The Office of the Belgian Federal Prosecutor

1. The Office of the Belgian Federal Prosecutor Danilovgrad, 26 September 2013 Erwin Dernicourt Chief Public Prosecutor

2. The Office of the Belgian Federal Prosecutor • Official reactionto the problemsdetectedbyvariousParlementaryCommissionswithregardto: • Complex andspecializedenquiries • Coordination of judiciaryproceedingsnotattributableto a specificjurisdiction or beyond the country’s borders • Surveillance of the functioning of the BelgianPolice Legal basis foritscreation

3. The Office of the Belgian Federal Prosecutor Exercise of legal action Coordination of criminal proceedings Facilitate international cooperation Supervision of Belgian Federal police functions Functionsand domains of competency

4. The Office of the Belgian Federal Prosecutor • The Federal Prosecutor • 22 Federal Magistrates • Administrative Personnel Composition of the Office

5. Place of the Office of the FederalProsecutorwithin the judiciary

6. 1. Exercice of legal action • Crimes and Offences against the Security of the State • Threat of assault or theft of nuclear material • Trafficking and smuggling of human beings • Arms trafficking • Serious violations of international humanitarian right • Criminal organizations • Terrorism (security criterion) • Crimes and offences committed across various jurisdictions or presenting an international dimension (geographical criterion) • Crimes and offences committed abroad by Belgian military Limited List of crimes andoffences

7. 1. Exercice of legalaction Priorities: 1. Itinerant offenders – thefts 2. Drug trafficking - production of XTC - Import of heroin and cocaine from South-America 3. Terrorism 4. Cybercrime 5. Traffic of human beings 6. Genocide, piracy,…

8. 1. Exercice of legal action On the basis of: A request or notification of a localProsecutor, a Prosecutorgeneral or the Prosecutor of Industrial Law Factsestablished on itsowninitiative Information furnishedby the General Direction of the Belgian Federal Police (DGJ) Complaint or denunciationbyinternationalinstitutions or byforeignjudiciaryauthorities.

9. 2. Coordination of legal action • Object:preventandresolvecompetencyproblemsarisingbetweenjudiciaryauthorities • Solutions : • The centralization of criminal files withinonelocalProsecutor’s Office • The elaboration of anassignment of tasks • The taking of legal action by the Office of the Federal Prosecutor

10. 3. Facilitate international cooperation • The acceleration of their transmission • Furnishing practical and juridical information • The coordination of their execution • Central judiciary contact point for EJN, EUROJUST, OLAF, EUROPOL, INTERPOL, International Criminal Courts, etc. At the request of Belgian or foreign authorities, facilitate the execution of international letters of request concerning all punishable facts

11. 3. Facilitate international cooperation: operational support for Belgian judicial authorities Communication of practical and juridical information  within the framework of drawing up international letters rogatory  identification of the competent foreign judicial authorities Acceleration of the transmission of international letters rogatory to foreign judicial authorities Support when executing an international assistance request abroad  appealing to the contact points (liaison officers, EJN)  directly by the Federal Magistrate

12. 3. Facilitate international cooperation: operational support for Belgian judicial authorities • Practical andjuridical information: • Documentation center of internationalcriminallaw  internationalconventionsandtreaties  lists of judicialauthoritiesandforeignMagistrates  models of letters rogatoryanddirectivespromulgatedbysomecountries • The Belgianjudicialauthoritieswhohesitate at howto draw up or formulate a letters rogatorycansubmitto the Office of the Federal Prosecutor a draft  prepare the necessary contacts  send over the draft foradvice

13. 3. Facilitate international cooperation: operational support for Belgian judicial authorities • Identification of the competent foreign judicial authorities • Direct transmission of the letters of request  if possible in original version (ECMACM 1959, BENELUX, SCHENGEN,CONVENTION of 29/5/2000)  advanced copy, in the cases where they are normally handed over through diplomatic channels or between central authorities. Support the Office of the Federal Prosecutor can give by handing over letters of request:

14. 3. Facilitate international cooperation: operational support for Belgian judicial authorities • Follow-up of their execution: • Localization of the letters rogatory abroad • Information about their state of treatment • Intervention with a view to clear all obstacles of execution •  by phone, fax or e-mail  through the offices of the LO or the EJN  accompaniment of the Belgian Magistrate abroad

15. 3. Facilitate international cooperation: tools at the Federal Prosecutor’s disposal for his support mission • EJN : European Judicial Network • EUROJUST • Liaison Officers  Belgian LO abroad  foreign LO in Belgium • Privileged contacts with foreign Magistrates (Conferences abroad, travels, etc.)

16. Network of Magistrates : Member States of the EU + candidate Member States • Mission  organization of direct contacts between Magistrates or central authorities  communication of practical or juridical information when drawing-up international letters of request  coordination of the execution of the international letters of request (horizontal structure) • Belgian EJN contact points  5 Federal Magistrates  1 official of the FPS Justice  service of international cooperation EUROPEAN JUDICIAL NETWORK

17. EUROJUST • The Belgian representative: Ms Michèle Conincx • Vertical structure • The Office of the Federal Prosecutor is the compulsory central judiciary contact point for EUROJUST

18. Belgian Liaison Officers abroad • Pivots in international police cooperation • Where ? • Contacted by the Belgian local prosecutor’s offices through the Federal Prosecutor’s Office • The Office of the Federal Prosecutor has to supervise the LO and reports to that effect to the competent Ministers and the Board of Prosecutors General.

19. 4. Supervising the Federal Policefunctioning Supervision in order to assure that the specialized judiciary missions are executed according to the request and the instructions of the judicial authorities (Mediation on the application of special techniques of embargo) Supervising the Anti-Corruption Unity (CDBC-OCRC) Preside and run the Control Organ of Management of the Information - Supervising the police information flows towards the General National Data Bank. Three components:

20. Specific missions of the Office of the Federal Prosecutor Among others: Law on the Special Enquiry Techniques of 6 January 2003 and of 27 December 2005 Law on the protection of threatened witnesses of 7 July 2002 (The Federal Prosecutor presides the Protection of Witnesses Commission) Law on the so-called “universal competency” of 23 April 2003 Law on the abolition of military jurisdictions in peace time of 10 April 2003

21. The Office of the Belgian Federal Prosecutor Wolstraat 66 P.O. 1 1000 Brussels Belgium Phone: 00 32 2 557 77 11 E-mail: federaal.parket@just.fgov.be Contact information