20 DECEMBER 2001. - Law relating to compensation of the members of the Jewish Community of Belgium for the property to which they were deprived or that they were abandoned during the war 1940-1945 (1)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted in We sanction the following:
CHAPTER I^er. - General provision
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 78 of the Constitution.
CHAPTER II. - The Commission for the compensation of the members of the Jewish Community of Belgium for the property to which they have been deprived or that they have abandoned during the war 1940-1945
Art. 2. § 1^er. It is established with the Prime Minister's Services a Commission for the compensation of the members of the Jewish Community of Belgium for the property to which they have been deprived or that they have abandoned during the War 1940-1945, referred to as "the Commission".
The Commission shall consider and decide on claims for compensation under the conditions and rules set out in chapter III.
§ 2. The Commission's term of office is two years and is effective on the date of the conclusion of the protocol referred to in Article 10.
The King may, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, extend the mandate of the Commission for two periods of up to one year each.
§ 3. The King regulates the operation of the Commission.
Art. 3. § 1^er. The Commission is composed of five staff members or retired staff, including:
- two Francophone members;
- two Dutch-speaking members;
- a president, who must have justified knowledge of the French language and the Dutch language, in accordance with the laws on the use of languages in administrative matters, coordinated on 18 July 1966.
The President shall be appointed by the King on the proposal of the Prime Minister. The other members are appointed by him on the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Justice and the Minister who has the victims of war in his office.
§ 2. Two representatives of the Jewish Community of Belgium participated in the meetings of the Commission with an advisory vote.
§ 3. An alternate shall be appointed for the president and for each member according to the conditions set out in § 1^er.
§ 4. As part of its mission, the Commission may consult with experts.
Art. 4. A secretariat is made available to the Commission. The King sets out the composition, status and operating rules of the secretariat.
Art. 5. The operating costs of the Commission and its secretariat are borne by the Prime Minister ' s budget.
The King sets out the amount of attendance tokens and course fees allocated to the Chairperson, members and experts of the Commission.
CHAPTER III. - Claims for compensation and treatment
Art. 6. § 1^er. May apply for compensation, any person who meets the following conditions:
1° having had his residence in Belgium at any time during the period of 10 May 1940 until 8 May 1945;
2° in Belgium having been deprived of property of which she was owner or had to abandon them following an anti-Jewish measure of the German occupation authorities or following acts of an anti-Semitic nature committed by the same authorities during the same period.
§ 2. For the application of § 1^er, means property whose persons referred to in § 1^er have been devastated or have had to delay, financial assets and property owned by them and:
1° that have not been returned by the State, financial institutions or insurance companies, nor are the subject of any compensation, compensation or compensation;
2° and which were identified in the report of the Study Commission, created by the law of January 15, 1999 on the Study Commission on the fate of the property of the members of the Jewish Community of Belgium who had been deprived or abandoned during the war 1940-1945, or who were identified in the course of the examination of the application by the Commission.
The King may, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, extend the scope of the preceding paragraph to other sectors, on the basis of the Commission's report, established by the law of January 15, 1999.
§ 3. If the person referred to in § 1^er deceased, the persons entitled to the first, second and third degreas within the meaning of articles 737 to 744 of the Civil Code, may claim compensation provided that the conditions referred to in §§ 1^er and 2 are fulfilled and justified in their quality to act in accordance with the rules of common law.
Art. 7. § 1^er. The claim for compensation shall be made, within one year of the coming into force of this Act, by registered letter to the Chairperson of the Commission and shall be accompanied by all relevant documents. It contains the following elements:
1° the name, first name, domicile and nationality of the applicant, and, if he fails, the name, first name, domicile and quality of his legal representative;
2° a summary description of the circumstances under which the owners of the property were or had to abandon them;
3° the fullest possible description of the goods and the place where they were at the time and where they are currently located;
4° the declaration that there was no restitution, compensation, compensation, compensation or repair for the goods.
The application must be dated and signed and completed by the words: "I affirm the honour that this declaration is sincere and complete. "
§ 2. The King may specify the procedure for the introduction of the application, referred to in § 1^erand other procedural rules before the Commission.
Art. 8. § 1^er. The Commission may conduct or conduct any relevant investigations to verify the sincerity of the claim for compensation. The result is exclusively intended for the application review procedure and remains covered by professional secrecy. In particular, the Commission may require any public service, bank or insurance company to disclose information about the existence of a property without the professional secrecy being opposed to it.
§ 2. In particular cases, the Commission may take into account preponderant inequities which, in its opinion, may arise when applying this Act.
Art. 9. § 1^er. The Commission may perform the personal data processing that is necessary to carry out its mission.
The data bank for victims of anti-Jewish measures taken by the German authorities, which was established by the Study Commission pursuant to Article 4 of the Act of 15 January 1999 referred to above, is transferred to the Commission.
In derogation from the procedure provided for in Article 5, paragraph 2, (a), of the Act of 8 August 1983 organizing a National Register of Physical Persons, as amended by the Act of 19 July 1991, it may also access the information referred to in Article 3, paragraph 1^er, 1° to 6° and 8° and paragraph 2, of the same law and make use of the identification number of the National Register of Natural Persons, within the limits, conditions and purposes specified in the following paragraphs.
The access and use referred to in the preceding paragraph are permitted:
1° to the Chairperson and members of the Commission delegated by him;
2° to members of level 1 of the secretariat.
Information from the National Register of Natural Persons obtained can only be used for the commission's research mission.
They cannot be communicated to third parties.
Not considered third parties:
1 the physical persons to whom this information relates, as well as their legal representatives or their legal persons;
2° the public authorities or bodies designated under section 5 of the Act of 8 August 1983 referred to above.
The persons referred to in paragraph 4 may use the identification number of the National Register of Physical Persons solely as a means of identification in their files or directories:
1° for internal management purposes;
2° in the relations they have with the public authorities and bodies that have themselves received the authorization provided for in Article 8 of the Act of 8 August 1983 referred to above.
The list of persons with access to the information of the National Register of Physical Persons, with identification of their function and, possibly, of their rank, is transmitted to the Privacy Commission.
The identification number of the National Register of Physical Persons cannot be reproduced on documents that may be brought to the attention of third parties other than the authorities or bodies also authorized to use it.
§ 2. The King shall determine, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers and after the advice of the Commission on the Protection of Privacy, the destination of the data bank at the end of the Commission ' s mandate.
CHAPTER IV. - The procedure for payment of compensation, the liberating nature and the payment of the balance
Art. 10. Within three months after the coming into force of this Law, a protocol is concluded between the National Commission of the Jewish Community of Belgium for the Restitution a.s.b.l., the State, financial institutions and insurance companies, referred to in Article 6, § 2, paragraph 1^er, 1°, in order to fix the amounts and the coefficient or coefficients allowing the calculation of the present value.
This protocol is approved by the King, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers.
These amounts are paid by the State, financial institutions and insurance companies, referred to in paragraph 1^er, to the credit of a special account that is opened on behalf of the Belgian Treasury in the books of the National Bank of Belgium.
Art. 11. The decisions of the Board shall be communicated to the Treasury Board Authority which is responsible for liquidating the dependant amounts of the account referred to in section 10, paragraph 3.
Art. 12. In the absence of a protocol concluded within the time limit set out in Article 10, the King shall, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, and after the advice of the National Commission of the Jewish Community of Belgium for the Restitution a.s.b.l., fix the amounts paid by the State, the financial institutions and the insurance companies referred to in Article 6, § 2, paragraph 1^er, 1°, as well as the coefficient or coefficients allowing the calculation of the present value of these amounts.
Art. 13. Payments referred to in Article 10, paragraph 3, shall have a freeing effect, for the State, financial institutions and insurance companies concerned with the persons referred to in Article 6 and shall imply extinguishment of the right of such persons to bring any other request other than that referred to in the same Article, in fact or in law, for the restitution, compensation or compensation of the property concerned.
Art. 14. At the end of the Commission's mandate and the liquidation of the amounts referred to in Article 11, the balance of the special account referred to in Article 10, paragraph 3, shall be paid to a Public Use Establishment whose missions of a social, cultural and religious nature meet the needs of the Jewish Community of Belgium. These missions may also extend to the fight against racism, intolerance and the violation of human rights.
In the year following the coming into force of this Act, an account on this balance may be paid to the Public Use Establishment.
CHAPTER V. - Final provision and entry into force
Art. 15. The order made under Article 6, § 2, paragraph 2, is repealed when it is not confirmed by law in the year following its publication in the Belgian Monitor.
Art. 16. The King shall, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, fix the date of entry into force of this Act.
Promulgate this Act, order that it be put on the State Seal and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 20 December 2001.
ALBERT
By the King:
The Prime Minister,
G. VERHOFSTADT
Minister of Justice,
Mr. VERWILGHEN
Minister of Finance,
D. REYNDERS
Seal of the State Seal:
Minister of Justice,
Mr. VERWILGHEN
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Note
House of Representatives.
Parliamentary documents.
Doc 50 1379 (2000-2001)
001: Bill.
002 to 004: Amendments.
005: Report.
006: Text adopted by the Commission.
007: Amendments.
008: Supplementary report.
009: Text adopted by the commission.
010: Text adopted in plenary and transmitted to the Senate.
Annales parliamentarians.
Discussion and adoption. Sessions of 13 and 22 November 2001.
Senate.
Parliamentary documents.
2-959 (2001-2002)
No. 1: Project not referred to by the Senate.