Belgian Criminal Law: The Strafwetboek / Code Pénal and the 2026 Reform

Belgian criminal law is federal, codified, and, for the next few weeks, still organised around a three-way classification of offences that is about to disappear. Whether an act is called a misdaad, a wanbedrijf or an overtreding, a crime, a délit or a contravention, currently decides which court hears it and how severe the possible penalty is. From 1 September 2026 that split is replaced entirely.

Information last verified on 21 July 2026. This page provides general legal information and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case.

The Strafwetboek / Code pénal, and what replaces it

Belgian criminal law sits in the Strafwetboek, the Code pénal, a codified statute currently dating from 1867 and consolidated many times since. Like every Belgian code, it is published in Dutch and French, both equally authentic, and its consolidated text is free to read on the Belgisch Staatsblad, the Moniteur belge, at ejustice.just.fgov.be.

That code is being replaced, not merely amended. A wholly new Penal Code was published in 2024 and, after a postponement, is now due to take effect on 1 September 2026. It abolishes the classification most people trained on Belgian law grew up with, offences sorted into misdaad, wanbedrijf and overtreding, a crime, a délit and a contravention, according to severity. In its place, the new code sorts every offence into one of eight penalty levels, called niveaus in Dutch and niveaux in French. The lowest of the eight, niveau 1, carries no prison sentence at all: only penalties such as a fine, a work sentence, probation, forfeiture, or a conviction with a simple declaration of guilt.

The practical effect reaches further than renumbering. An offence that currently sits inside the harsher of the old three categories can land at a low niveau under the new scheme, and vice versa, so an article number and a penalty that were reliable in 2025 can point at the wrong answer from September 2026 onward.

One further quirk belongs here because it trips people up constantly. Fine amounts printed in the current Code pénal are historical figures, set decades ago, not what a court actually imposes. Courts multiply the bare article figure by the opdecimes, the additional decimes, a multiplier set separately from the code itself. That multiplier rose from eight to ten as of 1 February 2026, so a fine that looks small on the page of the code is, in practice, an order of magnitude larger.

Courts organised by subject, not by amount

Belgian criminal courts are organised around what kind of offence is alleged rather than how much money or how many years are in dispute. The politierechtbank, the tribunal de police, handles the lightest offences and most traffic matters. The correctionele rechtbank, the tribunal correctionnel, is the criminal section of the court of first instance and handles the middle tier, which currently includes most defamation prosecutions. The hof van assisen, the cour d'assises, is reserved for the gravest offences and, historically, for press offences, though a press offence motivated by racism or xenophobia is instead correctionalized and sent to the ordinary courts.

The criminal record every conviction can end up on

A conviction under the Code pénal, or under any other Belgian criminal statute, can appear on a person's criminal record extract, the uittreksel uit het strafregister, the extrait de casier judiciaire. Belgium issues three different versions of this extract, models 595, 596.1 and 596.2, showing progressively more depending on why it is being requested, and a conviction does not necessarily stay on it forever: some entries are erased automatically after a fixed period, and rehabilitation is available for the rest once a set probationary period has run.

The full detail, including exactly what each model shows, where you apply, what it costs, and how erasure and rehabilitation actually work, including the sexual-offence rule that is very often misstated, is on the criminal record extract page.

Related criminal-law topics

Two other criminal-law areas covered on this site sit under the same code that is about to be replaced. Defamation in Belgium explains laster/calomnie and eerroof/diffamation, the two offences the new code will merge into one from 1 September 2026. Recording a conversation in Belgium explains when recording someone without consent is itself a criminal offence, an offence that is also renumbered under the same reform.

This page provides general legal information about a foreign legal system and does not constitute legal advice for an individual case. Belgian criminal law is changing materially on 1 September 2026. Check the current text on ejustice.just.fgov.be, or consult an advocaat / avocat, before acting on anything here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Belgian criminal law the same everywhere in the country?

Yes. Criminal law is a federal competence, so the Code pénal, the Strafwetboek, applies identically in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. Nothing about which acts are criminal, or how they are penalised, changes at a regional border.

What changes in Belgian criminal law on 1 September 2026?

A wholly new Penal Code takes effect. It abolishes the current three-way classification of offences, misdaad/wanbedrijf/overtreding, crime/délit/contravention, and replaces it with eight penalty levels called niveaus, niveaux. The lowest, niveau 1, carries no prison sentence at all, only penalties such as a fine, a work sentence, probation, forfeiture, or a conviction with a simple declaration of guilt.

Why do Belgian criminal fines look so small compared to what is actually paid?

Fine amounts printed in the current Code pénal are historical figures rather than the sum a court actually imposes. Courts multiply the bare article figure by a separate multiplier, the opdecimes, which rose from a factor of eight to a factor of ten as of 1 February 2026. The new Penal Code removes this quirk and states real euro amounts directly.

What is a Belgian criminal record extract, and do I need one?

It is the uittreksel uit het strafregister, the extrait de casier judiciaire, and Belgium issues three different versions of it, models 595, 596.1 and 596.2, showing progressively more depending on why it is being requested. Whether you need one, and which model, depends on the purpose, such as a job, a licence, or a role working with minors.

Does a criminal conviction stay on a Belgian record forever?

No. Some convictions are erased automatically after a fixed period. For the rest, rehabilitation is available once a probationary period has run, and that period ranges from three years up to ten years depending on the offence and on any recidivism.

Which court hears a criminal case in Belgium?

Belgian criminal courts are organised by subject rather than by the amount or severity in dispute in the American sense. The politierechtbank, the tribunal de police, handles the lightest offences and most traffic matters. The correctionele rechtbank, the tribunal correctionnel, handles the middle tier, which currently includes most defamation prosecutions. The hof van assisen, the cour d'assises, is reserved for the gravest offences.

Where can I read the actual text of Belgian criminal law?

The consolidated text of the Code pénal, the Strafwetboek, and of the new Penal Code once it takes effect, is published free of charge on the Belgisch Staatsblad, the Moniteur belge, at ejustice.just.fgov.be, in both Dutch and French.