Belgium’s federal cabinet has approved, at second reading, a draft law allowing the temporary and rapid banning of groups or activities deemed to threaten national security or the foundations of the rule of law.
The office of Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said the bill was approved overnight from Friday to Saturday.
The revised text follows a critical opinion issued last year by the Council of State, which the minister says has now been taken into account.
Under the new version, the measure is limited to the possibility of a very swift and temporary ban on the activities of radical and/or extremist groups or organisations.
Such decisions would be taken by the cabinet on the basis of a report from the Intelligence and Security Coordination Committee and after advice from the National Security Council.
Any permanent ban would remain a matter for the courts.
Quintin’s office said an administrative ban or dissolution could be triggered by involvement in, financing of or logistical support for terrorist acts.
It could also apply to the organised spread of content that incites such acts or seeks to justify them.
Repeated threats, intimidation or harassment targeting people because of their origin, religion or sexual orientation could also justify a ban, as could the organised dissemination of extremist content.
An organisation that is solely political, trade union, philanthropic, philosophical or religious in nature could not be subject to an administrative ban.
According to Quintin, the new provisions are intended to complement existing legal tools and help prevent traditional criminal procedures from being circumvented.
“Individuals or groups can become radicalised within a matter of days or weeks, while courts and tribunals often need months or years to reach a decision. If the security services warn us of a serious and repeated threat, this government will not stand by and do nothing,” the minister said.
The text will now be sent back to the Council of State before returning to the cabinet for further approval.
