The rule of law

Participants felt that the principle of confidentiality between lawyers and their client was not entirely respected. The 2022 Whistleblower Act had established that not all the information exchanged in the context of legal advice was protected by professional secrecy and could therefore be reported. Participants warned that lawyers were increasingly interrogated or subjected to house searches because of their alleged involvement with their clients’ practices. Lawyers' identification with clients interfered with the preparation of cases and was damaging their reputation, according to the participants. For this reason, they welcomed the Council of Europe's draft legal instrument to protect the lawyer's role from excessive government interference as well as from threats and harassment from individuals. In relation to the EU directives on anti-money laundering and cooperation among national tax administrations, participants were concerned that lawyers would have to declare to the authorities any cross-border fiscal advice and "suspicious operations" relating to their clients. These provisions were deemed to be against lawyers' professional secrecy and independence. In addition, participants expressed a preference for internal self-regulation as a way to shield lawyers from external pressure, as opposed to establishing a regulation layer at EU level, through the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA). Participants highlighted the negative record of convictions against Belgium by national courts and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in relation to appalling prison conditions and the treatment of certain vulnerable groups. The number of detainees had exceeded the maximum capacity of detention centresParticipants pointed out that measures to address this problem were announced but not put in place, and a recent law change would have an additional impact on overpopulation, so prison staff asked for its postponement. They pointed out that mentally incompetent people who had committed criminal offences were still sent to prison, without specific provisions for their needs, despite numerous rulings against it. In addition, participants criticised the recent government’s reaction to pronouncements condemning Belgium for the reception of asylum seekers: authorities had refused to carry out the judgements and to pay the inflicted penalties. The Belgian authorities indicated that the overcrowding of prisons intersected with the migration issue, since around half of the detainees were foreigners and the process to return illegal migrants to their country of origin was sometimes difficult and lengthy. In terms of access to justice, participants stressed that the judicial system lacked financial, technological and human resources, leading to significant delays in court times. Becoming a judge was no longer an attractive career prospect, due to poor working conditions, high workload and low status. Participants stated that the Flemish government had tried to restrict the right to appeal to court, but the Constitutional Court had rejected the proposed provisions. In addition, the legitimacy of the judicial system was repeatedly attacked by political power. Participants regretted that the well-established mechanism for legal protection of the underprivileged was being questioned by the authorities. The legal framework on the environment was presented as an example of inadequate application of the law: exceptions from rules were regularly invoked and allowed, failing to provide protection in practice. It was reported that investigations often took a long time and little information was given to the public, while harmful practices continued. The Belgian authorities mentioned some recent measures taken to improve the situation of delays in justice, which included an ongoing project towards full digitalisation, more human resources and a bigger budget for the judiciary. Participants felt that the important role of the media as a watchdog in relation to corruption was highlighted over past year, unveiling abuses by politicians and businesses. Because local authorities were given a degree of competence to decide on permits, practices of favouritism and conflict of interest existed. Laws for more transparency in cryptocurrencies and whistleblowing protection were supported, and so was the initiative to have a transparency register for lobbying activities at the national level. However, participants also reported a general lack of effort and resources to investigate and prosecute corruption cases, and called for a more uniform approach on anti-corruption legislation throughout the country.