4 JULY 2001. - An Act to amend the Judicial Code and the Act of 13 March 1973 concerning compensation for inoperative pretrial detention (1)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
CHAPTER I^er. - General provision
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constitution.
CHAPTER II. - Amendments to the Judicial Code
Art. 2. In section 428, paragraph 2, of the Judicial Code, replaced by the Act of 2 July 1975, the words "of the General Council of the Bar Association" are replaced by the words "of the Order of the French-speaking and German-speaking Bar Association and the Orde van Vlaamse balies".
Art. 3. The following amendments are made to section 428bis of the Code:
1° to paragraph 1^er, 3°, inserted by the Royal Decree of 2 May 1996, the words "the National Order of Lawyers of Belgium" are replaced by the words "the Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars or the Orde van Vlaamse balies", according to the bar to which he requests his registration;
2° to paragraph 2, inserted by the Royal Decree of 2 May 1996 and replaced by the Royal Decree of 27 March 1998, the words "the National Order of Lawyers of Belgium" are replaced by the words "the Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars or the Orde van Vlaamse Balies", according to the bar to which he requests his registration.
Art. 4. In section 428ter of the same Code, inserted by the Royal Decree of 2 May 1996, as amended by the Royal Decree of 27 March 1998, the following amendments are made:
1° to § 1^er, the words "the National Bar Association of Belgium is the authority empowered to:" are replaced by the words "According to the bar to which the registration is requested, the Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars or the Orde van Vlaamse Balies is the authority authorized to:"
2° to § 2, paragraph 1^er and § 4, § 5, paragraphs 1^er and, 2, 4 and 5, and § 6, paragraph 2, the words "to the National Bar Association of Belgium" are replaced each time by the words "the Order of the French-speaking and German-speaking Bars or the Orde van Vlaamse balies";
3° to § 7, paragraph 1^er, the words "The Appeals Board consists of two sections" are replaced by the words "There are two appeals commissions,"
4° to § 7, paragraph 2, the word "section" is replaced by the words "recourse board";
5° to § 9, the words "the National Order of Lawyers of Belgium" are replaced by the words "the Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars or the Orde van Vlaamse Balies".
Art. 5. In section 428quater of the same Code, inserted by the Royal Decree of 2 May 1996, as amended by the Royal Decree of 27 March 1998, the following amendments are made:
1° § 1^erParagraph 1^er, is replaced by the following provision: "The Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars shall organize, either in French or in German, the aptitude test for nationals of the Member States of the European Union, established by Article 428bis, paragraph 1^erThree. »;
2° § 1^er, paragraph 2, is replaced by the following provision: the Orde van Vlaamse Balies organizes, in the Dutch language, the aptitude test for nationals of the Member States of the European Union, established by article 428bis, paragraph 1^erThree. »;
3° § 3, paragraph 1^er, 2 and 3, first sentence, is replaced by the following provision:
"There are two judges, one in the French language and one in the Dutch language, who are responsible for interrogating candidates and whether they have passed the aptitude test. Each jury is composed of: "
4° to § 4, paragraph 1^er, the words "in front of the jury" are replaced by the words "in front of the jury";
5° to § 5, paragraph 1^er, the words "the National Order of Lawyers of Belgium" are replaced by the words "the Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars or the Orde van Vlaamse Balies, according to the commission for which they must be designated. "
Art. 6. In article 428quinquies of the same Code, inserted by the Royal Decree of 2 May 1996, as amended by the Royal Decree of 27 March 1998, the words "the National Order of Lawyers of Belgium" are replaced by the words "the Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars or the Orde van Vlaamse Balies".
Art. 7. In article 428sexies of the same Code, inserted by the Royal Decree of 2 May 1996, amended by the Royal Decree of 27 March 1998, the following amendments are made:
1° Paragraph 1^er, the words "the board of appeal meets" are replaced by the words "the boards of appeal meet" and the words "its president" are replaced by the words "their president";
2° in paragraphs 2 and 3, the words "of the National Order of Lawyers of Belgium" are replaced by the words "of the Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars or the Orde van Vlaamse balies";
3° in paragraphs 11 and 12, the words "the National Order" are replaced each time by the words "the Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars or the Orde van Vlaamse Balies".
Art. 8. Section 428s of the same Code, inserted by the Royal Decree of 2 May 1996, amended by the Royal Decree of 27 March 1998, are amended as follows:
1° to paragraph 1^er, the words "of the National Bar Association of Belgium" are replaced by the words "of the Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars or the Orde van Vlaamse Balies";
2° in paragraph 5, the words "at the dean of the National Bar Association of Belgium. The Dean is replaced by the words "to the President of the Order of the French-speaking and German-speaking Bars or the President of the Orde van Vlaamse Balies. The president concerned."
Art. 9. In article 428nonies of the same Code, inserted by the Royal Decree of 2 May 1996, the words "the National Order of Lawyers of Belgium" are replaced by the words "the Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars or the Orde van Vlaamse balies".
Art. 10. In section 430 of the same Code, replaced by the Act of 4 May 1984, the following amendments are made:
1° paragraphs 3 and 4 of point 2 are supplemented by the words "or list of trainees";
2° the article is supplemented by a point 3, which reads as follows:
« 3° In the judicial district of Brussels, the notices referred to in articles 66, 88, § 1^er, and 195 are given by the sticker of each of the two orders of the lawyers. »
Art. 11. Section 431 of the same Code is replaced by the following provision:
"Art. 431. - The Bar Association is composed of lawyers listed in the table or in the list of trainees. He has the legal personality. »
Art. 12. Article 450, paragraph 1^er, from the same Code, the words "for two years" are deleted.
Art. 13. Article 484bis, as follows, is inserted in the same Code:
"Art. 484bis. - Relations between lawyers in the Court of Cassation and members of the various bars are governed by the regulations referred to in section 496, applicable to the latter.
Relations between lawyers in the Court of Cassation are governed by the rules and regulations of the Bar Association at the Court of Cassation. »
Art. 14. In Part II, Book III of the Code, Title III is replaced by the following:
"TITRE III. - Order of French-speaking and German-speaking bars and Orde van Vlaamse balies
CHAPTER I^er. - General provisions
Art. 488. - The Ordre des avocats d'Arlon, Charleroi Dinant, Huy, Liège, Marche-en-Famenne, Mons, Namur, Neufchâteau, Nivelles, Tournai, Verviers and Eupen form, with the French Bar Association of Brussels, the Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars.
The Ordre des avocats d'Anvers, Audenarde, Bruges, Courtrai, Furnes, Ghent, Hasselt, Louvain, Malines, Termonde, Tongres, Turnhout and Ypres form, with the Dutch Bar Association of Brussels, the Orde van Vlaamse balies.
The Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars and the Orde van Vlaamse Balies have the legal personality and their seat in Brussels.
Art. 489. - The organs of the Order of the French-speaking and German-speaking Bars and the Orde van Vlaamse balies are:
1st General Assembly;
2° the board of directors.
Art. 490. - The Bar Association at the Court of Cassation or its representative, a member of the Board of its Order, sits at the General Assembly of the Order of the French-speaking and German-speaking Bar Association and the Orde van Vlaamse balies with advisory voice.
CHAPTER II. - Organization and operation
Art. 491. - The terms and conditions of the organization and operation of the Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars and the Orde van Vlaamse Balies are determined in a rules of procedure, which is examined by the bars which are part of it, approved by the competent bodies referred to in section 489, and ratified by the King within thirty days, after the opinion of the Attorney General near the Court of Cassation.
The rules of procedure determine at least:
1° the composition, mode of election, designation or appointment of members of the organs referred to in Article 489 and the duration of the mandates;
2° the operation and mode of deliberation in respect of the representation of lawyers of the various bars;
3° the method of adoption of the regulations;
4° the procedure for fixing the annual contribution due by the bars;
5° the rules governing the establishment and allocation of the annual budget;
6° the general organization of the secretariat;
7° the method of designation of representatives within the bodies established under the law.
Art. 492. - The rules of procedure determine the terms and majority required for its amendment.
Art. 493. - In all judicial and extrajudicial acts, the board of directors represents the order to which it belongs, to the diligence of the president. All judicial and extrajudicial acts are carried out in the name of the order.
Art. 494. - The presidents of the boards of directors represent the Order of French-speaking and German-speaking bars and the Orde van Vlaamse in their relations with the public authorities and bars.
CHAPTER III. - Skills
Art. 495. - The Order of the French-speaking and German-speaking Bar Association and the Orde van Vlaamse Balies have, each with respect to the bars that are part of it, for the task of ensuring the honour, rights and common professional interests of their members and are competent with regard to legal aid, training, professional training of lawyers and the training of all lawyers belonging to the bars that are part of it.
They take the relevant training, disciplinary and professional loyalty initiatives and measures, as well as the defence of the interests of the lawyer and the vigilante.
Each of them may make proposals to the competent authorities in these matters.
Art. 496. - The Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars and the Orde van Vlaamse Balies (Orde van Vlaamse balies) stop appropriate regulations with respect to the competencies referred to in section 495.
They establish, for the relations between members of the various bars that are part of it, the rules and uses of the legal profession and unify them. To this end, they stop appropriate regulations.
Art. 497. - The regulations referred to in the previous article are notified to the Attorney General near the Court of Cassation, to the Attorney General near the Courts of Appeal, to the other Order and to the stickers of all bars, as soon as they have been adopted in accordance with the rules in force.
Art.498. - The regulations adopted pursuant to section 496 apply to all lawyers of the bar that are either part of the Order of the French-speaking and German-speaking Bars or of the Orde van Vlaamse balies as the said regulations were adopted by either Order.
Art. 499. - The advice of the Bar Association ensures the application of the regulations referred to in the preceding sections. They are the only competent in disciplinary matters.
Art. 500. - If regulations are made in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the rules of procedure referred to in section 491, they shall apply to bars that are part of the Order concerned, which may, in these matters, adopt only supplementary regulations.
Art. 501. § 1^er. The remedy provided for in Article 611 shall, within two months of the notification referred to in Article 497, be brought by the Attorney General near the Court of Cassation.
It is notified to the Order of French-speaking and German-speaking bars and to the Orde van Vlaamse balies.
§ 2. During the period referred to in § 1^er and, where applicable, until the order is pronounced, the application of a regulation and the time limit for the appeal referred to in section 502, § 1^erParagraph 1^er, are suspended.
§ 3. Where the appeal referred to in § 1^er is introduced, the Order of Francophone and German-speaking Bars and the Orde van Vlaamse Balies may intervene in the proceedings by request, in accordance with section 813. This intervention must be made within two months of the notification referred to in § 1^erParagraph 2.
In this case, the Order of the French-speaking and German-speaking Bars and the Orde van Vlaamse Balies may raise new ways taken from the leader of excess power, from the contrary to the laws or from the irregular adoption of the disputed regulation.
Art. 502. § 1^er. Without prejudice to the mandatory prior consultation provided for in section 505, the Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars and the Orde van Vlaamse Balies may appeal against all the regulations adopted under section 496, before an Arbitral Tribunal composed of seven members, three of whom are appointed respectively for a period of two years by each of the above-mentioned Orders. They jointly designate a seventh member to serve as Chair. In the absence of an agreement, the Arbitral Tribunal is presided over by the previous Bar Association to the Court of Cassation or its predecessor when it is prevented.
If an arbitrator is to be replaced, his successor shall be appointed only to complete the original term.
An arbitrator may be a lawyer with at least fifteen years of bar or having been a sticker or a member for at least three years of the board of a bar or having been a member of the board of the Bar Association at the Court of Cassation. Arbitrators may not have participated in the development of the contested decision.
§ 2. The remedy provided for in § 1^er may be trained against any regulations that:
- would be in excess of power, would be contrary to laws, or would have been irregularly adopted;
- would jeopardize the preservation of the honour of the Bar Association and the maintenance of the principles of dignity, probity and delicacy that make the basis of the profession of attorney as defined by article 456, paragraph 1^erand international rules of ethics.
If the remedy provided for in Article 611 is exercised, the arbitral tribunal shall not be aware of any means taken from the leader of excess power, infringement of the laws or irregular adoption of the disputed regulation.
§ 3. The arbitral tribunal shall decide first and last. It cannot cancel, in whole or in part, a disputed settlement as long as five members decide in favour of the cancellation; a minority note may be attached to the arbitral award.
§ 4. For anything that is not expressly regulated by this book, the provisions of Part VI of this Code are applied by analogy to the procedure.
§ 5. The appeal is served on the Attorney General near the Court of Cassation and the other Order.
Art. 503. - The Federal Council of Bars consists of ten members, five of whom are mandated by the Order of Francophone and German-speaking Bars and five by the Orde van Vlaamse Balies, for a term of two years renewable once. The Council is presided over by the College of Lawyers at the Court of Cassation.
The Council has its seat in the Order of Lawyers at the Court of Cassation and its secretariat is provided by the services of that Order, unless otherwise agreed between orders.
If a mandated member is to be replaced, his successor is designated only to complete the original term.
Art. 504. § 1^er, Each Order, each bar that is part of this Order, and the order of the lawyers to the Court of Cassation may refer to the Federal Council of Issues concerning the Bar in General and the Good Administration of Justice.
The procedure before the Federal Bar Council is contradictory.
The Federal Council renders opinions adopted at least three-fifths of the vote in each language group.
§ 2. Representation with the Council of European Bars is ensured by a commission of four members, two of whom are appointed by the order of the French- and German-speaking bars and two by the Orde van Vlaamse balies.
This commission executes the mandates conferred upon it by the Federal Council of Bars, pursuant to a decision adopted at least three-fifths of the vote in each language group.
Art. 505. - Before making an application for annulment referred to in section 502, the Order of Francophone and Germanopone Bars and the Orde van Vlaamse Balies must refer to the Federal Council of Bars within two months of the notification provided for in section 497.
The Federal Council of Bars notifies its opinion in the month of its referral. The remedy provided for in Article 502 shall be introduced within two months of the notification and, in the absence of the notification, within three months of the referral of the Federal Council of Bars, without prejudice to Article 501, §§ 2 and 3.
CHAPTER IV. - Transitional provisions
Art. 506. - The National Bar Association of Belgium is dissolved. The last elected Dean and Vice-Dean are jointly responsible for the liquidation of this institution.
Assets or liabilities are distributed proportionally between bars based on the number of affiliated lawyers.
Art. 507. - The regulations regularly adopted by the National Bar Association of Belgium remain applicable to all lawyers until the competent institutions enact new regulations in accordance with Article 496, subject to consultation with the Bar Association at the Court of Cassation and the agreement of the Court of Cassation regarding the amendments to the regulations affecting it.
Art. 508. - The mandates granted by the National Bar Association of Belgium in commissions and associations established by law are maintained and are supposed to be joint mandates to the Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars and the Orde van Vlaamse balies until they designate their own representatives in accordance with their own regulations and legal provisions. »
Art. 15. In section 611 of the Judicial Code, the words "general council of the National Bar Association" are replaced by the words "of the Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars and the Orde van Vlaamse balies".
Art. 16. In article 614, 10°, of the same Code, inserted by the Royal Decree of 27 March 1998, the words "the commission" are replaced by the words "the commissions".
CHAPTER III. - Amendment of the Act of 13 March 1973 on compensation for inoperative pretrial detention
Art. 17. Article 28, § 4, paragraph 2, of the Act of 13 March 1973 on compensation in the event of inoperative preventive detention, is replaced by the following provision:
"This commission is composed:
- the first president of the Court of Cassation or, in the event of a breach, the President of the Court of Cassation;
- the first president of the Council of State or, in the event of an impediment, the President of the Council of State;
- and, according to the language of the procedure, the president of the order of the French-speaking and German-speaking bar or the president of the Orde van Vlaamse balies, or, in the event of an incapacity, a member of the board of directors of the Order of the French- and German-speaking bar or the Orde van Vlaamse balies, designated in accordance with the rules of procedure of the institution. »
CHAPTER IV. - Entry into force
Art. 18. Articles 1^er, 10 to 14, with the exception of Article 506 of the Judicial Code inserted by Article 14, and 18 come into force on the day of their publication to the Belgian Monitor.
Sections 2 to 9, section 506, of the Judicial Code inserted by section 14 and sections 15 to 17, come into force on the first day of the second month following that in which the Royal Orders of Confirmation of the Rules of Procedure of the Order of the Francophone and German-speaking Bars and of the Orde van Vlaamse Balies referred to in section 491, paragraph 1^er, the Judicial Code will have been published in the Belgian Monitor.
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 July 2001.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Justice,
Mr. VERWILGHEN
Seal of the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
Mr. VERWILGHEN
Note
(1) Session 2000-2001.
Houses of representatives.
Parliamentary documents. - Bill No. 50-892/1. - Amendments, n^bones 50-892/2 to 9. - Report by Mr. J. Vandeurzen and Mrs. A. Barzin, No. 50-892/10. - Text adopted by the Commission, No. 50-892/ 11. - Amendments, n^bones 50-892/12 and 13. - Text adopted in plenary and transmitted to the Senate, No. 50-892/14.
Annales parliamentarians. - 10 and 11 January 2001.
Senate.
Parliamentary documents. - Project transmitted by the House of Representatives, No. 2-619/1. - Amendments, n^bones 2-619/2 and 3. - Report made by Mrs. C. Nyssens, No. 2-619/4. - Text amended by the commission, no. 2-619/5. -Amendments, no. 2-619/6. - Text amended by the Senate and referred to the House of Representatives, No. 2-619/7.
Annales parliamentarians. - 26 April 2001.
House of Representatives.
Parliamentary documents. - Draft amended by the Senate, No. 50-892/ 15. - Amendments, n^bones 50-892/16 and 17. - Report by Mr. J. Vandeurzen and Ms. A. Barzin, No. 50-892/19. - Text adopted by the commission, no. 50-892/20. - Amendments, no. 50-892/21. - Text adopted in plenary and referred to the Senate, No. 50-892/22.
Annales parliamentarians. - 10 May 2001.
Senate.
Parliamentary documents.- Draft revised by the House of Representatives, No. 2-619/5. - Amendments, No. 2-619/9. - Report made by Mrs. C. Nyssens, No. 2-619/10. - Text adopted in plenary and subject to Royal Assent, No. 2-619/11.
Annales parliamentarians. - Session 21 June 2001.