Crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes and sexual crimes against minors can never expire and are always tried, regardless of the time that has passed since the facts. The federal government also wanted to introduce this exception for serious murder or robbery cases. At the end of 2022, the government approved a bill submitted by then Minister of Justice Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open Vld). It is now a design by his successor Paul Van Tigchelt.
In concrete terms, these are crimes that “caused serious fear” to the population or “aimed at disrupting or destroying the basic structures of the country.” The rule could apply, among other things, to terror files or crimes such as those of the Gang of Nivelles.
The bill also abolishes the interruption of the limitation period and makes it impossible for files to expire once they have been referred to the criminal court. The current limitation periods of a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 20 years will be adjusted to a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 30 years, depending on the minimum and maximum penalty attached to a crime.
