In the last five years, Belgium's King Philippe has granted 21 royal pardons, which were often granted for medical or financial reasons. Only one of these pardons was granted this year.
The royal pardon that was granted this year related to a conviction handed down by a foreign court for offences involving driving, said Federal Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne in a written parliamentary reply to MP Peter Buysrogge.
"Half of the prison sentence was suspended because of the length of time since the offence had been committed (16 years), the applicant's age (74) and state of health, and the totally isolated nature of the offence, which occurred while the applicant, a citizen with no previous criminal record, was on a family holiday abroad," he explained.
Over the last five years, Van Quickenborne detailed, Belgium's King Philippe has granted 21 pardons: seven in 2019, two in 2020, six in 2021, five in 2022 and one in 2023 so far (until 1 May), La Libre reports.
Medical or financial reasons
Every year, the Palace Petitions Department receives hundreds of requests for pardons. For example, it received around 1,000 in 2021 and equally as many in 2020, according to figures released at the time by the Justice Ministry. However, only very few are granted, and none without the approval of Van Quickenborne, who as Justice Minister bears the political responsibility for the decision.
"No person actually incarcerated benefited from a pardon during the period under review," he explained in his written response. Most of the pardons relate to traffic offences. This was the case, for example, for six of the seven pardons granted in 2019.
"In four of these cases, the pardon was granted because it appeared, after the convictions, that the people concerned had not committed the offences," he said. This justification was also put forward for the two pardons in 2020 and one (out of six) in 2021. Another pardon in 2019 for a driving offence was granted on medical grounds. "The applicant, a mother of two minor children, was suffering from serious cancer."
Medical circumstances were also a factor in the granting of the seventh pardon in 2019, which related to social offences. "Half of the fine was remitted for medical and financial reasons," said Van Quickenborne. "The man concerned, a father of two, had been involved in a serious road accident. His wife died in the accident. He gave up his self-employed activity and became an employee, this new status eliminating the risk of a repeat offence."
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The financial argument is regularly put forward, as is the amount of time since the offences have been committed and the good conduct of individuals following their conviction.
In 2022, for example, in four cases involving driving, "partial pardons were granted for fines and driving disqualifications, for medical and financial reasons, as well as following successful completion of a probation period."
In a case involving fraud committed abroad, "a suspended sentence of more than three years' imprisonment was granted because of how long ago the offences took place (20 years), the age and state of health of the applicant, who died at the age of 78 two months after the pardon was granted, and the absence of any new offences over a very long period."
