Fiches Belges

Victims have the right to obtain compensation for damages or restitution of the stolen property from the State in which it was confiscated. In cases where a decision on compensation or restitution is issued in favour of the victim and the property has been confiscated in another State under the mutual recognition procedure, the victim's right to compensation or restitution shall prevail over the interests of the issuing and executing State. -Priority should be given to compensation and restitution of property to victims over the disposal of seized and confiscated property. -Property claims should be brought in the issuing State Where the issuing authority or another competent authority of the issuing State has issued a decision, in accordance with its national law, to restitute frozen property to the victim, the issuing authority shall include information on that decision in the freezing certificate or communicate information on that decision to the executing authority at a later stage. A freezing order shall be transmitted by means of a freezing certificate. The issuing authority shall transmit the freezing certificate provided for in Article 6 (Regulation (EU) 2018/1805) directly to the executing authority or, where applicable, to the central authority by any means capable of producing a written record under conditions that allow the executing authority to establish the authenticity of the freezing certificate. The issuing authority shall transmit the original of the freezing order or a certified copy thereof together with the freezing certificate. The freezing certificate shall: a) be accompanied by a confiscation certificate transmitted in accordande with article 14 Regulation (EU) 2018/1805) or b) contain an instrction that the property is to remain forzen in the executing State pending the transmission and execution of the confiscation order in accordance with article 14, in which case the issuing authority shall indicate the estimated date of this transmission in the freezing certificate. The certificate must be signed by the judge and translated into Spanish. The decision, however, does not have to be translated.

-The applicable law is the Criminal Procedural Act, which refers to this measure for national cases. -Law 4/2015, of 27 April, on the Statute of the Victims of Crime. -Law 23/2014 of 20 November, on mutual recognition (in line with Regulation -UE- 2018/1805)

The investigating magistrates in the place where the property to be frozen is located. If the issuing authority does not know the location of the property to be frozen, the freezing certificate shall be sent, for the sole purpose of determining the location of the property, to the International Cooperation Unit of the State Prosecutor’s Office, which shall forward it to the investigating magistrate in the locality where the property is located for enforcement of the freezing order.

The only accepted language is Spanish

No deadline Seized property should be returned to victims as soon as possible: Art. 29.2 Regulation 2018/1805: Where the executing authority has been informed of a decision to restitute frozen property to the victim as referred to in paragraph 1, it shall take the necessary measures to ensure that, where the property concerned has been frozen, that property is restituted as soon as possible to the victim, in accordance with the procedural rules of the executing State, where necessary via the issuing State, provided that: (a) the victim's title to the property is not contested; (b) the property is not required as evidence in criminal proceedings in the executing State; and (c) the rights of affected persons are not prejudiced. The executing authority shall inform the issuing authority where property is transferred directly to the victim.

Spain makes the declaration under that, when a freezing certificate is transmitted with a view to the recognition and execution of a freezing order, the issuing authority is to transmit the original freezing order or a certified copy thereof together with the freezing certificate. Article 4(2)Regulation (EU) 2018/1805 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 on the mutual recognition of freezing orders and confiscation orders