Fiches Belges: Belgium

Is this measure possible in your Member State under International Judicial Cooperation?

Yes. This measure allows requests to be made to operators of telecommunications networks to make a list of the incoming and outgoing communications of a particular telephone number or to determine the location of incoming or outgoing calls . Tracing telephone numbers does not include listening to the content of the communications and the measure can only be ordered by lack of other sufficient measures to find the truth.

International legal framework applicable for this measure in your Member State

1959 Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters 2000 Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Member States of the European Union

* receive the request/decision for judicial cooperation

The letter of request has to be sent to the local public prosecutor's office of the geographical area where the investigating measure has to be executed. if this area is not known, the letter of request has to be sent to the federal prosecutor's office - section of international cooperation.

* execute/recognise the measure (if other than the receiving authority)

The investigating judge (Art 88 BIS of the Criminal Investigation Code (CIC)). Tracing of telecommunications is the exclusive competence of the investigating judge who will be charged with the execution of the letter of request (see below for further information).

Accepted languages for the request/decision

Dutch, French and German Important remarks: before the execution, the letter of request will be translated by the Belgian prosecutor if the language is not the language of the judicial area where the letter of request has to be executed. It is recommended, when possible, to obtain previously the information about the correct language.

Deadlines for the execution of the request/decision (where applicable)

There is no specific deadline foreseen by the Belgian law for the execution of letter of requests. If the requested deadline can not be respected, the reguesting state will be informed accordingly.

a. Special requirements

Content of the international letters rogatory: at least Article 14 of the 1959 Convention 1. The investigating judge has the obligation to motivate his order to proceed to the interception of telecommunication (proportionality check). It is required that the letter of request contains sufficient information about the investigaton in order to make the investigating judge able to motivate his order. 2. The duration of the interception is limited to two months by law; prolongation possible. It is required that the letter of request mentions the exactly date of start of the tracing limited to two months. In order to prolonge the tracing it is necessary to send an additional letter of request in due time with all relevant information.

b. Other useful information

The numbers traced are recorded in a transcript stating the date, the time, the duration and, if necessary, the location of the telecommunications.