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On 17 March 2005, the Federal Parliament approved the new law on the protection of journalistic sources (see IRIS 2005-3: 6) and entered into force on 7 May 2005 after its publication in the Official Gazette (Moniteur Belge/Belgisch Staatsblad) on 27 April 2005. The protection of sources is guaranteed in respect of the following persons (Article 2):- 1° Journalists, which means anyone who is working independently or as an employee, as well as every legal person, who regularly and directly contributes to the gathering, editing, production or distribution of information for the public by way of a...

After several law proposals since 1985 a bill on the protection of journalistic sources is now finally on its way to being voted on by the Belgian parliament. After a first reading by the Chamber of representatives in July 2004, the Senate on 27 January 2005 approved a modified version of the proposed law. The text has now been sent back to the Chamber for final approval. Since Belgium was found by the European Court of Human Rights to have permitted unnecessary and disproportionate interferences by the judicial authorities disrespecting the confidentiality of journalistic sources in the case of...

On 26 November 2004 the presiding judge of the regional court in Brussels delivered an order with so far considerable effect in the world of copyright and Internet service providers. It is the latest episode in the battling between rightholders and ISPs over software (such as KaZaA) for downloading musical works in peer-to-peer mode, ie from one computer to another without passing through a centralised server, and without payment. Belgian copyright law allows a complainant to apply to the courts to have a stop put to infringements of copyright in the accelerated "urgent matter" form but with a...

On 8 November 2004, the Moniteur belge (Belgian official gazette) published the new order of the Government of the French-speaking Community of 1 July 2004 on protecting minors from television programmes likely to be damaging to their physical, mental or moral development. From 1 January 2005, this order will replace the previous order of 12 October 2000, which defines the identification markings currently used for television programmes (see IRIS 2001-2: 5). A new system of markings will therefore be used by television broadcasters in the French-speaking Community. As it had done through previous...

On 9 November 2004, the Hof van Cassatie/Court de Cassation (the Belgian Supreme Court) confirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Gent of 21 April 2004 convicting three organisations of the political party Vlaams Blok (Flemish Block). In application of the antiracism law of 30 July 1981 the organisations were convicted for giving assistance to a political party that has manifestly and repeatedly incited to discrimination and xenophobia, especially towards citizens of Moroccan and Turkish origin. The Court referred to different kinds of publications of the Flemish Block, each of them propagating...