Belgium aligns ministerial criminal liability with new Penal Code

A special law published in the Moniteur belge of 24 August 2026 amends Article 479 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and brings the 1998 special law on the criminal liability of community and regional government members into line with the new Penal Code of 29 February 2024. Signed by King Philippe on 20 July 2026, the text bears the official reference C-2026/005536 and appears on page 46033 of the gazette.

The law is a special law within the meaning of Article 77 of the Constitution, meaning it had to be adopted by both chambers of the federal Parliament. It was passed by the Chamber of Representatives (documents 56-1545, plenary sitting of 18 June 2026) and the Senate (documents 8-215, sitting of 10 July 2026), and countersigned by Prime Minister B. De Wever and Justice Minister A. Verlinden.

A technical alignment with the new Penal Code

The reform is essentially a harmonisation exercise. Article 2 completes Article 479, first paragraph, of the Code of Criminal Procedure — a provision replaced by the law of 15 May 2024, partially annulled by judgment No. 125/2025 of the Constitutional Court and modified by the law of 2 July 2026 — by adding a new category to the list of persons subject to special prosecution rules:

• référendaire près la Cour constitutionnelle (referendary at the Constitutional Court).

Changes to the 1998 special law

Articles 3 to 7 update the special law of 25 June 1998 governing the criminal liability of members of community and regional governments, replacing terminology inherited from the old Penal Code with the vocabulary of the 2024 code:

• Article 7: “le cas de crime ou délit flagrant” becomes “en cas de flagrance”;
• Article 15, second paragraph, is repealed;
• Article 16: “ni un crime, ni un délit, ni une contravention” becomes “pas une infraction”;
• Article 17 (French text): “de flagrant délit” becomes “de flagrance”;
• Article 29: “coauteurs et les complices de” becomes “auteurs et les participants à”, and “de crimes et de délits politiques et délits de presse” becomes “d’infractions relevant de la compétence de la cour d’assises”.

Entry into force

Under Article 8, the substantive changes (Articles 3 to 7) enter into force on the same date as the laws of 29 February 2024 introducing Books I and II of the new Penal Code, ensuring that the special regime for regional and community ministers is applied under the same rules as ordinary criminal law.

The reform matters because it removes the outdated distinction between crimes, offences and contraventions that no longer exists in the 2024 Penal Code, and aligns the special prosecution regime for community and regional government members with the new criminal framework. For citizens, it means the liability of regional executives is now judged under the same modernised definitions as any other defendant.

Source: Moniteur belge, 24 August 2026 (196e année, N. 189), Lois, décrets, ordonnances et règlements, p. 46033 (official reference: C-2026/005536).