The reform aims at “send a strong signal“, Selon Annelies Verlinden.
The coalition agreement already provided for that a judge assesses the forfeiture of Belgian nationality in the event of a conviction for terrorism.
The judge must automatically decide on this issue in the case of offenders with dual nationality, without the public prosecutor necessarily asking for a forfeiture.
The judge may decide not to revoke nationality in the end, but he must then “justify“Why the consequences of this decision would be”unreasonable and disproportionate“.
In the case of a conviction for homicide, sexual offense or organized crime, the judge may withdraw Belgian nationality. It will have to be serious crimes constituting a fundamental threat to public security.
Until now, people who have become Belgian after their birth could already be deprived of their nationality if they were sentenced to sentences of at least five years firm for certain serious facts, in particular crimes or crimes against state security, serious violations of international humanitarian law, acts of terrorism or trafficking in human beings.