King Philippe granted clemency seven times last year, according to an enquiry by Belga News Angecy with the Federal Justice Ministry on Thursday. The figure is up from three in 2023.
By granting clemency, the King is able to waive imposed sentences on the recommendation of the Justice Minister. Last year, seven requests for mercy were granted: four cases involved traffic cases, two of which involved suspended sentences. The Justice Ministry is not giving any details about the other three cases.
Clemency can only be granted in exceptional cases: when new elements emerge before or after a conviction. This concerns, for example, the family situation, work situation or health situation of the convicted person or his family members.
Fines, prison sentences, driving bans
Last year, 574 Belgians applied for clemency – about the same as in 2023 (591), but almost half as many as in 2022 (1,084 applications). This is due to the fact that information about an appeal for clemency is no longer explicitly mentioned when receiving an application for payment of a fine.
In the past, this information led to a mass of claims that were unsubstantiated and therefore inadmissible. Anyone can submit a substantiated request online or send a letter to the Justice Ministry's Clemency Service.
Half of the applicants request clemency for fines and forfeitures. About a third of the cases concern prison sentences. In third place are requests related to driving bans.
