Access to the criminal file

In Belgium a preliminary investigation is run by the public prosecutor, a judicial investigation by the investigating judge. That distinction decides who you ask for access to the criminal file. Both investigations are secret, even for the person directly involved.

During a preliminary investigation, the directly interested party asks the public prosecutor for access. He decides within four months of the petition being entered in the register. If the request is granted, the file is made available for inspection within twenty days, for at least forty-eight hours. If the prosecutor refuses the request, a new petition on the same subject can only be filed after three months. During a judicial investigation, the petition goes to the investigating judge, who decides no later than one month after it is entered in the register.

The category of directly interested party is broad. It includes the person charged, the suspect, the civil party, the injured party and their representatives. Each of them can request access independently, whatever their eventual position in the file.

Our assistance for people suspected of fraud describes the whole criminal investigation. If you have not yet been questioned, your file often starts with our police interview assistance. We file the petition for you and review with you what the file already contains.

If the investigating judge refuses access, an appeal lies with the indictments chamber. That appeal must be lodged within eight days of the refusal being notified. The chamber decides without a hearing within fifteen days. If the investigating judge does not decide within his time limit plus a further fifteen days, you can also bring the matter before the indictments chamber on your own initiative. The same eight-day limit applies to a refusal during a preliminary investigation.

Once the judicial investigation closes, the council chamber reviews the file before sending it forward. The registry lists the place, day and time of the hearing at least fifteen days in advance. From that notice, the complete file is available at the registry, and you may take a free copy. If you are held in pre-trial detention, that period drops to three days.

At certain points in the procedure, you get automatic access: during pre-trial detention, once a criminal settlement has run its course, or at the close of the investigation. Outside those moments, the ordinary route remains the petition to the investigating judge or the public prosecutor.

After access to the file, we review with you what the investigation has already found. If there is reason for further investigation, we also guide your request for investigative measures. If your assets are under seizure, we then look at the lifting of the seizure. If you are summoned to appear, our assistance before the criminal court then carries your file forward.

During a preliminary investigation, the public prosecutor decides within four months, during a judicial investigation, the investigating judge decides within one month. Both periods run from the petition being entered in the register. Your file decides which authority is competent and which time limit applies.

If the investigating judge refuses access, you can lodge an appeal within eight days with the indictments chamber. The chamber decides without a hearing within fifteen days of the notice. The same eight-day limit applies to a refusal by the public prosecutor during a preliminary investigation.

Yes, at the review of the procedure the complete file is available at the registry at least fifteen days before the hearing. You may then take a free copy by your own means. If you are held in pre-trial detention, that period drops to three days before the hearing.