Personnel Risk:
Very Low
Score:
86/100
Leadership Behaviour
Q34
75/100
Do the Defence Ministry, Defence Minister, Chiefs of Defence, and Single Service Chiefs publicly commit, through, for example, speeches, media interviews, or political mandates, to anti-corruption and integrity measures?
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Personnel of Belgian Defence have to abide by a deontological code [1]. Any military staff member working directly or indirectly in procurement has to…
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The Chief of Defence and Ministers do not actively include anti-corruption issues in their standard talking points [1]. This is mainly due to the…
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Personnel of Belgian Defence have to abide by a deontological code [1]. Integrity is a value stressed frequently during symbolic moments, especially in the…
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Q35
100/100
Are there effective measures in place for personnel found to have taken part in forms of bribery and corruption, and is there evidence that these measures are being carried out?
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Punishable offences are listed in the code of conduct, accompanied by the applicable judicial reference (Articles 245-252 of the Belgian penal code and Article…
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Criminal investigations in the military are performed by a special unit of the federal police (DJMM), which is entirely independent of the Belgian Defence…
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Q36
58/100
Is whistleblowing encouraged by the government, and are whistle-blowers in military and defence ministries afforded adequate protection from reprisal for reporting evidence of corruption, in both law and practice?
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The Whistleblower statute of the Federal government protects personnel in the federal administration, based on the law of 15 September 2013 [1, 2]. It…
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Training on whistleblowing is provided within the deontology training of the Belgian Defence [1]. Within the procurement division of the Belgian Defence, a specific…
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The new procedures will further implement the protections of officials and personnel. To this point, protections prove adequate. By way of example, the whisteblower…
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Q37
83/100
Is special attention paid to the selection, time in post, and oversight of personnel in sensitive positions, including officials and personnel in defence procurement, contracting, financial management, and commercial management?
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Only the minister of defence decides the promotion and appointment to a position of general/flag officer, based on the advice of a committee [1].…
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Most positions in the military require security clearance, which requires a stringent vetting procedure, detailed in the law on classification and security clearance, attestations…
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Personnel in sensitive positions needs to be the holder of a security clearance at the appropriate level. Such security clearance is granted or renewed…
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Payroll, Promotions, Appointments, Rewards
Q38
100/100
Is the number of civilian and military personnel accurately known and publicly available?
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The number of total military personnel is available online on the website of the Ministry of Defence and currently stands at 26.179, although calculations…
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Personnel numbers are constantly updated by the Directorate-General Human Resources. They can be found on the website of the Ministry of Defence in an…
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An online search of media outlets for mentions of any ghost soldier issue in Belgium found no indication that the Belgian Defence has had…
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Q39
100/100
Are pay rates and allowances for civilian and military personnel openly published?
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Extensive information on pay rates is available on a number of websites. First, the Ministry of Defence websites publishes a general overview of basic…
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Allowances for civilian and military personnel are published openly. First, the union for civilian and military defence personnel (‘Vakbond voor buger en militair defensiepersoneel’)…
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Q40
100/100
Do personnel receive the correct pay on time, and is the system of payment well-established, routine, and published?
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Monthly pay is always received on time. The risks of delays on pay are very small but there are sometimes issues with premiums and…
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Research could not find indication in open sources and the media of incorrect payments [1].
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Extensive information on pay rates is available on a number of websites. First, the Ministry of Defence websites publishes a general overview of basic…
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Q41
42/100
Is there an established, independent, transparent, and objective appointment system for the selection of military personnel at middle and top management level?
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The Royal decree on the position and advancement of career officers details promotion to the ranks of general and higher officers on the basis…
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The Royal decree on the position and advancement of career officers details promotion to the ranks of general and higher officers on the basis…
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The appointment of rank is stipulated in the Royal Decree of 7 April 1959 [1]. Promotions are then published through the ‘Moniteur Belge’ [2].…
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Q42
94/100
Are personnel promoted through an objective, meritocratic process? Such a process would include promotion boards outside of the command chain, strong formal appraisal processes, and independent oversight.
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Regulations on personnel promotions are stipulated in the Royal Decree of 7 April 1959, the Ministerial Decree of 31 March 1971, the Ministerial Decree…
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Awarding an acting rank is not an official policy within Belgian defence [1]. However, the current function a candidate occupies is taken into account…
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After a promotion committee, a list with names, ranks, new post and effective dates of the promoted individuals is drawn up and shared with…
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Details of postings and promotions are published in the Belgian Official Gazette, whish is published monthly [1]. The publication precedes the effective date. Secondly,…
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Conscription and Recruitment
Q43
NA/100
Where compulsory conscription occurs, is there a policy of not accepting bribes for avoiding conscription? Are there appropriate procedures in place to deal with such bribery, and are they applied?
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There is no compulsory conscription in Belgium. As such, this indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ [1].
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There is no compulsory conscription in Belgium. As such, this indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ [1].
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There is no compulsory conscription in Belgium. As such, this indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ [1].
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Q44
100/100
is there a policy of refusing bribes to gain preferred postings? Are there appropriate procedures in place to deal with such bribery, and are they applied?
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Rules on active and passive bribery are stipulated by articles 242-252 of the Belgian penal code and article 8 of the Royal Decree of…
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Sanctions on bribery are stipulated in articles 242-252 of the Belgian penal code and include prosecution, incarceration, dismissal and financial penalties [1]. Fines can…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’. There is no evidence that sanctions would not be applied when bribery occurs [1]. No cases on bribery…
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Salary Chain
Payment is conducted by the Directorate General Budget and Finances, which is a seperate DG within the Defence structure [1]. There is thus a…
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Values and Standards
Q46
83/100
Is there a Code of Conduct for all military personnel that includes, but is not limited to, guidance with respect to bribery, gifts and hospitality, conflicts of interest, and post-separation activities? Is there evidence that breaches of the Code of Conduct are effectively addressed?
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Personnel of the Belgian Defence have to abide by a deontological code, which includes references to bribery, gifts, hospitality and conflicts of interest [1].…
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The code of conduct is readily available to every member of personnel in the Belgian Defence, explicitly distributed to the candidates and tenderers for…
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The deontology office of the Procurement Division of Belgian Defence monitors compliance with the Code of Conduct [1]. If procedures need to be initiated…
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There is Not Enough Information to score this indicator, as the guidance on the code of conduct, which is included in induction training for…
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Q47
100/100
Is there a Code of Conduct for all civilian personnel that includes, but is not limited to, guidance with respect to bribery, gifts and hospitality, conflicts of interest, and post-separation activities? Is there evidence that breaches of the Code of Conduct are effectively addressed?
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Personnel of the Belgian Defence, including civilian employees, have to abide by a deontological code, which includes references to bribery, gifts, hospitality and conflicts…
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The code of conduct is readily available to all members of personnel, both military and civilian, in the Belgian Defence, explicitely distributed to the…
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The deontology office of the Procurement Division of Belgian Defence monitors compliance with the Code of Conduct, both for civilian and military personnel [1].…
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There is Not Enough Information to score this indicator, as the guidance on the code of conduct, which is included in induction training for…
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Q48
83/100
Does regular anti-corruption training take place for military and civilian personnel?
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Anti-corruption training addresses the connection between corruption, organisational values, impact of the organisation, military effectivenes, identification and reporting of corruption, and risk management [1].…
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This training is provided upon entry to any position that is directly or indirectly related to procurement. Regular reminder sessions are held [1]. However,…
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Training depends on the content the individual will work with during her/his stationing rather than the rank. Anti-corruption training is thus delivered to personnel…
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Q49
50/100
Is there a policy to make public outcomes of the prosecution of defence services personnel for corrupt activities, and is there evidence of effective prosecutions in recent years?
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Prosecution thus happens either as internal disciplinary or via the judicial system. Defence institutions do not have an internal formal policy to make outcomes…
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Court martials have been abolished in peace time [1]. Prosecution thus happens either as internal disciplinary or via the judicial system. In the latter…
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There is Not Enough Information to score this indicator. Within the timeframe 2016-2020, the only case of potential corruption from a senior governmental suspected…
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Q50
100/100
Are there effective measures in place to discourage facilitation payments (which are illegal in almost all countries)?
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Article 246 ยง 2 of the law of 10 February 1999 on the suppression of corruption provides that “constituting active corruption is the act…
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Any kind of domestic corruption in public SPF or the Ministry of Defence is dealt with through penal law. After investigation of the claim,…
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There is no evidence of facilitation payments in the defence and security sector since 2015 [1].
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