Judgments

Given the level of interference with the right to respect for private life which may result from searches on a computer system, implementation thereof must be reviewed by an independent and impartial judge. The same applies to the extension of a search on a computer system to the networks connected to it. Undercover investigations conducted solely on the Internet do not require the same measures for the protection of the physical safety of the undercover investigators as is the case in the real world.

The law allowing the competent minister to base a decision to withdraw a foreigner’s right of residence on the circumstance that the foreigner has committed an offence, without taking account of the seriousness or nature of the offence, is incompatible with the right to family reunion as laid down in Council Directive 2003/86/EC of 22 September 2003, as interpreted in the light of the right to respect for family life set out in Article 8 ECHR.

The right to personal freedom requires that there should always be a sanction if investigating judges fail to sign an arrest warrant they have issued. No one can be deprived of their freedom under an arrest warrant issued by an investigating judge if this document gives no reasons for the deprivation of liberty.

The obligation to pay fixed-sum contributions to a lawyer constitutes a significant decline in the protection of the right to legal aid guaranteed by Article 23 of the Constitution, which is not justified by general interest considerations and is therefore contrary to the standstill obligation contained in this provision. Since this concerns support for persons who do not have sufficient means to pay for their defence before the courts, it is contradictory to ask them to make a financial contribution with the aim of having them participate in the financing of this aid.

The mere fact that the authorities impose restrictions on the right to property in the general interest does not mean that they are obliged to pay compensation. Compensation is due only when and in so far as the effects of an easement in the public interest exceed the burden that may be imposed on a private individual in the general interest. Compensation awarded for losses resulting from spatial planning which is calculated according to the indexed purchase value of a plot without taking into account price changes on the real estate market is generally not in breach of property law.

The law whereby the rights of any entity which seeks to obtain an unlawful advantage by purchasing government debt shall be limited to the price paid to acquire that debt does not infringe the right to property.

The possibility of including lawyers against their will on the list of lawyers providing level-2 legal aid, insofar as this is necessary for the effectiveness of legal aid, helps to ensure the effectiveness of that aid for the poorest citizens, which is clearly a social solidarity objective. As compulsory participation cannot be interpreted as taking up all the working time of the lawyers concerned and the services provided are paid for in part by the state, such participation does not constitute a disproportionate burden for any lawyers included on the list ex officio. Consequently, the provision does not entail requisitioning of labour. Nor does it violate the right to the free choice of an occupation, property rights, the right to respect for private and family life or freedom of trade and industry.

Except for manifestly unreasonable decisions, it lies within the discretion of the legislature to determine the categories of Belgians whose citizenship may be withdrawn and those categories for which this possibility must be ruled out. Withdrawal of Belgian citizenship on the basis of Article 23.1.1.2° of the Belgian Citizenship Code is a civil measure and is not a criminal-law measure within the meaning of either domestic law or Article 6.1 ECHR. It follows that neither the safeguards which the latter provision establishes for criminal proceedings nor the non bis in idem principle apply to the measure.

Criminalisation of the act of leaving or entering Belgian territory with a view to committing in Belgium or elsewhere a terrorist offence is not incompatible with the principle of legality of offences. Nor is it incompatible with the "principle of the free movement of persons", given the obligations placed on States by the United Nations Security Council concerning the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters.