Federal MP Alain Yzermans (Vooruit), mayor of Houthalen-Helchteren, was recently acquitted in a case in which he was caught by a speed camera going 97 kilometres per hour in a 50 km/h zone.
On 17 October 2024, a speed camera in Genk (Limburg province) recorded Yzermans driving 97 km/h in a zone 50. His corrected recorded speed was reduced to 91 km/h.
Now, this offence has drawn attention to Yzermans’ history of traffic violations, as he has accumulated 112 on-the-spot fines over the past decade.
For this latest violation, Yzermans initially received a €600 fine, a 21-day driving ban and a requirement to retake his written driving test by the Genk police court. However, his parliamentary immunity was raised during court proceedings.
Despite his immunity, the judge ruled that parliamentary immunity was not an excuse for elected officials to disregard traffic laws.
In response, the public prosecutor’s office appealed the decision after determining that Yzerman’s immunity should have been addressed before the prosecution. The appeals court then ruled that criminal proceedings could not proceed, because his immunity was not lifted.
Under Article 59 of the Belgian Constitution, sitting members of Parliament are protected from prosecution unless their immunity is lifted. However, Parliament can lift this immunity if the public prosecutor’s office files a report with them or if the sitting member is “caught in the act”.
In Yzermans’ case, the appeals court ruled the speeding offence did not constitute being caught in the act. Although the police filed a report the day after the offense, proceedings did not begin for roughly six months.
The Limburg Public Prosecutor’s Office has acknowledged that it made an administrative error as it failed to request that Yzermans’ parliamentary immunity be lifted before the initial proceedings. While the prosecution has indicated that it could still summon Yzermans, his lawyer disputed this, arguing that the statute of limitations has expired.
Yzermans has since stated that the speeding offense is unjustifiable and that he intends to undertake voluntary traffic-safety training. He has not committed any traffic offenses since the incident.
