Federal prosecutor's office (Belgium)


The federal prosecutor's office of Belgium is a prosecutor's office with jurisdiction over the entire Belgian territory, unlike the other prosecutor's offices which are associated to a particular court or arrondissement. The office was created in 2002 to be able to act more efficiently against certain forms of crime that transcend the borders of individual judicial districts, such as human trafficking or terrorism. In this capacity, the office has the power to carry out prosecutions in all Belgian courts with criminal jurisdiction. The office fulfills its duties under the authority of the Minister of Justice, and is bound by the prosecutorial guidelines of the College of prosecutors-general.
The federal prosecutor's office is located in Brussels. The office consists of around thirty federal magistrates and is lead by the federal prosecutor. As of 2020, the incumbent federal prosecutor is Frédéric Van Leeuw. The federal magistrates and federal prosecutor are not permanent members of the office; they are members of the other Belgian prosecutor's offices who are appointed for a five-year federal mandate.

Duties

The federal prosecutor's office has four main duties: