Summoned to the criminal court in Belgium: what now?

You have received a criminal court summons, served by a bailiff (gerechtsdeurwaarder / huissier de justice), requiring you to appear before the criminal court (correctionele rechtbank / tribunal correctionnel), or the police have handed you a summons by official report (oproeping bij proces-verbaal / convocation par procès-verbal). The public prosecutor is prosecuting you for an offence, for example theft, assault, fraud or a drug offence. The stakes are high: a fine, a criminal record and, in some cases, a prison sentence. Between the summons and the judgment, however, a good defence can still change a great deal.

This article explains how proceedings before the criminal court work in Belgium, what your rights are and what you should do straight away. It takes into account the new Criminal Code (Strafwetboek / Code pénal), which has applied since 1 September 2026.

How does a case reach the criminal court?

A case can come before the criminal court in several ways:

• Direct summons by the public prosecutor. The public prosecutor (procureur des Konings / procureur du Roi) has you summoned directly, usually after a preliminary investigation conducted under the prosecutor’s direction (Article 182 of the Code of Criminal Procedure).
• Referral by the council chamber. After a judicial investigation by an investigating judge, the council chamber (raadkamer / chambre du conseil) or, on appeal, the indictment chamber refers the case to the criminal court.
• Summons by official report. At the request of the prosecutor’s office, the police hand you an official report summoning you to appear on a set date (Article 216quater of the Code of Criminal Procedure).
• Direct summons by the civil party. The victim can also have you summoned directly, but since 1 September 2026 only for offences punishable by a level 1, 2 or 3 penalty (Article 182 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by the Act of 11 March 2026).

Even after the summons, the prosecutor’s office may in certain cases still propose a settlement (minnelijke schikking / transaction). Your lawyer checks whether that option is open in your case.

What does a criminal court summons contain?

The summons sets out the facts you are charged with, the legal provisions the prosecution considers to have been breached, the competent court and the date and time of the hearing. Read it carefully: the description of the facts determines what the judge will rule on.

There must be at least ten days between the summons and the hearing. If that period is not respected, a default judgment convicting you may be null and void. That nullity must, however, be raised at the first hearing, before any other defence (Article 184). If you live abroad, also read what a summons in Belgium means for you.

Inspecting the criminal file

After the summons, the criminal file is available for inspection at the court registry. Your lawyer can consult and copy it. It contains everything on which the prosecution is based: police reports, interviews, witness statements, camera footage, expert reports and, where relevant, analyses of phone data.

The defence starts with a thorough reading. What is actually in the file, what is missing, and where do the statements contradict each other? It is sometimes useful to ask the court to hear a witness or to order further investigative steps.

The first hearing before the criminal court

The case is rarely argued at the introductory hearing. Usually, the court sets a timetable for filing written submissions and fixes a date for oral argument. You can be represented by a lawyer.

The court can order you to appear in person, and there is no appeal against that decision (Article 185). Even where representation is enough, being present is sometimes the better strategy: a judge who sees and hears you gets a fuller picture.

If you speak French better than Dutch, or vice versa, a change of language can be requested in certain cases. If you do not understand the language of the proceedings, you are entitled to the assistance of an interpreter. Read more about changing the language of proceedings.

The new Criminal Code: penalty levels since 1 September 2026

Since 1 September 2026, the Criminal Code has worked with eight penalty levels (Article 36 of the Criminal Code). Many offences that used to carry correctional penalties now fall under level 1 or 2. The level determines which penalties the judge can impose.

• Level 1 involves no prison sentence. The judge imposes one of the following penalties: a fine, community service (werkstraf / peine de travail) of 20 to 120 hours, a probation sentence of six to twelve months, confiscation or a conviction by declaration of guilt.
• Level 2 may be a prison sentence of six months to three years, but also electronic monitoring of one month to one year, community service of more than 120 up to 300 hours, a probation sentence of more than twelve up to twenty-four months or a conviction by declaration of guilt. Where there are mitigating circumstances, the judge may impose a level 1 penalty.
• Level 3 is a prison sentence of more than three up to five years.

For offences committed before 1 September 2026, the law in force at the time of the offence applies, unless the new rules are more favourable (Article 2 of the Criminal Code). That comparison must be made explicitly in every case, because the outcome differs from one offence to another. For traffic offences, see our overview of the new Criminal Code in traffic matters.

Your lines of defence

1. Procedure. Were your rights respected during the police interview? Was a house search or a telephone investigation measure lawful? Unlawfully obtained evidence is only excluded where a formal requirement prescribed on pain of nullity was breached, where the irregularity has affected the reliability of the evidence, or where its use jeopardises the right to a fair trial (Article 32 of the Preliminary Title of the Code of Criminal Procedure).
2. Guilt. The prosecution must prove that you committed the acts with the required mental element, such as intent. If reasonable doubt remains, it works in your favour and you must be acquitted.
3. Legal classification. The difference between, for example, simple theft and theft with aggravating circumstances, or between a first-degree and a second-degree violation of physical integrity (integriteitsaantasting / atteinte à l’intégrité), determines the penalty level.
4. Reasonable time. If the case has taken too long, the judge may confine the decision to a conviction by declaration of guilt or impose a penalty below the statutory minimum (Article 21ter of the Preliminary Title of the Code of Criminal Procedure).
5. Sentencing. In the alternative, the defence seeks the most lenient outcome possible: suspension of the pronouncement, a conviction by declaration of guilt (Article 51 of the Criminal Code), a suspended sentence, community service or probation instead of imprisonment.

Suspension, suspended sentence, community service and fines

With your consent, the judge may suspend the pronouncement of the conviction (opschorting / suspension du prononcé) for offences of level 1 to 6 (Article 64 of the Criminal Code). The judge then sets a probationary period of one to five years. A suspended sentence (uitstel / sursis) is possible for penalties not exceeding level 3, including additional penalties, but not for community service, a probation sentence or electronic monitoring (Article 65).

Community service requires your consent, given in person or through your lawyer (Article 45). When imposing a fine, the judge takes your financial means into account. If you are in a precarious situation, the fine may be lower than the statutory minimum and payment in instalments may be allowed (Article 52 § 2).

A well-prepared file on your personal situation, such as work, training, family, a support programme or compensation of the victim, makes these measures more realistic. Suspension and suspended sentences are not granted automatically: it is best to support your request with documents.

The civil party and compensation

The victim can join the proceedings as a civil party (burgerlijke partij / partie civile) and claim damages. That part of the case deserves as much attention as the criminal part: the fault, the causal link and the assessment of the damage can all be challenged. A settlement with the victim before the hearing also often weighs in your favour when the sentence is set.

After the judgment: objection and appeal

If you were convicted by default, you can lodge an objection (verzet / opposition) within fifteen days of service of the judgment (Article 187). An objection is, however, subject to conditions. If you knew about the summons and do not invoke force majeure or a legitimate excuse for your absence, the judge may treat the objection as void (Article 187 § 6).

A judgment can be appealed to the court of appeal within thirty days of its delivery or, for a default judgment, within thirty days of service (Article 203). Within the appeal period you must also, on pain of forfeiture, state your grounds of appeal precisely in a petition, in practice the official form (grievenformulier / formulaire de griefs) required by Article 204. These time limits are strict.

Frequently asked questions

I cannot attend the hearing. What now?

Your lawyer can represent you, unless the court orders you to appear in person. Never simply let the hearing pass: you then risk a default judgment against you, without your defence being heard.

Do I need a lawyer before the criminal court?

It is not compulsory: you may appear and defend yourself. Given what is at stake, a criminal record and possibly a prison sentence, that is rarely wise. If your income is limited, you can apply to the Legal Aid Office (Bureau voor Juridische Bijstand / Bureau d’Aide Juridique) for second-line legal aid: your lawyer will then be partly or entirely free of charge.

What does a suspension mean for my criminal record?

With a suspension, the judge finds that the facts are proven but does not pronounce a conviction. The decision does not appear on the ordinary extract from the criminal record and, unless it is revoked, is erased at the earliest at the end of the probationary period (Articles 595 and 619 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). Read more about your criminal record.

Will I get my legal fees back if I am acquitted?

Not from the State: it does not pay a procedural indemnity (rechtsplegingsvergoeding / indemnité de procédure) in criminal cases. A civil party that summoned you directly and loses may, however, be ordered to pay you a procedural indemnity (Article 162bis, second paragraph, of the Code of Criminal Procedure). Read more about the procedural indemnity.

Criminal court lawyer in Belgium: Novex Advocaten is at your side

Do not wait until the hearing: the sooner the defence knows the file, the more can be done. We plead before the criminal courts in Dutch and in French, and we prepare every case thoroughly. Mr Mohamed Asfour, lawyer, also assists you in English and Arabic.

Call 0484 99 22 72 or email asfour@novexadvocaten.be.