country visit 

to Belgium from the VVJ and the RTBF. 

193 Voorhof (2022), SLAPPs: harassing, reckless or harassing legal proceedings, referring to a reply of the Minister 

to a parliamentary question. 

194 Contribution from the Belgian Government for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 12; Team Justice (2022), A 
new penal code adapted to the 21st century; HLN (2022), Van Quickenborne explains new criminal code. On 
the other hand no advancement took place regarding the Minister’s suggestion to amend Article 150 of the 
Belgian Constitution to facilitate criminal trials for hate speech against journalists, that was reported on in last 
year’s Rule of Law Report, see  2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in 
Belgium, p. 17. 

195  The Senate can only propose legislation in certain fields. 

22 

 
                                                           
advisory  branch  of  the  Council  of  State  provides  opinions  on  draft  legislation.  The 
Constitutional Court is competent to review legislative acts adopted by the Federal Parliament 
and  by  the  Parliaments  of  the  Regions  and  Communities.  In  addition  to  the  justice  system, 
independent authorities play an important role in checks and balances. 

Although  the  Federal  Parliament  ended  the  state  of  epidemic  emergency  under  the 
pandemic  law  in  March  2022,  judicial  scrutiny  of  pandemic  legislation  continued. 
Throughout  2022  and  2023,  the  courts  remained  active  in  their  scrutiny  of  COVID-19 
pandemic related measures. In a judgment of 17 June 2022, the Council of State recognised 
that the limitation of participants in certain types of ceremonies was a disproportionate measure 
infringing  the  freedom  of  religion196,  which  led  the  Government  to  revise  its  policy197. 
Important Constitutional Court judgments198 dealt with the legal basis of most of the restricting 
measures  taken  during  the  first  period  of  the  pandemic199,  legislation  concerning  contact 
tracing200,  regional  rules  dealing  with  special  quarantine  and  isolation  requirement  in  the 
context of the pandemic201 and the Federal pandemic law202.  

The Federal Human Rights Institute (FIRM/IFDH) has continued to play an active role203 
and  the  establishment  of  a  separate  Flemish  Human  Rights  Institute  requires  close 
cooperation between the federal and regional level. In particular, the FIRM/IFDH has issued 
numerous  opinions  and  made  recommendations  on  important  topics  subject  to  societal 
debate204.  National  legislation  transposing  Directive  2019/1937  (whistleblowers)205  has 
extended the mandate of FIRM/IDFH enabling it to provide support to whistleblowers of the 
private  and  public  sectors.  Furthermore,  the  Institute  will  act  as  an  information  centre  and 

196 Council of State judgment nr. 254.041 of 17 June 2022. 
197 Other appeals related to the COVID-19 measures are pending, for instance linked to the sale of rapid anti- 

genic tests online. 

198  Threelaws  formed  the  basis  for  the  adoption  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic  related  measures:  the  Act  of  31 
December 1963 ‘on civil protection’, published on 16 January 1964 in the Belgian Official Gazette, the Act 
of 15 May 2007 on civil security, published on 31 July 2007 in the Belgian Official Gazette and the Law of 
14 August 2021 on administrative police measures in an emergency pandemic situation (Federal pandemic 
law), published on 20 August 2021 in the Belgian Official Gazette. 

199 Constitutional Court judgment 109/2022 of 22 September 2022; Constitutional Court judgement 170/2022 of 

22 December 2022.  

200  Constitutional Court judgment 110/2022 of 22 September 2022. 
201  Constitutional Court judgment nr. 26/2023 of 16 February 2023. 
202  Constitutional Court judgment 33/2023 of 2 March 2023. The Court upheld the Federal pandemic law. 
203 See also 2022 and 2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 19 

and p. 13 respectively.  

204  In 2022 FIRM-IFDH issued 15 advisory opinions (of which 11 upon request of Parliament or the executive;  
and 4 at FIRM-IFDH’s own initiative. One example concerns its Advisory opinion on a legislative proposal  
modifying the law of 24 June 2013 on municipal administrative sanctions adopted on 29 November 2022. In 
this  opinion  FIRM-IFDH  criticises  the  use  of  administrative  sanctions  to  restrict  freedom  of  speech,  of 
assembly and of demonstration, or the right to strike, often based on a narrow understanding of public order. 
Contribution from the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions for the 2023 Rule of Law 
Report, pp. 14, 18. 

205  Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection 
of  persons  who  report  breaches  of  Union  law,  PE/78/2019/REV/1,  OJ  L  305,  26.11.2019,  p.  17–56; 
Implemented by the Act of 28 November 2022 on the protection of persons reporting violations of Union or 
national law within a private sector legal entity, Belgian official Bulletin, 15 December 2022 and the Act of 8 
December 2022 on reporting channels and the protection of whistleblowers in federal public sector bodies and 
the integrated police, Belgian official Bulletin, 23 December 2022. 

23 

 
                                                           
promote whistleblowers’ rights206. Finally, FIRM-IFDH will be a national ‘focal point under 
Commission Recommendation 2022/758 of 27 April 2022 (‘Strategic lawsuits against public 
participation’)207.  To  ensure  its  effective  functioning,  FIRM/IFDH  considers  it important to 
receive  the  competence  to  handle  individual  complaints208.  The  strategic  plan  of  the 
FIRM/IFDH  mentions  the  intention  to  work  towards  a  possible  cooperation  agreement 
extending  its  competence  to  non-federal  levels,  as  laid  down  in  its  establishing  law209.  An 
extension  of  competences  to  non-federal  levels  no  longer  concerns  Flanders  as  it  has  now 
established its own Human Rights Institute210, which also assumes the role of equality body at 
regional level. In this regard, both the FIRM-IFDH and the Flemish government recognise the 
need to ensure close cooperation of human rights between the federal and regional level211. On 
25  April  2023,  FIRM-IFDH  received  a  B-status  accreditation  as  an  NHRI,  meaning  a 
recognition as an NHRI partially conform to the Paris Principles212.  

Despite  improvements  in  2022,  some  challenges  remain  as  regards  the  human  and 
financial resources available to independent institutions213. The Council of State received 
additional  funding  in  2022  which  enabled  it  to  recruit  additional  staff  and  work  towards 
reducing  the  length  of  judicial  proceedings,  though  further  staff  increases  might  appear 
necessary in respect to heavier burden of work for the French speaking magistrates due to a 
partial  regionalisation  of  administrative  justice  on  the  Flemish  side214.  As  mentioned,  the 
Government links additional resources for the judiciary to the prioritisation of certain cases215. 
The  Council  has  raised  attention  to  this  legislation  arguing  that  each  litigant,  whatever  the 
importance of his dispute, has the right to a response from justice within a reasonable time216. 

206 Input from the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 

11.  

207  Commission Recommendation (EU) 2022/758 of 27 April 2022 on protecting journalists and human rights  
defenders who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded or abusive court proceedings  
(‘Strategic lawsuits against public participation’), C/2022/2428, OJ L 138, 17.5.2022, p. 30 - 44. 

208  Information received from the FIRM/IFDH in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 
209  See also 2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Belgium, p. 13. 
210  Act of 28 October 2022 establishing a Flemish Human Rights Institute, Belgian official Bulletin, 9 November 

2022.  

211  Information received from the FIRM/IFDH in the context of the country visit to Belgium; cooperation between 
FIRM-IFDH and the Flemish Human Rights Institute is envisaged, as mentioned by the competent Minister 
in  his  policy  declaration  for  2023,  see  Flemish  Government  Policy  and  budget  explanations,  Equal 
opportunities,  integration  and  integration,  Budget  2023,  p.  9;  Concerns  have  been  expressed  that  the 
establishment  of  the  Flemish  Human  Rights  Institute  will  possibly  weaken  the  position  of  the  victims  of 
discrimination in Flanders; input received from the Belgian Human Rights leagues in the context of the country 
visit to Belgium; See also 2022 and 2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in 
Belgium, p. 18and p. 13 respectively; Council of State, Advice on the establishment of the Flemish Human 
Rights Institute, 7 June 2022. 

212 Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions (The Paris Principles), Adopted by General Assembly 

resolution 48/134 of 20 December 1993. 

213  Information received in the context of the country visit to Belgium. See also Constitutional Court, Court of 

Cassation, and Council of State (2019), Joint Memorandum. 

214  A  number  of  specialised  administrative  courts  for  Flanders  have  jurisdiction  to  rule  on  certain  cases; 

Information provided by the Council of State in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 

215 The Council of State reports that thanks to the energy crisis and the Government's desire to move forward with 
its  renewable  energy  policy  it  will  benefit  from  an  increase  in  staff.  In  return,  it  is  asked  to  process  these 
appeals more quickly  without however taking into account the reality of the existing backlog;  Information 
provided by the Council of State in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 

216  Information provided by the Council of State in the context of the country visit to Belgium; On the tying of 
resources to certain categories of cases see also footnote 43; The legislative proposal amending the laws of the 

24 

 
                                                           
Due  to  the  increase  in  its  budget,  the  Constitutional  Court  was  able  to  hire  additional  staff 
which should address the backlog in its cases by the end of 2023217. A rationalisation exercise 
regarding  the  administrative  functioning  of  institutions  that  receive  an  endowment  from 
Parliament, including the Federal Ombudsman, the Federal Human Rights  Institute, and the 
High Council for Justice is still ongoing218.  

On 1 January 2023, Belgium had 22 leading judgments of the European Court of Human 
Rights pending implementation, an increase of one compared to the previous year219. At 
that time, Belgium’s rate of leading judgments from the past 10 years that remained pending 
was at 48% (compared to 49% in 2022), and the average time that the judgments had been 
pending  implementation  was  3  years  and  5  months  (compared  to  3  years  and  3  months  in 
2022)220. The oldest leading judgment, pending implementation for almost 14 years, concerns 
the excessive length of civil proceedings at first instance level221. On 15 June 2023, the number 
of leading judgments pending implementation has increased to 26222.  

Non-compliance by the Government with court judgments and orders imposing periodic 
penalty payments raises concerns. There have been a significant number of judgments issued 
by  the  Brussels  Labour  Tribunal  finding  the  State  responsible  for  not  ensuring  adequate 
reception of asylum seekers223. While the Government is taking steps to address the reception 
situation224,  it  still  does  not  comply  with  a  large  number  of  judgments  and  court  orders 

Council of State, coordinated on January 12, 1973 was adopted by Parliament on 16 May 2023.The reform of 
the Council of State has as its primary objective the reduction of processing times for procedures before the 
Administrative Litigation section of the Council of State. The Council of State is committed to reducing the 
processing time for an ordinary annulment appeal, without procedural incident, to a maximum of 18 months. 

217 Information provided by the Constitutional Court in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 
218 Information provided by the Federal Human Rights Institute in the context of the country visit to Belgium.  
219 The  adoption  of  necessary  execution  measures  for  a judgment  by  the  European  Court  of  Human  Rights  is 
supervised by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. It is the Committee’s practice to group 
cases against a State requiring similar execution measures, particularly general measures, and examine them 
jointly. The first case in the group is designated as the leading case as regards the supervision of the general 
measures and repetitive cases within the group can be closed when it is assessed that all possible individual 
measures needed to provide redress to the applicant have been taken. 

220  All figures are calculated by the European Implementation Network and are based on the number of cases that 
are considered pending at the annual cut-off date of 1 January 2023. See the Contribution from the European 
Implementation Network for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 1. 

221 Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights of 4 November 2008, Bell v. Belgium, 44826/05, pending 

implementation since 2009. 

222 Data according to the online database of the Council of Europe (HUDOC). 
223 Input from the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 
27;Franet (2022), Country research - Legal environment and space of civil society organisations in supporting 
fundamental  rights,  Belgium,  section  1.1.;  At  the  end  of  December  2022,  five  human  rights  institutions 
published  a  joint  statement  in  which  they  called  on  the  Federal  Government  to  put  an  end  to  the  ongoing 
reception crisis and to respect national and international obligations in the field of asylum, see Federal Centre 
for Migration Myria, the Federal Institute of Human Rights, the Federal Ombudsman, the General Delegate 
for the Rights of the Child and the Child’s Rights Commissioner,  Recommendations to solve the reception 
crisis, 21 December 2022; Flemish Refugee Council, Dashboard Reception Crisis, 25 May 2023.  

224 On March 9 the Government announced its intention to create additional capacity to receive asylum seekers, 
It also aims at increasing the outflows from the reception network, including through an additional large-scale 
recruitment of staff to handle asylum cases as well as addressing irregular and secondary flows to Belgium, 
together with other EU member states; Input received from Belgium for the 2023 Rule of law report; Flemish 
Refugee Council (2023), Dashboard Reception Crisis, 25 May 2023. 

25 

 
                                                           
imposing periodic penalty payments225. This situation led the bar associations to set up a ‘rule 
of law observatory’226.  

Some concerns have been raised regarding the civil society landscape. The CIVICUS rating 
for the civil society landscape remains narrowed227. A Flemish Government decree on socio-
cultural  work228  is  criticised  for  including  provisions  making  clear  that  organisations  that 
'segregate' based on ethnic cultural identity will not be subsidised229. Concerns have also been 
raised regarding the expansion of the scope of municipal administrative sanctions and their use 
against  those  organising  and  participating  in  demonstrations230.  Finally,  civil  society 
stakeholders criticise the current balancing of interests in the Penal Code between the right to 
demonstrate and public order231. The Ministry of Justice is preparing a revision of the Code 
which would further clarify the need to respect fundamental rights. In particular, a clause would 
be introduced ensuring that persons who exercise their fundamental rights such as the right to 
strike,  freedom  of  assembly,  freedom  of  association,  would  only  be  prosecuted  for  traffic 
offences if there was an “intent to harm”232. 

225 All cases are followed up on an individual level until the Belgian Government is in compliance. On 7 June 
2023, the total amount of outstanding periodic penalty payments was EUR 50 million; Input received from 
Belgium for the 2023 Rule of law report; Other widely reported examples of non-implementation of national 
court judgments relate to extradition to third states and weapons exports. Input from the European Network of 
National Human Rights Institutions for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 30; Input received from the Belgian 
Leagues for Human Rights in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 

226  Information received from the Bar Associations in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 
227  Rating  given  by  CIVICUS;  ratings  are  on  a  five-category  scale  defined  as:  open,  narrowed,  obstructed, 

repressed and closed. 

228 Decree on the subsidisation of adult social and cultural work, 10 March 2023. 
229  Decree  on  the  subsidisation  of  adult  social  and  cultural  work,  Articles  2(15)  and  3.  The  explanatory 
memorandum justifies this wording by pointing to the need for organisations to take on a bridging function 
between groups in society. These provisions have led to concerns that anti-discrimination and racism groups 
will  be  targeted  by  this  wording.  Concerns  have  also  been  raised  as  regards  what  was  perceived  as  an 
intimidation  campaign  by  the  Flemish  Government  against  Minorityforum  (Minderhedenforum),  an 
organisation  aimed  at  ensuring  the  involvement  of  minority  viewpoints.  Input  received  from  the  Belgian 
Leagues for Human Rights in the context of the country visit to Belgium. 

230  Input received from the Belgian Leagues for Human Rights in the context of the country visit to Belgium; 
FIRM-IFDH, Advisory opinion on a legislative proposal modifying the  law of 24 June 2013 on municipal 
administrative sanctions, 29 November 2022.  

231 Input from the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 
20; European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, An update on developments regarding civic space in the 
EU and an overview of the possibilities for human rights defenders to enter EU territory, Belgium, section 1.2; 
In  2019  and  2021,  two  appeal  courts  have  convicted  trade  unions  members  for  the  criminal  offence  of 
malicious traffic obstruction for roadblocks (“pickets”) in the context of trade union activities. On 23 March 
2023, both convictions were upheld by the criminal chamber of the Court of Cassation; Judgment of the Court 
of Cassation of 23 March 2022, H. contra P., ECLI:BE:CASS:2022:ARR.20220323.2F.4. 

232 The new legislation would replace the word "maliciously" in the current article 406 of the Penal Code with the 
words  "with  intent  to  harm"  (proposed  Article  288  Penal  Code)  as  regards  the  offences  related  to  traffic 
obstruction. The rights to which this clause refers are not absolute but may be subject to restrictions justified 
in  particular  by  the  need  to  ensure  respect  for  other  competing  fundamental  rights,  Input  from  Belgium 
received in the context of the country visit to Belgium; Ministry of Justice, A new Penal Code adapted to the 
21st century, 6 November 2022; FIRM-IFDH, Advisory opinion 1/2023 on traffic obstruction, preliminary 
draft law to reform of Book II of the Penal Code 9 January 2023. FIRM-IFDH welcomes and the Government’s 
proposal to introduce a human rights protection clause on the crime of obstruction of traffic notably as ‘the 
peaceful exercise of the right to demonstrate and the right to collective action ideally does not give rise to 
criminal sanctions’. 

26 

 
                                                           
Annex I: List of sources in alphabetical order* 

* The list of contributions received in the context of the consultation for the 2023 Rule of Law report 
can 
https://commission.europa.eu/publications/2023-rule-law-report-targeted-
stakeholder-consultation_en. 

found 

be 

at 

Apache (2023), Audit shows collusion between mayor and project developers in Boechout, (Audit toont 
collussie 
Boechout), 
https://www.apache.be/2023/03/03/audit-toont-collusie-tussen-burgemeester-en-projectontwikkelaars-
boechout.  

projectontwikkelaars 

burgemeester 

tussen 

en 

in 

Belgian Federal Government (2023), Input from Belgium for the 2022 Rule of Law Report. 

Belgian Federal Police (2022), Corruption, a difficult to prove crime - Statement for International Anti-
misdrijf), 
Corruption 
https://www.politie.be/5998/nl/nieuws/corruptie-een-moeilijk-te-bewijzen-misdrijf.  

(Corruptie, 

bewijzen 

moeilijk 

Day 

een 

te 

Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (2022), 2022 Media Pluralism Monitor – country report 
https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/74682/MPM2022-Belgium-
Belgium, 
EN.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.  

Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (2023), 2023 Media Pluralism Monitor – country report 
Belgium (forthcoming). 

Civicus, Monitor tracking civic space – Belgium https://monitor.civicus.org/country/belgium/. 

Civil Liberties Union for Europe (2023), Written contribution from the Civil Liberties Union for Europe 
for the 2022 Rule of Law Report in the context of the country visit. 

Civil  Liberties  Union 
https://dq4n3btxmr8c9.cloudfront.net/files/q3U2FR/LibertiesRuleOfLawReport2022.pdf  

(2022),  Liberties  Rule  of  Law  Report  2022, 

for  Europe 

Civil Liberties Union for Europe (2023), Liberties Rule of Law Report 2023 – country report Belgium, 
https://dq4n3btxmr8c9.cloudfront.net/files/ym19cz/RuleOfLaw_Report_2023_Belgium_EU.pdf.  

College  of  Prosecutors-General  (2022),  Press  Release  –  The  College  responds  to  the  parliamentary 
hearing  of  the  ministers  on  the  refinancing  of  the  Judicial  Police  (Persberciht  –  Het  college  van 
Proceureurs-Generaal  reageert  op  de  parlementaire  hoorzitting  van  de  ministers  over  de 
herfinanciering 
https://www.om-mp.be/nl/article/persbericht-het-college-van-
de  DGJ), 
procureurs-generaal-reageert-op-parlementaire-hoorzitting-van.  

van 

College  of  Prosecutors-General  (2022),  Circular  No  09/2022  of  the  College  of  Prosecutors-General 
Prosecutors of the Courts of Appeal, 11 July 2022, Circulaire n° 09/2022 du college des procureurs 
generaux pres les cours d’appel, 11 July 2022, Circulaires | Ministère public (om-mp.be) 

Committee  P  (2021),  Investigation  Report  on  potential  integrity  violations  at  the  Airport  Police 
https://comitep.be/document/onderzoeksrapporten/Leiderschap%20en%20integriteit%20bij%20de%2
0luchtvaartpolitie.pdf. 

Conseil 
https://www.csa.be/documents/?term=D%C3%A9cisions.  

Superieur 

de 

l’Audiovisuel 

(CSA), 

Decisions, 

Council  of  Europe:  Committee  of  Ministers  (2010),  Recommendation  CM/Rec(2010)12  of  the 
Committee of Ministers to member states on judges: independence, efficiency and responsibilities. 

Council of Europe (2022), Decision of the Committee of Ministers adopted during its meeting of 20-22 
44826/05) 
September 
CM/Del/Dec(2022)1443/H46-7. 

2022,  H46-7  Bell 

(Application  No. 

v.  Belgium 

group 

Constitutional  Court,  Court  of  Cassation  and  Council  of  State  (2019),  Joint  Memorandum 
http://www.raadvst-
hoogste 
(Gemeenschappelijk 
consetat.be/?page=news&lang=nl&newsitem=564. 

rechtscolleges) 

memorandum 

27 

 
Constitutional Court (2022), Constitutional Court judgment nr. 109/2022 of 22 September 2022 2022-
109f (const-court.be). 

Constitutional Court (2022), Constitutional Court judgment nr. 110/2022 of 22 September 2022, ASBL 
Vivant Ostbelgien et autres et par l’ASBL Ligue des droits humains 2022-110f (const-court.be). 

Constitutional Court (2022), Constitutional Court judgment nr. 170/2022 of 22 December 2022, 2022-
170f (const-court.be). 

Constitutional Court (2023), Constitutional Court judgment nr. 26/2023 of 16 February 2023, 2023-
026n (const-court.be). 

Constitutional Court (2023), Constitutional Court judgment nr. 33/2023 of 2 March 2023, 2023-033n 
(const-court.be). 

Constitutional Court, Judgment no. 39/2023 of 9 March 2023 (publication forthcoming). 

Council of Europe, Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists – Belgium, 
https://fom.coe.int/en/pays/detail/11709488.  

Council of State (2021), Judgment of the Council of State of 5 March 2021, Case nr. 249.991, League 
of Human Rights et al. vs Wallonia, http://www.raadvst-consetat.be/arr.php?nr=249991.  

Council of State (2022), Council of State judgment nr. 254.041 of 17 July 2022, Congregation Yetev 
Lev Dsatmar Antwerp Ltd. et al v Belgium, 254041.pdf (raadvanstate.be). 

Court  of  Audit  (2023),  Press  Release  –  Nearly  all  lists  of  mandates  and  asset  declarations  were 
submitted  (Persbericht  -  Zo  goed  als  alle  mandatenlijsten  en  vermogensaangiften  ingediend), 
https://www.ccrek.be/docs/site/20230215Persbericht.pdf. 

Court  of  Cassation  (2022)  Judgement  of  the  Court  of  Cassation  of  23  March  2022,  H.  contra  P., 
Jugement/arrêt du 2022-03-23 (juportal.be). 

De Morgen (2022), Possible scandal around new mayor in St Truiden (Ook schandaal rond nieuwe 
burgemeester  in  Sint-Truiden,  coalite  staat  op  springen),  https://www.demorgen.be/politiek/ook-
schandaal-rond-nieuwe-burgemeester-in-sint-truiden-coalitie-staat-op-springen-n-va-moet-nu-in-
eigen-boezem-kijken~b8cbdd3f/.  

De Morgen (2022), Criticism for VRT role in promo show for Flemish government (VRT krijgt kritiek 
voor rol in promoshow voor Vlaamse regering: ‘Ongezonde mix van politiek project met journalistiek 
format’),  https://www.demorgen.be/nieuws/vrt-krijgt-kritiek-voor-rol-in-promoshow-voor-vlaamse-
regering-ongezonde-mix-van-politiek-project-met-journalistiek-
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De Standaard (2022), “I am the politican that earned some money on top of my mandate” (“Ik ben de 
“politieker” 
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verdiend 
geld 
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boven 

heeft 

zijn 

die 

op 

De Standaard (2022), Moorslede and Staden under supervision after audit: possible conflicts of interest 
of  mayors  (Moorslede  en  Staden  onder  toezicht  na  audit:  mogelijke  belangenvermenging  bij 
burgemeesters), https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20221014_93292124. 

De Standaard (2023), Qatargate – “Informer” Panzeri names amounts (Qatargate – Spijtoptant Panzeri 
noemt bedragen), https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20230225_92862052.  

De Standaard (2023), Parliament chokes again on own pensions (Parlement verslikt zich opnieuw in de 
eigen pensioenen), https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20230418_93389120.  

De Standaard (2023), Citizens panel wants checks on expenses of political parties (Burgerpanel wil 
meer 
lagere  dotaties), 
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controle  op  uitgaven  partijen,  minder  dan  de  helft  wil 

28 

 
De  Tijd  (2022),  Hundreds  of  honorary  consuls  in  disrepute  (Honderden  ereconsults  in  opspraak), 
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(2022),  Flash  Eurobarometer  News  &  Media  Survey  2022, 

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2022/1  van  20  December  2022  –  Advies  op  eigen  initiatief  aangaande  de  belangenconflicten  die 
voortvloeien  uit  het  cumuleren  van  openbare  mandaten  en  ambten),  https://www.fed-
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(9 februari 2023 - Individuele adviesaanvraag over drie ontvangen uitnodigingen om te reizen naar 
Qatar  en  de  verenigbaarheid  met  regels  van  deontologie,  ethiek  en/of  belangenconflicten), 
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vermijden 
https://www.fed-deontologie.be/wp-
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-  “draaideuren”), 

belangenconflicten 

van 

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de 
bestuur), 
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publicite-de-ladministration.  

openbaarheid 

van 

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(Quelques propositions d'amélioration et d'optimisation de la publicité de l'administration fédérale, et 
de modification de la loi du 11 avril 1994 – Bepaalde voorstellen tot verbetering en optimalisering van 
de  openbaarheid  van  bestuur  op  federaal  niveau  en  aanpassing  van  de  Wet  van  11  april  1994), 

29 

 
https://www.federalinstitutehumanrights.be/fr/publications/renforcement-de-la-publicite-de-
ladministration-federale.  

bis 

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216 
2022, 
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10/Advies%20FIRM%20Minnelijke%20schikking.pdf.  

Procedure  Code), 

the  Criminal 

6  October 

adopted 

on 

of 

FIRM-IFDH(2022), Advisory opinion on a legislative proposal modifying the law of 24 June 2013 on 
2022, 
municipal 
https://federaalinstituutmensenrechten.be/nl/gemeentelijke-administratieve-sancties.  

administrative 

November 

sanctions 

adopted 

29 

on 

FIRM/IFDH  (2023),  Recommendations  to  resolve  the  reception  crisis  (Recommandations  pour 
résoudre la crise de l'accueil) 21 December 2022. Recommandations pour résoudre la crise de l'accueil 
| FIRM-IFDH (institutfederaldroitshumains.be). 

FIRM-IFDH, Advisory opinion 1/2023 on traffic obstruction, Preliminary draft law to reform of Book 
II of the Penal Code 9 January 2023 
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Flemish Government (2022), Decree on the subsidisation of adult social and cultural work (Decreet 
over de subsidiëring van het social-cultureel volwassenenwerk), 10 March 2023, Moniteur Belge - 
Belgisch Staatsblad (fgov.be) Flemish Government (2022), Flemish Government Policy and budget 
explanations, Equal opportunities, integration and integration, Budget 2023 (Beleids- en 
begrotingstoelichting, Gelijke Kansen, Integratie en Inburgering, Begroting 2023), 
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Flemish Parliament (2022), Report of the meeting of the Committee for Culture, Youth, Sport and the 
Media of 27 October 2022, https://www.vlaamsparlement.be/nl/parlementair-
werk/commissies/commissievergaderingen/1673850/verslag/1677720 

Flemish Refugee Council (2023), Dashboard Reception Crisis (Dashboard Opvangcrisis), 25 May 
2023, 186_188_Rapport Crise_NL_v2.indd (vluchtelingenwerk.be).  

Franet, Vrije  Universiteit Brussel  (2023),  Country  research  –  Legal  environment  and  space  of  civil 
society organisations in supporting fundamental rights – Belgium, Vienna, EU Agency for Fundamental 
Rights, https://fra.europa.eu/en/country-data/2023/civic-space-report-2023 

Government Coalition Agreement (2020), 
https://www.belgium.be/sites/default/files/Regeerakkoord_2020.pdf.  

Government meeting (2022), Draft law on various fiscal issues and the fight against fraud (Voorontwerp 
van  wet  houdende  diverse 
lazing), 
https://news.belgium.be/nl/voorontwerp-van-wet-houdende-diverse-fiscale-bepalingen-en-
fraudebestrijding-tweede-lezing. 

fiscale  bepaling  en 

fraudebestrijding  – 

tweede 

Government Meeting (2023), Extension of deontological code for federal public office holders to all 
members of ministerial staff (Uitbreiding van de deontologische code voor openbare mandatarissen 
naar  leden  van  de  beleidsorganen),  https://news.belgium.be/nl/uitbreiding-van-de-deontologische-
code-voor-openbare-mandatarissen-naar-de-leden-van-de.  

Government Meeting (2023), Circular on deontological code for government members (Omzendbrief 
inzake  deontologische  code  voor  regeringsleden),  https://news.belgium.be/nl/omzendbrief-inzake-
deontologische-code-voor-regeringsleden 

GRECO (2019), Fifth Evaluation Round – Evaluation Report on Belgium on preventing corruption and 
promoting integrity in central governments (top executive functions) and law enforcement agencies. 

GRECO (2022), Fifth Evaluation Round – Compliance Report on Belgium on preventing corruption 
and promoting integrity in central governments (top executive functions) and law enforcement agencies. 

30 

 
GRECO (2022), Fourth Evaluation Round – 3rd Interim Compliance Report on Corruption prevention 
in respect of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors. 

High Council for Justice (2022), High Council of Justice, Audit, Court of Appeal of Brussels (Audit, 
Hof  van  Beroep  Brussel),  30  June  2022,  https://hrj.be/admin/storage/hrj/22.06.30-verslag-audit-hvb-
bxl-def.pdf.  

High  Council for Justice  (2023),  Advice on  the  draft  law  on  the  social  status  of  the  magistrate  and 
introducing a security check, 11 April 2023, Avant-projet de loi portant sur le statut social du magistrat 
et  introduisant  une  vérification  de  sécurité  |  HRJ-CSJHigh  Council  for  Justice  (2022),  consolidated 
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High Council for Justice (2022), advisory opinion on the asset declaration by magistrates and a register 
activities  of  12  April  2022,  20220404-advies-hrj-mandatenlijst-en-
of 
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sideline 

their 

HLN  (2022),  Overwiew:  Van  Quickenborne  explains  new  criminal  code  (OVERZICHT.  Van 
Quickenborne licht nieuw strafwetboek toe bij VTM NIEUWS: “Zwaardere straffen op terrorisme”), 
https://www.hln.be/binnenland/overzicht-van-quickenborne-licht-nieuw-strafwetboek-toe-bij-vtm-
nieuws-zwaardere-straffen-op-
terrorisme~a1abe4e7/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.de%2F. 

House  of  Representatives  (2023),  Comparative  legal  study  on  the  financing  of  political  parties  in 
Europe, as drafted by the experts of the commission of control on campaign and political party finances, 
https://www.dekamer.be/FLWB/PDF/55/3194/55K3194001.pdf. 

House  of  Representatives  (2023),  Comparative  legal  study  on  the  financing  of  political  parties  in 
Europe, https://www.dekamer.be/FLWB/PDF/55/3194/55K3194002.pdf. 

Knack  (2022),  Johan  Delmulle  on  the  out-of-court  settlements  (Johan  Delmulle  over  afkoopwet), 
https://www.knack.be/nieuws/belgie/justitie/johan-delmulle-over-afkoopwet-bedragen-wel-vrijgeven/ 

Knack (2023), #CorruptionEurope  – Panzeri becomes informer  (#CorruptionEurope: Panzeri wordt 
spijtoptant), 
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spijtoptant/.  

Media Freedom Rapid Response, Monitor, https://www.mfrr.eu/monitor/.  

Minister of Interior (2022), Additional resources for integrated police approved (Extra investeringen 
voor geïntegreerde politie goedgekeurd), https://verlinden.belgium.be/nl/extra-investeringen-voor-de-
ge%C3%AFntegreerde-politie-goedgekeurd.  

Minister of Interior (2023), Police hands vision of the future to Minister Annelies Verlinden (Politie 
overhandigt  toekomstvisie  aan  Minister  Annelies  Verlinden),  https://verlinden.belgium.be/nl/politie-
overhandigt-toekomstvisie-aan-minister-annelies-verlinden.  

Minister of Public Affairs, Better protection for civil servants that blow the whistle (De Sutter: “Betere 
bescherming  voor  ambtenaren  die  de  klok 
luiden”),  https://desutter.belgium.be/nl/de-sutter-
%E2%80%9Cbetere-bescherming-voor-ambtenaren-die-klok-luiden%E2%80%9D  

Ministry of Justice (2022), A new Penal Code adapted to the 21st century (Een nieuw strafwetboek 
aangepast aan de 21e eeuw), 6 November 2022,  https://www.teamjustitie.be/2022/11/06/een-nieuw-
strafwetboek-aangepast-aan-de-21e-eeuw/ General Assembly of the Police (2023), A blueprint for the 
toekomst), 
van 
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blauwdruk 

politie 

future 

(Een 

voor 

the 

de 

de 

of 

Police  Locale  Ouest  Brabant  Wallon 
Photographier/filmer 
https://www.police.be/5268/actualites/photographierfilmer-des-policiers-secunews. 

(2023), 

des 

policiers, 

31 

 
Prime Minister’s Office (2023), National Drugs Commisisoner and more police in Port of Antwerp to 
tackle drugs  mafia (Nationale  drugscommissaris en meer  politie in  Antwerpse haven in strijd  tegen 
drugsmaffia), 
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haven-strijd-tegen-drugsmaffia. 

Prime  Minister’s  Office  (2023),  Code  of  Conduct  for  Ministers  (Deontologische  Code  voor 
regeringsleden) 

Reporters  without  Borders  (2023),  World  Press  Freedom  Index  2023  –  country  fact-file  Belgium, 
https://rsf.org/en/country/belgium.  

RTL INFO (2023), Pensions of deputies should not have exceeded plafond-Wijninckx (Les pensions 
des 
Wijninckx), 
pas 
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plafond-wijninckx/2023-04-19/article/544914. 

pourront 

dépasser 

plafond 

députés 

ne 

le 

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Vlaamse  Regulator  voor  de  Media  (VRM)  (2022),  2022  report  on  media  concentration  in  Flanders 
(Mediaconcentratie in Vlaanderen), https://www.vlaamseregulatormedia.be/nl/mediaconcentratie.  

Vlaamse 
(VRM), 
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Regulator 

Media 

voor 

de 

Decisions, 

Voorhoof,  Dirk  (2022),  SLAPPs:  harassing,  reckless  or  harassing  legal  proceedings  against  media, 
journalists  and  other 
intimiderende 
‘publieke  waakhonden’), 
journalisten 
rechtsprocedures 
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journalisten-en-andere-publieke-waakhonden/. 

tergende,  roekeloze  of 

(SLAPPs: 
en 

'public  watchdogs' 

tegen  media, 

andere 

VRT, Composition of the Board of Directors, https://www.vrt.be/nl/over-de-vrt/organisatie/raad-van-
bestuur/raad-van-bestuur-en-mandaten/  

VRT (2022), House of Representatives lowers party subsidies by 5.3% (Kamer verlaagt de partijdotaties 
met  5.3  procent),  https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2022/12/08/kamer-verlaagt-de-partijdotaties-met-5-3-
procent/. 

VRTNWS (2022), At least 12 Belgian honorary consuls involved in dubious cases, according to large 
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internationaal onderzoek), https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2022/11/14/ereconsuls-in-opspraak/. 

VRTNWS (2022), More than 1500 Belgians bought off conviction in full secrecy, raising 1 billion euros 
(Meer  dan  1.500  Belgen  kochten  in  alle  discretie  een  vervolging  af,  goed  voor  1  miljard  euro), 
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VVJ  (2021),  Open  letter  to  the  Flemish  legislator  (Open  brief  VVJ  aan  de  Vlaamse  wetgever  over 
wijzigingen 
bestuur), 
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bestuursdecreet-m-b-t-de-openbaarheid-van-bestuur.  

Bestuursdecreet  m.b.t. 

openbaarheid 

aan 

van 

het 

de 

VVJ  (2022),  Report  on  aggressions  against  journalists  (VVJ-Meldpunt  Agressie  tegen  Journalisten: 
Rapport  2022),  https://journalist.be/2023/03/vvj-meldpunt-agressie-tegen-journalisten-voorlopige-
stand-van-zaken-in-2022.  

32 

 
 
 
 
 
Annex II: Country visit to Belgium 

The Commission services held virtual meetings in February 2023 with: 

  Central Office for the Repression of Corruption 
  College of Courts and Tribunals  
  Committee P  
  Constitutional Court  
  Council of State  
  Court of Cassation 
  Federal Deontological Commission 
  Federal Institute for Human Rights 
  Federal Ombudsman 
  Flemish Bar Association 
  Flemish Media Regulator 
  French- and German-speaking Order of the Belgian Bar 
  High Council for Justice 
  High Council for the Audiovisual 
 
 Journalistic Ethics Council 
 
 League for Human Rights (Liga voor Mensenrechten) 
 
 League for Human Rights (Ligue des Droits Humains) 
  Media Council for the German-speaking Community 
  Ministry of the Interior 
  Ministry of Justice 
  Prosecution Service 
  Public Service Media 
 
  Unit for Integrity and Culture 

 Transparency International Belgium 

* The Commission also met the following organisations in a number of horizontal meetings:  

  ALDA (European Association for Local Democracy) 
  Amnesty International  
  Civil Liberties Union for Europe  
  Civil Society Europe 
  Culture Action Europe  
  European Centre for Press and Media Freedom  
  European Civic Forum  
  European Federation of Journalists  
  European Partnership for Democracy  
  European Youth Forum  
  Free Press Unlimited 
  Front Line Defenders 
 
 
 

ILGA Europe  
International Commission of Jurists 
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)  

33 

 
International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network 
International Press Institute  

 
 
  JEF Europe  
  Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa 
  Philea  
  Reporters Without Borders  
  SOLIDAR 
  Transparency International EU 

34