ECPRD-seminar
« Parliament & Judiciary »
Pieter Dirck G. CABOOR
Attaché – in-house legal counsel
Legal Department of the Belgian House of Representatives
Brussels – 8 November 2007
ECPRD-seminar
« Parliament & Judiciary »
Search and seizure
on Parliament’s premises
– introductory analysis –
Pieter Dirck G. CABOOR
Attaché – in-house legal counsel
Legal Department of the Belgian House of Representatives
Brussels – 8 November 2007
Search and seizure on Parliament’s premises
• Area of tension
– Parliamentary autonomy
– General legal principles
• Crossing
– Criminal law (search and seizure)
– Public law (Parliament’s premises)
ECPRD-seminar "Parliament & Judiciary" - Analysis - Pieter Dirck G. CABOOR
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Search and seizure on Parliament’s premises
• Questionnaires
– Can a search or a seizure be carried out in the
precincts of a parliamentary assembly?
– Against whom can such acts be carried out?
– What are the procedural guarantees?
ECPRD-seminar "Parliament & Judiciary" - Analysis - Pieter Dirck G. CABOOR
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Search and seizure on Parliament’s premises
Search & Seizure in parliamentary precincts
Not possible
Against assembly
Not possible
Possible
Against MPs
Possible
Not possible
Possible
Specific regulation
No
(general law)
Yes
Against others
Not possible
Specific regulation
No
(general law)
ECPRD-seminar "Parliament & Judiciary" - Analysis - Pieter Dirck G. CABOOR
Yes
Possible
Specific regulation
No
(general law)
Yes
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Search and seizure on Parliament’s premises
• S+S on Parliament’s premises
– Majority: yes → few precedents, however
– Small minority: no
ECPRD-seminar "Parliament & Judiciary" - Analysis - Pieter Dirck G. CABOOR
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Search and seizure on Parliament’s premises
• S+S against Parliament itself
– Majority: no
– Small minority: yes → legal personality
ECPRD-seminar "Parliament & Judiciary" - Analysis - Pieter Dirck G. CABOOR
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Search and seizure on Parliament’s premises
• S+S against MPs
– Yes
– Restrictions
ECPRD-seminar "Parliament & Judiciary" - Analysis - Pieter Dirck G. CABOOR
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Search and seizure on Parliament’s premises
• Legal framework
– General law
– Special protection for MPs
• Often
• But not always
– Specific regulation
! Few precedents ! → hesitation
ECPRD-seminar "Parliament & Judiciary" - Analysis - Pieter Dirck G. CABOOR
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Search and seizure on Parliament’s premises
• Procedural guarantees
– General legal requirements, e.g. court order
– Additional procedural guarantees
• E.g. authorisation or presence of the assembly’s
president
• Due to specific parliamentary framework?
ECPRD-seminar "Parliament & Judiciary" - Analysis - Pieter Dirck G. CABOOR
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Search and seizure on Parliament’s premises
• Preliminary conclusion
– Search and seizure on Parliament’s premises
• General legal principles
• Specific protective measures towards MPs
– Parliament’s premises: additional requirements
– Absence / existence of only a few precedents
– Area of tension?
ECPRD-seminar "Parliament & Judiciary" - Analysis - Pieter Dirck G. CABOOR
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ECPRD-seminar
« Parliament & Judiciary »
Pieter Dirck G. CABOOR
Attaché – in-house legal counsel
Legal Department of the Belgian House of Representatives
Brussels – 8 November 2007