Pursuant to the conclusions of the parliamentary committee on human trafficking in Belgium, the Parliament passed a new law (the law of 13 April 1995) with a view to combating human trafficking and child pornography. The committee suggests criminalizing trafficking as a distinct offence, strengthening the fight against human smuggling, toughening penalties for other related offences and providing more specifications as to the definition of "organized crime" and "organized criminal activities"

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The 1995 Act inserts a new article 77bis in a law passed on 1980 with regard to the aliens' admittance to the Belgian territory. Though placed in an anti-trafficking framework (and though article 11.1 of the law includes it within its purview), this new provision does not address the issue of human trafficking, but that of human smuggling. It imposes 1 to 5 years' imprisonment and a fine of 500 to 25.000 BF on anyone who assists an alien in entering or residing in Belgium and, in so doing, subject the alien to "fraudulent practices, violence, threat or any form of coercion"ortakes advantage of a position of vulnerability in which the alien is placed ("as a result of illegal or insecure administrative status, pregnancy, illness, infirmity or a physical or mental disability"). These acts may carry more severe penalties if they constitute an "habitual activity" or are committed within a criminal conspiracy. An exploitative purpose is not an element of the offences set out in this article.

Several articles of the penal code as re-fashioned by the 1995 Act govern human trafficking. The new article 380bis has several components. Its paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 group together a series of trafficking related offences that apply trafficking in adults only. The scope ascribed to these offences encompasses a variety of means (threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of a position of vulnerability, etc), regardless of any apparent, implied or express consent by the victim. The provision sets out a series of criminal acts (recruitment, harboring or receipt of person, but no explicit mention of transportation or transfer) that have all in common an element of exploitation. The use of violent means constitutes aggravating circumstances, not constituent elements of the offences, which has the effect of widening the scope of the provision to encompass cases of procurement of accommodation (renting or selling a room or other premises) for the purpose of prostitution and the running of a brothel with the same penalties.

Special emphasis is placed on the sexual exploitation of minors. The new article 379 carries severe penalties (up to 20 years' imprisonment if the minor is under 10 years' age; up to 15 years' imprisonment if the minor is under 16 years' age) on anyone who "incites, favors or provokes" the "sexual immorality, corruption of the minor's prostitution". This article may prove difficult to enforce as it does not require the actual commission of an act, the use of violence, but a form of coercion, which might prove difficult to establish in courts. By contrast, paragraph 4 of article 380bis is modeled upon the section of the article (paragraphs 1, 2 and 3), which concerns trafficking in adults. The requirements set in this paragraph conform to those laid down in the three previous paragraphs (with an explicit mention though of the role of intermediaries in the trafficking chain, which does not appear in the provisions governing trafficking in adults). The penalties are harsher, but the same as those stipulated in article 379, thus establishing the same level of criminal responsibility for those who trafficked minors and those who have "provoked, favored or incited sexual immorality, corruption or the prostitution of a minor". Finally, the 1995 Act creates a new and distinct offence for child pornography (new article 383bis), which applies without prejudice to the implementation of the provisions on trafficking.

Another distinctive trait of the Anti-Trafficking Act is the new article 10ter inserted in the code of criminal procedure, which enables Belgian courts to prosecute Belgian citizens and foreigners for crimes of trafficking (among others) committed abroad on the person of a minor under 16 years' age.

By virtue of the new legislation, victims of trafficking may be granted a temporary residence permit for 3 months, should they agree to co-operate with the authorities. The judge can further decide to deliver a registration certificate, which allows the victim to remain in the country for 6 further months. The certificate can be renewed every 6 months pending completion of the judicial proceedings.

Belgium has set up as early as in November 1992 a central Human Trafficking Unit within the Directorate-General for the Judicial Police. Initial tasks of this unit included the detecting of cases of human trafficking in all its forms (sexual exploitation, forced labor, etc), sending of "early warnings" to the authorities and the relevant administrative bodies, developing specialized competencies in this field and serving as an operational focal point within the police forces. At the level of the prosecution, a so-called "College of Public Prosecutors" was established pursuant to a law passed on 4 March 1997. This College holds a countrywide jurisdiction, has wide powers in terms of shaping out the penal policy towards these phenomenon. The tasks conferred upon the College are distributed among its members. One of them is specifically assigned to the prosecution of cases of human trafficking. Parallel to this, a "liaison magistrate" dealing with cases of human trafficking specifically is appointed for each judicial district within each Public Prosecutor's office. His/her task is to serve as a contact point within the Public Prosecutor's office, to report on cases handled and action in respect of the latter and to make recommendations to improve the efficiency of the action taken. The role of the "liaison magistrates" is innovative insofar as (s)he may liaise within the judicial sphere and direct the police operations, but is also required to meet regularly with representatives of the administration (which contribution may be decisive in tracking down cases of human trafficking and in collecting evidence to bring them to the court) and of the associations who provide medical and social assistance to the victims.

Magistrates operate under a distinct mandate with different tasks, but as of May 2002, they have merged with the newly established Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, which now concentrates most of the powers formerly assigned to the magistrates. The core of their activities focuses on co-ordination of investigations into organized crime and decision-making power with regard to matters of cross-border judicial co-operation.

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