terrorism 2 ipefh mun

8/2/2019 Terrorism 2 Ipefh Mun

1/3

OFFICIAL POSITION

Committee: EnglishTopic B: Administration of jusice for terroristic groups

Country: Belgium

Name: Lise Vanderick

School: IPEFH

Background

"[A]dministration of justice, with particular reference to the criminal law, is a

compendious term that stands for all the complexes of activity that operate to bring the

substantive law of crime to bear, or to keep it from coming to bear, on persons who are

suspected of having committed crimes. It refers to the rules of law that govern the

detection, investigation, apprehension, interviewing and trial of persons suspected of

crime and those persons whose responsibility it is to work within these rules. The

administration of justice is not confined to the courts; it encompasses officers of the law

and others whose duties are necessary to ensure that the courts function effectively. The

concern of the administration of justice is the fair, just and impartial upholding of rights,

and punishment of wrongs, according to the rule of law."

In 1993, Belgium's Parliament voted a "law of universal jurisdiction" (sometimesreferred to as "Belgium's genocide law"), allowing it to judge people accused of war

crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide. Belgium established the condition that the

accused person must be Belgian or present in Belgium. On 1 August 2003, Belgium

repealed the law on universal jurisdiction, and introduced a new law on extraterritorial

jurisdiction similar to or more restrictive than that of most other European countries.

Acual position

Overview: Belgiums government remained vigilant in its counterterrorism efforts. The

Ministers of Interior and Justice oversee a capable but understaffed federal police corps,

state security service, threat analysis unit, and federal prosecutors office. Belgian

courts set a high standard for prosecutors to prove a suspect is a terrorist. Terrorism

investigations were often long, requiring several months to more than a year before a

case can be built that leads to arrests.

Legislation and Law Enforcement: Belgium instituted enhancements to airline

passenger screening in December 2009. Air cargo screening enhancements were

adopted in summer 2010. A law that allows Belgiums security services to use new

investigative techniques against suspects in terrorism and national security cases cameinto effect in September 2010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterritorial_jurisdictionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterritorial_jurisdictionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterritorial_jurisdictionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterritorial_jurisdiction


2/3

Seven defendants in an ongoing terrorism case, including Malika El-Aroud (the so-

called Internet jihadist) were convicted in May under Belgiums 2005 terrorism law.

This was the first successful prosecution under the law. Nine suspected terrorists were

detained on November 23 and were held in custody through the end of the year. Seven

of the nine, plus an additional suspect detained later, were arrested in Antwerp; they

were accused of membership in the Caucasus Emirate, a terrorist organization that seeksto create an emirate in the northern Caucasus. Two suspects were detained in Brussels

for financing and recruiting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Belgian government continued to work with the U.S. government on the extradition

to the United States of convicted terrorist Nizar Trabelsi, who had not yet exhausted his

appeal options on the extradition request.

Countering Terrorist Finance: Belgium led the effort in late 2009 to find a solution

that would allow EU countries to continue to freeze terrorist assets under UNSCR 1267

after European court cases ruled there must be a workable means for a person to contest

his or her listing and be delisted, if appropriate. Belgium also hosted meetings torespond to the European Courts 2010 ruling that UNSCR 1904 did not go far enough in

allowing those listed to contest a listing. Belgium is a member of the Financial Action

Task Force.

Regional and International Cooperation:Belgium chaired the EUs counterterrorism

working group during Belgiums Rotating Presidency of the European Council from

July 1 to December 31. Belgium voted in favor of UNSCR 1904.

Countering Radicalization and Violent Extremism:Belgiums Ministry of Interior

began developing its own Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) strategy in 2010. The

Belgian Federal Police distributed a Community Policing Preventing Radicalism and

Terrorism guide to assist local police to recognize the signs of radicalization. The

Belgian police worked on this guide for several years with seven other EU member

states.

Belgium held two CVE seminars in September and October during its rotating EU

presidency. Participants, including representatives of the U.S. Department of Homeland

Security, the State Department, and the National Counterterrorism Center, discussed

approaches governments can take to recognize and counteract violent extremism.

Justification

I think Belgium is taking the right decisions in investigating and prosecuting acts of

terrorism. Belgian courts set a high standard for prosecutors to prove a suspect is a

terrorist. Terrorism investigations were often long, requiring several months to more

than a year before a case can be built that leads to arrests, which means Belgiun court

takes these cases of terrorism really seriously. Belgiums Ministry of Interior began

developing its own Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) strategy in 2010. The Belgian

Federal Police distributed a Community Policing Preventing Radicalism and Terrorism

guide to assist local police to recognize the signs of radicalization. The Belgian police

worked on this guide for several years with seven other EU memberstates. I think its

good that the EU countries are working together to protect their civilants againstterrorism attacks and that they agree about the prosecution of these terrorists.


3/3

terrorism 2 ipefh mun

Documents