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Act Relating To The Charter And The Formation Of Prices In Inland Navigation, Materials Referred To Article 78 Of The Constitution

Original Language Title: Loi relative à l'affrètement et la formation des prix dans la navigation intérieure, concernant des matières visées à l'article 78 de la Constitution

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3 JUNE 2014. - Act respecting the chartering and training of prices in inland navigation, concerning matters referred to in Article 78 of the Constitution



PHILIPPE, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
Chambers have adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 78 of the Constitution.
It transposes Council Directive 96/75/EC of 19 November 1996 on the modalities for chartering and training prices in the field of national and international inland water transport in the Community.
Art. 2. For the purposes of this Act and its enforcement orders, it shall be understood by:
1° boat: a building that is primarily used or intended to be used for inland water navigation for the carriage and/or storage of goods, towing or pushing included.
2° Price: compensation for the use of the vessel for the carriage and/or storage of goods for the duration of this use.
3° carrier: an owner or operator of one or more vessels;
4° abusively low price: a price that, taking into account the requirements of the vessel, is insufficient for the carrier to cover all costs directly or indirectly related to the operation of the vessel.
5° charter: any contract that is intended to use one or more vessels for the carriage and/or storage of goods on behalf of third parties;
6° transport for own account: the transport of goods carried by a company to ensure its own needs when:
(a) the company owns or has the exclusive disposition of the vessel;
(b) the vessel is armed with company personnel;
(c) transportation is only an incidental activity of the company;
(d) the goods carried are owned or purchased, sold, produced or manufactured by the company as part of its main activity.
Art. 3. The provisions of this Act do not apply:
1° to sea vessels;
2° towing or pushing sea vessels;
3° to vessels intended or used for the professional carriage of goods, whose length is less than 20 meters.
Art. 4. In the field of national and international inland waterway freight transport, charters are freely entered into between the parties concerned and freely negotiated prices and transport on their own account is freely carried out.
Art. 5. § 1er. Without prejudice to section 4, it is prohibited to give in use or to take in use a vessel for the carriage and/or storage of goods at an unduly low price, or to its intervention directly or indirectly to cooperate.
It is also prohibited to give in use or to take in use a vessel for the carriage and/or storage of goods without being insured against all the risks of navigation and to fulfil all legal requirements.
§ 2. Whoever contravenes the prohibition established by § 1er, first paragraph of this Article, is subject to the payment of costs due and unpaid as a result of legal and regulatory obligations of a social and fiscal nature.
Art. 6. § 1er. It is established a commission with the administration which has inland navigation in its powers, under the name "Commission navigation inland".
The Inland Navigation Commission shall perform the following functions:
1° at the request of the Minister who has inland navigation in his or her powers or an interested person give a reasoned opinion or consult on matters relating to the inland navigation sector;
2° act as a mediator in case of disputes in a charter at the request of the parties involved;
3° fixing cost-of-return indicators that can be used to assist in the application of section 5 of this Act.
§ 2. The King determines the composition and functioning of the Commission inland navigation in a deliberate order in the Council of Ministers.
Art. 7. In order to be able to estimate the development of the capacity of the inland navigation fleet, the carrier who is established in Belgium or who has its headquarters shall inform the inland navigation fund, established pursuant to Council Regulation EC No. 718/1999 of 19 March 1999 on a policy of capacity of the community fleets in in inland navigation with a view to promoting inland water transport, of its intention to commission a newly constructed or imported vessel. It must make this declaration at least 6 months before the effective commissioning of the vessel.
The King shall determine the terms of this declaration.
Art. 8. § 1er. Offences to the provisions of this Act and its enforcement orders are punishable by imprisonment from six months to three years and a fine of six hundred euros to fifteen thousand euros, or only one of these penalties.
The provisions of Book 1er the Criminal Code, including Chapter VII and Article 85, are applicable to these offences.
§ 2. Without prejudice to section 56 of the Criminal Code, the penalty may, in the event of a recidivism within two years of the conviction, be doubled in relation to the sentence imposed previously by the head of the same offence.
§ 3. The police courts shall be liable to offences under the provisions of this Act and to orders made under this Act.
Art. 9. § 1er. In derogation from section 43, first paragraph of the Criminal Code, the judge may impose a temporary prohibition on the use of the vessel for the carriage and/or storage of goods on Belgian domestic channels. The prohibition may not exceed two years and may not be less than one month.
§ 2. The prohibition begins on the day the contradictory or default conviction became final.
§ 3. Every offence at the disposal of the judgment or order imposing a prohibition under § 1er, is punished by a fine of 100 to 1,000 euros.
In addition, in the event of a finding of non-compliance with the prohibition under this section, the competent officers under section 10 of this Act are empowered to temporarily immobilize the vessel concerned at the costs and risks of the owner for a period equal to that during which the prohibition was not complied with.
Art. 10. § 1er. The King shall designate the categories of officials responsible for the search for and review of offences under this Act and the orders made under this Act.
§ 2. The King may confer the quality of judicial police officer to agents, individually designated for this purpose, who belong to one of the categories referred to in § 1er.
§ 3. The grievors note the offences by minutes of evidence to the contrary. A copy of the report is sent to the offender within fifteen working days of the finding of the offence.
§ 4. Qualified staff have access to premises, land and buildings. They have the right to consult professional books and documents of companies subject to the provisions of this Act and its enforcement orders.
They may, however, only enter the inhabited premises if they are subject to the quality of a judicial police officer and have obtained the prior authorization of the judge of the police court; visits to inhabited premises must be carried out between eight and eighteen hours, jointly by at least two officers.
They can check these professional books and documents, take copies on site or extracts and require any explanations about them.
Art. 11. This Act comes into force ten days after its publication to the Belgian Monitor, with the exception of Article 6 which comes into force on a date to be determined by the King.
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 3 June 2014.
PHILIPPE
By the King:
Minister of Economy,
J. VANDE LANOTTE
The Minister of the Interior,
Ms. J. MILQUET
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. A. TURTELBOOM
The Secretary of State for Mobility,
Mr. WATHELET
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. A. TURTELBOOM
____
Note
House of Representatives:
(www.lachambre.be)
Documents: 53-3553
Full report: 23 April
Senate (www.senate.be)
Documents: 5-2885
Annales du Senate : April 24, 2014