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Act To Amend Act Of 4 July 1989 On The Limitation And Control Of Electoral Expenditure For The Elections Of The Federal Chambers As Well As The Financing And Open Accounting Of Political Parties, The Electoral Code, The Lo

Original Language Title: Loi modifiant la loi du 4 juillet 1989 relative à la limitation et au contrôle des dépenses électorales engagées pour les élections des Chambres fédérales ainsi qu'au financement et à la comptabilité ouverte des partis politiques, le Code électoral, la lo

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belgiquelex.be - Carrefour Bank of Legislation

6 JANVIER 2014. - An Act to amend the Act of 4 July 1989 relating to the limitation and control of election expenses incurred for the elections of the Federal Chambers and to the financing and open accounting of political parties, the Electoral Code, the Act of 19 May 1994 on the limitation and control of election expenses incurred for the election of the European Parliament and the law of 19 May 1994 regulating the electoral campaign, concerning the limitation and declaration of election expenses incurred for the elections of the Flemish Parliament



PHILIPPE, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
PART Ier. - General provision
Article 1er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constitution.
PART II. - Amendments to the Act of 4 July 1989 relating to the limitation and control of election expenses incurred for the elections of the Federal Chambers, as well as to the financing and open accounting of political parties
CHAPTER 1er. - General provisions
Art. 2. In the title of the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses incurred for the elections of the Federal Chambers, as well as the financing and open accounting of political parties, as amended by the Act of 19 May 1994, the words "for the elections of the Federal Chambers" are replaced by the words "for the election of the House of Representatives".
Art. 3. In Article 1er of the Act, as amended last by the Act of 18 January 2008, the following amendments are made:
1° in 1°, paragraph 1erthe words "in the terms of office of representative and senator" are replaced by the words "in the terms of reference of representative";
2° in 1°, paragraph 2, 6e the words "for the elections of the Federal Chambers" are replaced by the words "for the election of the House of Representatives";
3° 2° is repealed;
4° the 3° is repealed;
5° in 4°, paragraph 1er is replaced by the following:
"4° Supervisory Commission: a committee composed of seventeen members of the House of Representatives and four experts, including two Dutch speakers and two Francophones proposed by the House of Representatives. The Commission is chaired by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. With the exception of the president, members and experts have the right to vote. After each full renewal of the House of Representatives, the House of Representatives shall appoint its representatives and experts in the Supervisory Committee. After their appointment, the commission was established. This is reflected in a minutes signed by the president who informs his assembly. The Commission shall exercise the powers entrusted to it by law from the day of its installation. ";
6° to 4°, paragraph 4, the words "federal Chambers" are replaced by the words "of the House of Representatives";
7° the article is completed by a 5°, written as follows:
"5° a company: any natural person or legal person who pursues a sustainable economic purpose, including his associations. ".
CHAPTER 2. - Limitation and control of election expenses incurred for the election of the House of Representatives
Art. 4. The title of Chapter II of the Act, as amended by the Act of 19 May 1994, is replaced by the following:
"Chapter II. Limitation and control of election expenses incurred for the election of the House of Representatives".
Art. 5. AA section 2 of the Act, last amended by the Act of March 23, 2007, the following amendments are made:
1° in § 1erParagraph 1erthe words "and the Senate" are repealed;
2° in 2, 1°, the words "Federal Chambers" are replaced by the words "the House of Representatives";
3° § 3 is repealed;
§ 5 is repealed;
5° in § 6, the words "to 3" are replaced by the words "and 2".
Art. 6. In Article 3 of the Act, the words "and § 3, 1°" are repealed.
Art. 7. Article 4, § 1erin the same Act, replaced by the Act of 10 April 1995, the following amendments are made:
1° the word "three" is each time replaced by the word "four";
2° the words "of the Federal Chambers" are replaced by the words "of the House of Representatives".
Art. 8. Section 4bis of the Act, inserted by the Act of 12 July 1994 and amended by the Act of 23 March 2007, is repealed.
Art. 9. Article 5, § 1erin the same Act, last amended by the Act of 23 March 2007, the following amendments are made:
1° in 5°, the words "no paid messages on the Internet" are repealed;
2° the paragraph is supplemented by a 6° written as follows:
"6° cannot receive sponsoring whose amount or value of products per sponsor exceeds the sum of 2,000 euros."
Art. 10. In section 6 of the Act, replaced by the Act of April 2, 2003, the following amendments are made:
1° in paragraph 1er2°, the words ", and to transmit, for the exercise of the right of consultation referred to in Article 94ter, § 2, paragraph 2, of the Electoral Code, a copy of that statement, as the case may be, to the president of the French Electoral College or the Dutch Electoral College" are repealed;
2° in paragraph 1er, 3°, the word "two" is replaced by the word "five";
3° a paragraph written as follows is inserted between paragraphs 2 and 3:
"As long as the sponsorship is mentioned in their statement of origin of the funds, they are also committed to registering the identity of companies, de facto associations and legal persons who, for the purpose of financing the election expenses, have made a sponsorship of 125 euros and more, and to communicate them, within forty-five days after the date of the elections, to the president of the main office of the electoral district, referred to in paragraph 1erTwo. ";
4° in former paragraph 3, becoming paragraph 4, the words "paragraph 2" are replaced by the words "paragraphs 2 and 3".
Art. 11. In article 11bis of the same law, inserted by the law of 2 April 2003 and amended by the law of 23 March 2007, the words "Presidents of the Supervisory Board communicate" are replaced by the words "The Chairman of the Supervisory Board communicates" and the word "their" is replaced by the word "their".
Art. 12. In section 12, § 3, of the Act, the words "The Speakers of the House of Representatives and the Senate shall communicate," are replaced by the words "The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall communicate."
Art. 13. Section 13 of the Act, last amended by the Act of March 23, 2007, is replaced by the following:
"Art. 13. § 1er. If a political party fails to file a statement or lately file a statement of election expenses and the origin of the funds allocated to it by that political party, the Monitoring Committee shall impose the following sanctions on the political party concerned:
1° an administrative fine of 1,000 euros per day of delay, with a maximum of 30,000 euros;
2° if the declaration was not received within thirty days: seizure of the endowment until receipt of the declaration.
§ 2. If the statement of a political party of its election expenses and the origin of the funds allocated to it is incorrect or incomplete, the Supervisory Board may impose the following penalties:
1° a warning with a request to correct or complete the data within 15 days;
2° if, at the end of this period of fifteen days following the receipt of the warning, no correction is received:
- an administrative fine of 1,000 euros per day of additional delay, with a maximum of 30,000 euros;
- in case the patch was not received after thirty days of additional delay: seizure of the endowment until receipt of the patch.
§ 3. In case of exceedance of the maximum authorized amount referred to in Article 2, § 1er, the Supervisory Commission shall impose on the political party concerned an administrative fine equal to the exceedance, however with a minimum of 25,000 euros and a maximum of four times the monthly endowment.
§ 4. In case of violation of Article 2, § 1erparagraph 3 or 4, or any subdivision of Article 5, § 1erthe Monitoring Commission may impose one of the following sanctions on the political party concerned:
- a warning;
- an administrative fine of 1,000 euros to 250,000 euros. In case of recidivism, the administrative fine is doubled.
§ 5. As part of this article, the Supervisory Commission shall rule in respect of the rights of defence.".
Art. 14. In section 14 of the Act, last amended by the Act of 18 January 2008, the following amendments are made:
1° in § 1er2°, the words "Article 2, §§ 2 and 3" are replaced by the words "Article 2, § 2";
2° § 1er, 3°, is replaced by the following:
"3° who has failed to declare his election expenses and/or the origin of the funds within the time limit set out in Article 116, § 6, of the Electoral Code, or has made a deliberately incomplete or deliberately erroneous statement;".
Art. 15. In chapter II of the Act, an article 14/1 is inserted as follows:
"Art. 14/1. § 1er. The Supervisory Board may decide to impose one of the following sanctions on an elected candidate for offences referred to in article 14, § 1er :
1° a warning;
2° the deduction of parliamentary allowance up to 5% for a minimum period of one month and up to twelve months;
3° the suspension of the term for a period of not less than one month and not more than six months;
4th of the term.
§ 2. Within the same period of 200 days following the elections as that referred to in Article 14, § 3, paragraph 1er, any person justifying an interest may file a complaint with the Supervisory Board against an elected candidate who has committed an offence under section 14, § 1er.
§ 3. If the Supervisory Commission considers the complaint admissible, it summons, by registered fold, the candidate concerned to be heard.
The summons to be heard mentions:
1° the facts attributed to him;
2° the sanction envisaged;
3° the place, date and time of the hearing, which takes place not earlier than fifteen days after the notification of the convocation;
4° the right of the person concerned to be assisted by a person of his or her choice or to be represented by that person in the event of a legitimate impediment;
5° the place where and the period of at least fifteen days after the notification of the summons in which the person concerned and/or his advisor may be aware of the file and the right to make photocopies free of charge.
§ 4. Within thirty days after the hearing of the person concerned, the Commission of Control shall rule by a simple majority of votes in each language group, provided that the majority of members of each language group are present. This decision is motivated.
§ 5. The decision is notified to the individual by recommended fold within ten days of the pronouncement.
§ 6. If the decision contains a sanction, it is published without delay to the Belgian Monitor and communicated to other legislative assemblies.
The Commission's decision may only be effective upon the expiry of the period of appeal for an open annulment before the Constitutional Court provided for in § 7 or, in the event of an application for annulment within that time limit, only after the Constitutional Court has rejected this appeal.
§ 7. Pursuant to articles 25bis to 25duodecies of the special law of 6 January 1989 on the Constitutional Court, a remedy for annulment may be brought against the decision of the Supervisory Board which imposes a sanction.
This remedy is admissible only if it is filed within 30 days of notification of the decision of the Supervisory Board.
The limitation period for the remedies referred to in this article shall take place only if the notification by the Supervisory Board of its decision to sanction indicates the existence of this remedy and the forms and deadlines to be complied with. When this condition is not fulfilled, the limitation period shall take place four months after the person concerned has taken note of the decision of the Supervisory Board.
§ 8. The Supervisory Board may decide to apply to any person who has filed a complaint that is unfounded and for which the intent to harm is established, the fine provided for in Article 14, § 4.".
Art. 16. In the same Act, a chapter II/1, comprising articles 14/2 to 14/4, is inserted as follows:
"Chapter II/1. Control of the official communications of the federal government and the Presidents of the Federal Chambers"
Section 1re. - Scope of application
Art. 14/2. § 1er. The federal government, one or more of its members, and the Presidents of the Federal Chambers may not disseminate communications or conduct public information campaigns, financed directly or indirectly by public funds, except on matters that fall within their remit.
§ 2. The Supervisory Commission is required to pre-check all communications and information campaigns referred to in § 1er, regardless of the media support used, including internet applications.
§ 3. Not subject to this control:
1° non-personal communications and information campaigns that are imposed by a legal or administrative provision;
2° non-personal communications and information campaigns from a federal information body in which persons or proceedings referred to in § 1er are not named or not represented in any manner or another;
3° communications and information campaigns from public interest bodies, autonomous public enterprises and similar organizations, in which individuals or proceedings referred to in § 1er in which they report, are not named or are not represented in any way or another;
4° internal communications of persons or proceedings referred to in § 1er for the personnel of the federal public services, except during the reference period referred to in Article 4, § 1er.
§ 4. The federal information body, the institutions, the companies and organizations referred to in § 3, 2 and 3, shall inform, as the case may be, the government, the minister or the secretary of State concerned, before and in writing, of their intention to disseminate a communication or to conduct an information campaign concerning a matter that falls under the responsibility of the government, the minister or the secretary of State concerned, in which the latter are named or represented in another way.
Section 2. - Notice procedure
Art. 14/3. The federal government, one or more of its members, and the presidents of the Federal Chambers who wish to disseminate a communication or launch an information campaign referred to in Article 14/2, § 1er, collect beforehand, through a summary note, the opinion of the Supervisory Board on this matter.
They are also required to collect this opinion if they mark their agreement on the mode of presentation of the communication or the information campaign, as determined in article 14/2, § 4.
This note, the model of which is set by the Commission of Control in its rules of procedure, is barely irreceivable, contains the content, mode of presentation, the motives, means used, their drawing, frequency of broadcast or issuance, the total cost and the firms consulted for the communication or the information campaign.
Within fifteen days after the submission of the summary note, the Supervisory Commission renders a binding opinion.
If the notice is positive, the communication may be broadcast or the information campaign launched.
The notice is either negative or positive due to certain conditions, in the event that the communication or campaign is intended, in whole or in part, to promote the personal image of one or more members of the federal government and presidents of the Federal Chambers or the image of a political party.
In the event that the Board has not rendered its notice within the prescribed period of fifteen days, the notice is deemed positive.
Within seven days of the issuance or dissemination of the communication or the information campaign, a copy or copy of the communication is forwarded to the Supervisory Board.
Section 3. - Sanctions
Art. 14/4. § 1er. In the event that the opinion of the Supervisory Board referred to in Article 14/3 has not been requested or has been late, the Supervisory Board may, at the request of a member, be seized of the file within three months of the publication of the communication or the beginning of the information campaign.
§ 2. Within fifteen days of the receipt of the copy or copy referred to in Article 14/3, paragraph 8, and if it turns out that it was not taken into account a negative opinion or that the conditions with a positive opinion were not complied with, in whole or in part, the Commission re-appears from the record at the request of a third party of the members of the commission that were part of the same group.
The Commission is also referred to in the same procedure in the event that the content and presentation of the communication or the information campaign has been amended from what was set out in the summary note.
§ 3. The Commission shall take, no later than within the month of its referral, in respect of the rights of defence, by a simple majority of votes in each language group, provided that the majority of members of each language group are present, a reasoned decision on whether or not the communication or campaign in question is intended to improve the personal image of the individual or the image of his political party.
If this is the case, it may set the cost of communication or campaign denied and impose one of the following sanctions:
1° a reprimand that is made public in the media designated by the Commission;
2° the imputation of a portion of the total cost of communication or campaign on the maximum amount of election expenses provided for the persons concerned in the legislative elections to which they are present within five years of the notification referred to in § 4;
3° the imputation of the total cost of communication or campaign on the maximum amount of election expenses provided for the persons concerned in the legislative elections to which they are present within five years of the notification referred to in § 4.
§ 4. The decision shall be communicated to the interested parties within 10 days of the statement, by recommended fold.
§ 5. If the decision contains a sanction, it is published without delay to the Belgian Monitor and communicated to other legislative assemblies. ".
CHAPTER 3. - Financing of political parties
Art. 17. In section 15 of the Act, last amended by the Act of March 23, 2007, the following amendments are made:
1° the single paragraph is replaced by the following:
"The House of Representatives grants, for each political party represented in the House of Representatives by at least one parliamentarian, an allocation to the institution defined in Article 22. This allocation is fixed and allocated in accordance with the following articles. ";
2° the article is supplemented by a paragraph written as follows:
"A political party, which is no longer represented in the House of Representatives after the election, receives from the month following the election the same staffing as before the election and for three successive months. ".
Art. 18. In section 15ter of the Act, last amended by the Act of 17 February 2005, the following amendments are made:
1° in § 1er, paragraph 2, first sentence, the words "one third of the members" are replaced by the words "seven elected members";
2° in § 2, paragraphs 3 to 5 are replaced by the following:
"The acts of procedure emanating from the organs of the Council of State and the decisions are established in the language of the linguistic group to which members of the political party referred to in § 1 belong.erParagraph 2. They are translated by the services of the State Council when a party justifying interest demands it.
When the political party concerned counts members who do not belong exclusively to the French linguistic group or to the Dutch linguistic group of the House of Representatives, the procedural acts emanating from the Council of State and the rulings are notified in French and Dutch, as well as in German when a party justifying interest demands it.
Requests and other procedural writings co-signed by members who do not belong exclusively to the French language group or the Dutch language group of the House of Representatives may be established in both or three national languages, as the case may be. The procedural acts of the organs of the Council of State and its decisions are, in this case, notified in the two or three national languages, as the case may be. The services of the Council of State shall ensure the translation of the acts and declarations of the other parties when a party justifying interest requests it. "
Art. 19. In section 16 of the Act, last amended by the Act of March 23, 2007, the following amendments are made:
1° in paragraph 1er, the 1st is supplemented by a sentence written as follows:
"This amount is increased by 50,000 euros if in the Senate at least one member belongs to the same political party. ";
2° in paragraph 1er, 2°, is replaced by the following:
"2° an additional amount of 2.5 euros per valid vote expressed, whether it is a list vote or a nominal vote, issued on the lists of candidates recognized by the political party during the last legislative election for the full renewal of the House of Representatives. This amount is increased by 1.00 euro per valid vote expressed for the election of the House of Representatives if in the Senate, at least one member belongs to the same political party. ";
3° a preambular paragraph is inserted between subparagraphs 1er and 2:
"In order to find that at least one member of the Senate belongs to the same political party as referred to in paragraph 1erat least one member of that party in the Senate is required to confirm it by letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The increase remains applicable until the next full or partial renewal of the Senate.".
Art. 20. In section 16bis of the Act, last amended by the Act of 2 April 2003, a paragraph written as follows is inserted between paragraphs 2 and 3:
"Each donation of 125 euros and more is transmitted electronically by means of a transfer, a permanent order or a bank or credit card. The total amount of cash donations by a single person may not exceed 125 euros per year.".
Art. 21. In chapter III of the Act, an article 16bis/1 is inserted, as follows:
"Art. 16bis/1. Companies, fact-finding associations and legal entities may, as a sponsorship, i.e. in exchange for advertising, make funds or products available to political parties and their components, lists, candidates and political agents, provided that they meet market prices. The identity of companies, fact-finding associations and legal persons who have made a sponsorship of 125 euros and more, in any form, to political parties, their components, lists, candidates and political agents is registered annually, without prejudice to the registration requirement referred to in Article 6, paragraph 3, of this Act and to Article 116, § 6, paragraph 3 of the Electoral Code.
The political party that accepts a sponsorship in violation of this provision shall lose, to a maximum of double the amount of sponsoring, its right to endowment which, under Chapter III of this Act, would be allocated to the institution referred to in Article 22 for the months following the finding of this offence by the Supervisory Board.
Whoever, in violation of this provision, has made a sponsorship to a political party, to one of its components - regardless of its legal form -, to a list, to a candidate or to a political agent or who, as a candidate or political agent will have accepted a sponsorship will be punished by a fine of 26 euros to 100.000 euros. Whoever, without being a candidate or political agent, has accepted such sponsoring on behalf of and on behalf of a political party, a list, a candidate or a political agent will be punished by the same sanction.
The First Book of the Criminal Code, including Chapter VII and section 85, is applicable to these offences.
If ordered by the court, the judgment may be published entirely or by extract in the newspapers and weekly newspapers that it designates.".
Art. 22. In section 16ter of the Act, replaced by the Act of March 23, 2007, the following amendments are made:
1° to § 1er, the words "the statement referred to in article 16bis, paragraph 2, of all gifts" are replaced by the words "the statements of respectively, all gifts and sponsoring referred to in articles 16bis, paragraph 2 and 16bis/1";
2° in § 2, the words "of all gifts" are inserted between the words "The reading" and "mention";
3° a § 2bis, written as follows, is inserted between paragraphs 2 and 3:
" § 2bis. The sponsoring statement mentions the names of companies, fact-finding associations and legal persons who made sponsoring, the full address, the amount of any sponsoring, the date the sponsor was received and the total amount of any sponsoring that was received during the previous year.
For the purposes of this paragraph, "full address" means the street, the number, the commune and the country where the natural person is established or the country where the legal person has its head office. ";
4° § 3 is replaced by the following:
§ 3. By June 30 of the year following the year in which they relate, the records are filed against receipt to the Supervisory Board which ensures compliance with the obligations set out in 16bis, 16bis/1, and this section. The statement of sponsoring referred to in § 2bis is published in parliamentary documents. ";
5° in § 4, the words "6 and 16bis" are replaced by the words "6, 16bis and 16bis/1";
6° § 5 is replaced by the following:
§ 5. If a political party or one of its components omits or deposits the statements referred to in § 1erthe Monitoring Commission shall impose the following sanctions on the political party concerned:
1° an administrative fine of 1,000 euros per day of delay, with a maximum of 30,000 euros;
2° if the survey was not received within 30 days: the seizure of the staffing until the receipt of the survey.
As part of this article, the Supervisory Commission shall rule in respect of the rights of defence.
If a political party or one of its components files the statements referred to in § 1er in an erroneous or incomplete manner, the Supervisory Commission may impose the following penalties:
1° a warning with a request to correct or complete the data within 15 days;
2° if, at the end of this period of fifteen days following the receipt of the warning, no correction is received:
- an administrative fine of 1,000 euros per day of additional delay, with a maximum of 30,000 euros;
- in case the patch was not received after thirty days of additional delay: seizure of the endowment until receipt of the patch. ";
7° in § 6, the words "the statement referred to in § 1er or introduce" are replaced by the words "the readings referred to in § 1er or introduce them."
Art. 23. In section 18 of the Act, last amended by the Act of 15 February 2012, the following amendments are made:
1° in paragraph 1er, second sentence, the words "January 1993" are replaced by the words "January 1997" and the words "January 2003" are replaced by the words "January 2006";
2° Paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
"Adjustment to fluctuations in the pivotal consumer price index referred to in paragraph 1er is not applied from January 2012 to the month in which the pivotal index reaches 122.01. ".
Art. 24. Section 19 of the Act, as amended by the Act of March 23, 2007, is replaced by the following:
"Art. 19. The appropriations allocated to the House of Representatives are included in the Estimates. ".
Art. 25. In section 20 of the Act, as amended by the Act of 18 June 1993, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
"The calculation is made on the basis of the available data on the first day of the month for which the staffing is paid, on the understanding that, without prejudice to the application of section 18 and except for parties that have an elected for the first time, the allocation for the first three months following the month in which the last legislative election took place until the full renewal of the House of Representatives remains as high as the amount received during the month in which the election took place. ".
Art. 26. In section 21 of the Act, amended by the Acts of 18 June 1993 and 23 March 2007, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
"This request is addressed by the institution referred to in section 22 to the President of the House of Representatives. ".
CHAPTER IV. - Accounting for political parties
Art. 27. In section 22, paragraph 2, of the same law inserted by the law of 19 November 1998 and amended by the Royal Decree of 20 July 2000, a dash written as follows is inserted between the second and third dashes:
"- establish each year a central list of sponsorships of 125 euros and more of companies, de facto associations and legal entities that have been received by party components;".
Art. 28. In section 24 of the Act, last amended by the Act of 18 January 2008, the following amendments are made:
1st paragraph 1er is replaced by the following: "The report referred to in section 23 is sent within 120 days of the closing of the accounts to the Speaker of the House of Representatives who ensure that the report is published without delay in parliamentary documents. ";
2° in paragraph 2, the words "Presidents transmit" are replaced by the words "the president transmits";
3° in paragraph 2, the words "one month" are replaced by the words "three months";
4° in paragraph 2, a sentence written as follows is inserted between the first and second sentences:
"The Court of Accounts may also request additional information from the institution referred to in section 22."
5° in paragraph 3, the first sentence is replaced by the following:
"In 135 days after the deadline set out in paragraph 1er, the Commission approves the report without comment or approves it by mentioning its observations or, in the presence of serious irregularities, rejects the report. ";
Paragraph 5 is replaced by the following:
"The report of the Supervisory Board, including its decisions, the comments it has made and the opinion of the Court of Accounts, is published in parliamentary documents. ".
Art. 29. Section 25 of the Act, last amended by the Act of 19 November 1998, is replaced by the following:
"Art. 25. § 1er. The finding by the Supervisory Board that the financial report was not filed within the time limit set out in section 24, paragraph 1er, entails the automatic suspension of the payment of the endowment that would have been granted to the institution defined in section 22 until the date of receipt of the report.
Upon receipt of the report, the Monitoring Committee shall impose the following sanctions on the political party concerned:
- an administrative fine of 1,000 euros per day of delay, with a maximum of 30,000 euros;
- where the deposit exceeds the period specified in Article 24, paragraph 1er, more than thirty days: seizure of staffing until the day of receipt of the report.
§ 2. When rejecting the financial report, the Supervisory Board may impose one of the following sanctions:
- a warning;
- an administrative fine of 1,000 to 10. 1,000 euros. In case of recidivism, the administrative fine is doubled.
§ 3. When rejecting the financial report, the Supervisory Board may impose one of the following sanctions:
- an administrative fine of 10,000 to 100,000 euros;
- the seizure of the endowment that would be granted in accordance with Chapter III of this Act to the institution referred to in section 22 during the subsequent period established by the Supervisory Board and not less than one month or more than four months.
In the event of recidivism, the administrative fine or the time limit provided for in paragraph 1er are doubled.
As part of this article, the Supervisory Commission shall rule in respect of the rights of defence.
§ 4. The approval subject to section 24, paragraph 3, shall result in the preventive suspension of one twelfth of the annual staffing. "
Art. 30. In the same Act, a chapter IVbis, comprising section 25ter, is inserted as follows:
"Chapter IVbis. Appeal
Art. 25ter. With the exception of the sanctions referred to in Article 14/1, an appeal for annulment before the Council of State may be brought against any decision to sanction the Commission made under this Act, in accordance with Article 14, § 1er, paragraph 2, of the laws on the Council of State, coordinated on 12 January 1973. ".
Art. 31. In the Schedule to the Act, inserted by the Act of 19 November 1998, item 2 is replaced by the following:
"The balance sheet and result account of each component of the political party according to the definition given by Article 1er, 1°, paragraph 2, established in accordance with the scheme established by the Electoral and Party Accounting Commission. "
CHAPTER V. - Transitional provisions
Art. 32. By derogation from Article 4, § 1erof the Act of 4 July 1989 on the Limitation and Control of Electoral Expenditures for the Elections of the Federal Chambers, as well as on the financing and open accounting of political parties, the period of federal legislative elections held on the same day as the elections for the Parliaments of Community and Region in 2014 is in any case three months.
Art. 33. Section 26 of the Act, repealed by the Act of 18 June 1993, is reinstated in the following wording:
"Art. 26. In order to determine the number of candidates listed as referred to in Article 2, § 2, 1°, in the electoral districts of Brussels-Capital and Flemish Brabant, on the occasion of the elections of the House of Representatives that will be held on the same day as the elections for the Parliaments of Community and Region in 2014, the number of mandates that a political party obtained on the list that it proposed in the elections of
In order to determine the number of candidates listed as referred to in Article 2, § 2, 1°, in the electoral district of the Flemish Brabant, in the election of the House of Representatives that will be held on the same day as the elections for the local and regional parliaments in 2014, the number of mandates that a political party obtained on the list that it proposed in the elections of the House of Representatives of June 13, 2010 is addeder".
PART III. - Amendment of the Electoral Code
Art. 34. In Article 116, § 6, of the Electoral Code, replaced by the Act of 2 April 2003 and amended by the Act of 25 April 2004, the following amendments are made:
1° a paragraph is inserted between paragraphs 2 and 3:
"As long as the sponsorship is mentioned in their statement of origin of the funds, they are also committed to registering the identity of companies, de facto associations and legal persons who, for the purpose of financing the election expenses, made a sponsorship of 125 euros and more, and to communicate them within forty-five days after the date of the elections, to the president of the main office of the electoral district. ";
2° in paragraph 3 becoming paragraph 4, the words "in the preceding paragraph" are replaced by the words "in paragraphs 2 and 3".
PART IV. - Amendment of the Law of 19 May 1994 on the Limitation and Control of Electoral Expenditures for the Election of the European Parliament
Art. 35. In the Act of 19 May 1994 on limitation and control of election expenses incurred for the election of the European Parliament, an article 11ter is inserted as follows:
"Art. 11ter. An appeal for annulment before the Council of State may be brought against any decision to sanction the Commission made under this Act, in accordance with Article 14, § 1er, paragraph 2, of the laws on the Council of State, coordinated on 12 January 1973. ".
PART V. - Amendment of the Act of 19 May 1994 regulating the electoral campaign, concerning the limitation and reporting of the election expenses incurred for the elections of the Walloon Parliament, the Flemish Parliament, the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region and the Parliament of the German-speaking Community, and setting the Flemish control criterion for the official communications of the public authorities
Art. 36. In the Act of 19 May 1994 regulating the electoral campaign, concerning the limitation and reporting of election expenses incurred for the elections of the Walloon Parliament, the Flemish Parliament, the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region and the Parliament of the German-speaking Community, and setting out the criteria for the control of the official communications of the public authorities, a chapter IV, comprising an article 12bis, is inserted as follows:
"Chapter IV. Appeal
Art. 12bis. An appeal for annulment before the Council of State may be brought against any decision to sanction the Commission made under this Act, in accordance with Article 14, § 1er, paragraph 2, of the laws on the Council of State, coordinated on 12 January 1973. ".
PART VI. - Entry into force
Art. 37. Articles 1er and 37 come into force on the day of the publication of this Act to the Belgian Monitor.
Articles 2 to 6, 7, 2°, 10, 1°, 11, 12, 14, 1°, 17, 1°, 18, 19, 24, 26 and 28, 2° and 3° came into force on the day of the elections for community and regional parliaments in 2014.
Articles 7, 1°, 8, 9, 10, 2° to 4°, 13, 14, 2°, 15, 16, 20, 21, 28, 1° and 4° to 6°, 29 to 31 and 34 to 36 come into force on 1er January 2015.
Section 23, 1° comes into force on the first day of the month in which the pivotal index 122.01 will affect the calculation of the staffing referred to in sections 15 and following of this Act.
Articles 23, 2°, 32 and 33 come into force on 1er January 2014.
Sections 22 and 27 come into force on 1er January 2016.
Sections 17, 2 and 25 come into force on the day of the first federal elections that follow the elections referred to in paragraph 2.
Promulgate this law, order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 6 January 2014.
PHILIPPE
By the King:
The Prime Minister,
E. DI RUPO
The Minister of the Interior,
Ms. J. MILQUET
State Secretary to Institutional Reforms,
Mr. WATHELET
State Secretary to Institutional Reforms,
S. VERHERSTRAETEN
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. A. TURTELBOOM
____
Note
House of Representatives (www.lachambre.be):
Documents: 53-2972.
Full report: 27 and 28 November 2013.
Senate (www.senate.be):
Documents: 5-2376.
Annales of the Senate: December 19, 2013.