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4 AVRIL 2014. - Special Act to amend the Act of 6 January 1989 on the Constitutional Court (1)

PHILIPPE, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Section 1^er - General provision
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constitution.
Chapter 2 - Amendments to the special law of 6 January 1989 on the Constitutional Court
Art. 2. Article 2 of the special law of 6 January 1989 on the Constitutional Court is supplemented by a paragraph written as follows:
"The provisions of this Act relating to the Governments of community or region apply to the College of the Joint Community Commission and to the College of the French Community Commission. ".
Art. 3. In section 4 of the same special law, as amended by the special laws of 16 July 1993 and 9 March 2003, the following amendments are made:
1° in paragraph 1^er, 1°, the words "on the date" are replaced by the words "on the day after the date";
2° in paragraph 1^er2°, the words "on the date of notification of the judgment rendered by the Court, as the case may be, to the Prime Minister and the Presidents of the Governments" are replaced by the words "the day after the date of publication of the judgment to the Belgian Monitor";
3° in paragraph 2, the second sentence, beginning with the words "The deadline" and ending with the words "to the Belgian Monitor.", is replaced by the following:
"The deadline takes place the day after the date of the publication of the decision at the Belgian Monitor."
Art. 4. Section 5 of the same special law, as amended by the special law of 16 July 1993, is replaced by the following:
"Art. 5. The Court has before it an appeal for annulment by an application that comes from the Prime Minister, a member of the government that the Prime Minister designates, the Speaker of a Legislative Assembly or the person justifying an interest or their lawyer.".
Art. 5. In article 6 of the same special law, the words "is dated. It" is repealed.
Art. 6. In Article 12, § 5, paragraph 1^erin the same special law, the words "in article 7, paragraphs two, three and four, of the Act of 20 April 1874 on preventive detention" are replaced by the words "in article 27, § 3, of the Act of 20 July 1990 on pretrial detention".
Art. 7. In article 13, § 4, paragraph 2, of the same special law, the words "of 20 April 1874 relating to preventive detention" are replaced by the words "of 13 March 1973 concerning compensation in case of inoperative preventive detention".
Art. 8. In article 26, § 4, of the same special law, inserted by the special law of 12 July 2009, paragraph 1^er is replaced by the following:
"When invoked before a court the violation, by law, decree or rule referred to in article 134 of the Constitution, of a fundamental right guaranteed in a totally or partially analogous manner by a provision of title II of the Constitution and by a provision of European law or international law, the court is obliged to first ask the Constitutional Court a preliminary question on compatibility with the provision of title II of the Constitution. Where only the violation of the provision of European law or international law is invoked before the court, the court is obliged to verify, even on its own motion, whether Title II of the Constitution contains a totally or partially analogous provision. These obligations do not affect the possibility, for the jurisdiction, of asking, simultaneously or at a later stage, a preliminary question to the Court of Justice of the European Union. ".
Art. 9. Section 30 of the same special law, as amended by the special law of 21 February 2010, is supplemented by a paragraph written as follows:
"However, the jurisdiction may, even on its own, take the necessary interim measures, in particular to ensure the protection of the rights conferred by the legal order of the European Union. ".
Art. 10. Title I^er the same special law is supplemented by a chapter V, entitled:
"Chapter V. - Protection of privacy."
Art. 11. In Chapter V, inserted by Article 10, an article 30quater is inserted as follows:
"Art. 30quater. The President may decide, at any stage of the proceedings and even after the decision has been made, on his or her own motion or at the request of a party or third party concerned, that the references to identify them directly be deleted, at the most appropriate time, in any publication to which the Court would proceed or have done under this special law or its own initiative. ".
Art. 12. In section 34 of the same special law, as amended by the special laws of 16 July 1993, 9 March 2003, 27 March 2006 and 21 February 2010, paragraph 5 is replaced by the following:
§ 5. The Court shall consist of different sex judges, both in respect of the judges referred to in § 1^er, 1°, only those referred to in § 1^erTwo.
It has at least one third of judges of each sex."
Art. 13. In section 35 of the same special law, as amended by the special laws of 9 March 2003 and 21 February 2010, the words "the Permanent Secretary to Recruitment" are replaced by the words "the delegated administrator of the Federal Administration Selection Office".
Art. 14. In article 58 of the same special law, the sentences "Y is brought the first a judge appointed on the basis of article 34, § 1^er, 2°, if the president himself was appointed on the basis of 1°, or vice versa. Alternatively, on the list, judges appointed on the basis of 1° and judges appointed on the basis of 2°." are repealed.
Art. 15. In section 62, paragraph 2, of the same special law, as amended by the special laws of 27 March 2006 and 6 January 2014, the following amendments are made:
1° in 4°, the words "language groups of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region" are replaced by the words "of the Joint Community Commission";
2° the 5° is replaced by the following:
"5° the presidents of the Parliament of the French Community, the Walloon Parliament and the Assembly of the French Community Commission use French, the president of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community German, and the president of the Flemish Parliament the Dutch."
Art. 16. In section 70 of the same special law, as amended by the special laws of 9 March 2003 and 21 February 2010, the words "immediate response" are replaced by the words "preliminary procedure report".
Art. 17. In section 71, paragraph 1^er, of the same special law, the word "ten" is replaced by the word "quinze".
Art. 18. In section 72 of the same special law, replaced by the special law of 9 March 2003, the following amendments are made:
1° in paragraph 1^er, the words "immediate response" are replaced by the words "reduced on preliminary procedure" and the word "ten" is replaced by the word "quinze";
2° Paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
"The Court may then decide to terminate the examination of the case, without any other procedural act, by an order in which, as the case may be, the appeal is declared meritorious or the question receives a positive or negative answer. ";
3° in paragraph 4, the words "declaring the unfounded case or an immediate answer order" are replaced by the words "reported on preliminary procedure".
Art. 19. In title V of the same special law, a chapter IIIbis entitled:
"Chapter IIIbis. - Electronic procedure."
Art. 20. In chapter IIIbis, inserted by article 19, an article 78bis is inserted as follows:
"Art. 78bis. § 1^er. The Court provides an electronic platform for the communications required in the proceedings before the Constitutional Court, and in particular for the introduction of applications, the sending of procedural documents and the sending of notifications, communications and summons.
The King sets the operation of the platform, including the terms and conditions for the management and security of the platform. This includes the parties that have access to it, the registration procedure, the terms of use, the authentication of the user, the format and signature of the documents. With respect to the parties that have access to the platform, the King can, barely acceptability, make the use of the platform mandatory for certain categories of parties or foresee that certain categories of parties can only be registered on the platform when the King has set the conditions for that purpose.
In particular, the platform must meet the following conditions:
1° the dates and times of sending and issuing of the documents of procedure, notifications and communications shall be able to be established precisely;
2° the identity of the parties involved in the service, notification or communication must be verified in a specific manner;
3° all exchanges that have taken place through the platform shall be protected against modifications by appropriate technical and cryptographic security measures;
4° the confidentiality of all data exchanged through the platform must be guaranteed.
§ 2. Data provided on a regular basis by electronic means of the platform have, to the contrary, the same evidence as the data provided on paper.
§ 3. Unless otherwise proven, the data provided on a regular electronic basis by means of the platform produces their effects and the delivery to the recipient is deemed to take place at the time the data can be accessed through the platform.
§ 4. When the communication of data by means of the platform is not possible for reasons of force majeure, and in particular in the event of dysfunction of the platform, the communication may be made on paper, no later than the day after the deadline for shipments on paper, either by registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt or by filing at the Court Registry, and may be retained and consulted as such."
Art. 21. Section 81 of the Special Act is replaced by the following:
"Art. 81. Any party, if it is not a public authority and if it is not registered on the platform, indicates in the request or the memory its domicile or seat in Belgium or the domicile or seat it elects in Belgium.
In the absence of an indication of the domicile or seat as well as a registration on the platform, no notification shall be made by the Registry and the procedure shall be deemed contradictory.
Any notification is made by the Registry:
1° to the electronic address of a party registered on the platform;
2° for persons who are not registered on the platform, at the domicile or registered seat, even in the event of death of the party. ".
Art. 22. Section 82 of the same special law is replaced by the following:
"Art. 82. The sending to the Court of any procedural documents by the parties registered on the platform is done through the platform. The sending to the Court of any procedural documents by the parties that are not registered on the platform is by registered mail.
The Court's sending of any document, notification or summons to the parties registered on the platform is done through the platform. The sending by the Court of any documents, notification or summons to parties that are not registered on the platform is made by registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt.
The request or statement shall be signed and dated when sent to the Court by registered mail.
In the event of a recommended shipment, the period granted to the parties shall take place on the day following the date of receipt of the shipment or notice that the shipment may be withdrawn, where the sending party cannot be delivered personally to the recipient or agent. If the recipient refuses to send, the deadline will take place on the day following the refusal.
In the event of communication via the platform, the deadline will take place from the day that the documents, notifications and summonses may be accessed via the platform.
These dates are faith both for sending and for receiving or for refusal."
Art. 23. Section 83 of the Special Act is repealed.
Art. 24. Section 86 of the same special law is replaced by the following:
"Art. 86. The submissions referred to in sections 71, paragraph 2, 72, paragraph 2, 85, 87 and 89, which have not been introduced within the time limits of this Act, are excluded from the proceedings. ".
Art. 25. In Article 87, § 1^er, of the same special law, as amended by the special law of February 21, 2010, the words "in the case before the court ordering the referral," are repealed.
Art. 26. In section 89 of the same special law, replaced by the special law of 9 March 2003, the following amendments are made:
1° in § 1^er, first sentence, the words "introduces a request or" are repealed;
2° in § 1^er, third sentence, the word "others" is repealed;
Paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
"§2. When the Court determines the remedies for cancellation referred to in Article 1^erthe Registrar shall transmit a copy of the submissions filed upon the expiry of the time limits referred to in sections 85 and 87 to the requesting party. It has 30 days from the day of receipt to send the Registry a response. Upon expiry of this period, the Clerk shall transmit to each party that has filed a memorandum of reply submitted by the requesting party and the submissions filed by the other parties. The recipients of this notification shall have 30 days from the day of receipt to send the Registry a reply. Upon expiry of this period, the Registrar shall transmit to the requesting party and other parties that have filed a copy of the submitted reply submissions. ".
Art. 27. Section 90 of the same special law, as amended by the special law of 9 March 2003, is replaced by the following:
"Art. 90. At the expiry of the time limits provided for in Article 89, the Court, the rapporteurs heard, decides whether or not the case is in a state and whether a hearing is held.
The order determined that the case is in a fixed state, if any, on the day of the hearing and set out the means that appear to be required to be examined on an ex officio basis and the questions to which the parties will be invited to respond, either by a supplementary brief to be submitted within the time limit set in the order or verbally to the hearing.
The order decided that the case is not in a state of affairs sets out the duties to be performed by the rapporteurs or by the clerks and, where appropriate, mentions the means that appear to be required to be examined on an ex officio basis and the questions to which the parties will be invited to respond by a supplementary memorandum to be submitted within the time limit set out in the order. Once these duties are fulfilled, the Court shall proceed in accordance with paragraphs 1^er and 2.
Orders are notified to the parties. If no hearing is scheduled, each party may apply for hearing. This application is filed within seven days of notification of the order referred to in paragraph 2.".
Art. 28. In section 94, paragraph 3, of the same special law, the following amendments are made:
1° the words "by registered letter to the post" are repealed;
2° the paragraph is supplemented by a sentence written as follows:
"This notice is made by registered mail or via the platform for parties registered on the platform. ".
Art. 29. In section 97, paragraph 1^er, of the same special law, the words "after becoming a party before the Court" are inserted between the word "decision" and the words "procedure".
Art. 30. In section 98, paragraph 1^erof the same special law, as amended by the special law of 16 July 1993, the words "The Council of Ministers, the regional and community governments, the presidents of the legislative assemblies" are replaced by the words "The requesting parties".
Art. 31. Section 110 of the same special law is replaced by the following:
"Art. 110. Unless the President decides to make the decision in public hearing, his publication on the Court's website is valid.".
Art. 32. Section 111 of the same special law is replaced by the following:
"Art. 111. The order contains the motives and the device. It refers to:
1° of the name of each of the parties and, where appropriate, the name and quality of the persons representing them and their advice;
2° of the provisions on the use of the languages to which it is applied;
3° of submissions made by the parties, as well as the possible presence of the parties and their counsel at the hearing;
4th of the date of the signing of the judgment and the name of the judges who deliberated it."
Art. 33. In section 113 of the same special law, as amended by the special law of 27 March 2006, the following amendments are made:
1° in paragraph 1^er1° and 2° are repealed;
2° the article is supplemented by a paragraph written as follows:
"They are communicated electronically:
1st to the Prime Minister and the Presidents of Governments;
2° to the Presidents of the Legislative Chambers, the Parliament of the French Community, the Walloon Parliament, the Flemish Parliament, the Parliament of the German-speaking Community and the Legislative Assembly of the Brussels-Capital Region. ".
Art. 34. Section 114 of the same special law, as amended by the special law of 9 March 2003, is replaced by the following:
"Art. 114. The judgments are published by the clerk on the website of the Court and in their entirety or by excerpts in the Belgian Monitor. The extract includes the motives and the device.".
Art. 35. In article 115 of the same special law, the sentences, the first of which begins with the words "The King assures it" and the last ends with the words "whose King determines the form.", are repealed.
Art. 36. In section 118bis of the same special law, inserted by the special law of 6 January 2014, the following amendments are made:
1° in paragraph 1^er, the word "78bis," is inserted between the word "67," and the word "79";
2° in paragraph 2, the words "110, 111, 1°, 2° and 4°, 112, 113, 1° to 3°, 115 to 117," are replaced by the words "110 to 117";
Paragraph 5 is repealed.
Chapter 3 - Entry into force
Art. 37. The King sets the effective date of articles 4, 5, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28 and 36, 1°.
Art. 38. Article 34, § 5, paragraph 2, of the special law of 6 January 1989 on the Constitutional Court, as set out in Article 12, comes into force on the day the Court has at least one third of judges of each sex.
Until that date, the King appoints a judge of the least sex represented when the two previous appointments did not increase the number of judges of that sex.
Promulgate this law, order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 4 April 2014.
PHILIPPE
By the King:
The Prime Minister,
E. DI RUPO
State Secretary to Institutional Reforms,
Mr. WATHELET
State Secretary to Institutional Reforms,
S. VERHERSTRAETEN
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
A. TURTELBOOM
_______
(1) Note
Senate (www.senate.be):
Documents: 5-2438
Annales of the Senate: February 6, 2014.
House of Representatives (www.lachambre.be):
Documents: 53-3346
Full report: 19 and 20 March 2014.