COMPLAINTS
FAQ
Any citizen, whether or not they are a Belgian national or whether their primary residence is in Belgium, may submit a complaint or denunciation to Committee R/I.
Any civil servant, any person holding a public office and any member of the armed forces directly affected by directives, decisions or their implementation, as well as by the methods or actions of the above-mentioned services, may also submit a complaint or make a denunciation, without having to seek authorisation from their superiors.
The Committee is responsible for handling three categories of complaints. Complaints may concern:
- The operations of State Security, GISS, CUTA or one of its supporting services;
- A special intelligence method used by State Security or GISS;
- The processing of personal data carried out in the context of national security.
The Committee’s responsibilities vary depending on the category of the complaint.
The Committee acts as a single point of contact. This means that, based on the information it receives from a complainant, the Committee will verify whether the complaint relates to one of these three categories (in other words, if it is responsible for handling the complaint) and, if applicable, whether the complaint is admissible.
A complaint is an expression of discontent by an individual who is directly affected by a situation, action, behaviour or shortcoming on the part of State Security, GISS, CUTA or one of its supporting services acting in this capacity.
A denunciation is an individual’s notification of facts relating to an illegal act or operation on the part of an intelligence or security service by which the individual is indirectly affected and for which they have no direct personal interest as to whether this is rectified.
Both in the case of a complaint and a denunciation, the objective is to report a problem and obtain a solution or improvement.
A request can be made by anyone who believes that data protection laws have not been respected during the processing of their personal data carried out in the context of national security.
You can contact Committee R/I:
- in its capacity as a parliamentary review body, overseeing the operation, response, action or failure to act of State Security, GISS, CUTA or its supporting services acting in this capacity;
- in its capacity as a judicial body concerning the execution (i.e.: the legality, proportionality and subsidiarity) of a special intelligence method used by State Security or GISS;
- in its capacity as a supervisory authority for the processing of personal data carried out by State Security, GISS, CUTA or one of its supporting services acting in this capacity, and by a security authority or a security officer.
These three capacities correspond to the three categories of complaints for which the Committee is responsible (find out more).
Yes. You can refer to Committee R/I even if you are not Belgian or if you don’t live in Belgium.
Yes. Committee R/I is an independent public institution, linked to the Chamber of Representatives, and guarantees that it acts in a neutral and impartial manner.
That depends on the subject of the complaint.
You can submit a complaint to Committee R/I on behalf of another person if the complaint concerns a shortcoming within State Security, GISS, CUTA or one of its supporting services acting in this capacity, or a shortcoming of a security authority or a security officer. In this case, the explicit consent of the person in question is required.
If your complaint concerns a special intelligence method used by State Security or GISS, or the processing of personal data in the context of national security, you may only act in your own name.
That depends on the subject of the complaint.
If your complaint concerns a shortcoming within State Security, GISS, CUTA or one of its supporting services acting in this capacity, or a shortcoming of a security authority or a security officer, you can request that Committee R/I does not disclose your identity when handling your complaint. You just need to state this clearly when submitting your complaint.
If your complaint concerns a special intelligence method used by State Security or GISS, or the processing of personal data in the context of national security, then a complaint cannot be made anonymously. Committee R/I must share your identity with the service(s) in question to enable them to carry out a suitable examination of your complaint.
No. The Committee is only responsible for handling three categories of complaints (find out more).
If Committee R/I receives a complaint that falls within the remit of another supervisory body, the complaint is forwarded to this body.
No. The services of the Committee R/I are provided free of charge.
Committee R/I is funded by endowments and operates using public funds.
Committee R/I only handles three categories of complaints, i.e. complaints concerning:
- The operations of State Security, GISS, CUTA or one of its supporting services;
- A special intelligence method used by State Security or GISS;
- The processing of personal data carried out in the context of national security.
If the subject of your complaint does not relate to one of these cases, the Committee R/I cannot process it. If necessary, you will be informed promptly. The Committee will also inform you, if possible, of the contact details of a service that may be able to help you.
You can submit a complaint in writing by completing the online complaints form. You can also submit your complaint by email or post.
Your complaint can also be submitted verbally by making an appointment at the Committee R/I offices.
Committee R/I will first carry out a preliminary examination to decide whether the complaint falls within its remit.
If your complaint is deemed admissible, an investigation will be opened.
At the close of the investigation, the conclusions of the investigation are forwarded to the head of the intelligence service in question, the director of CUTA or the head of the supporting service, as the case may be. These conclusions primarily aim to improve the operation of the services reviewed, in particular by amending the regulations or its practices. Committee R/I may not grant any compensation nor act as a mediator in the event of a conflict.
Si votre plainte concerne un traitement de données à caractère personnel, le Comité R/I peut ordonner si nécessaire la rectification ou la suppression de certaines données personnelles.
If your complaint concerns a special intelligence method, the Committee may, if it finds that a method is illegal, order the cessation of the method in question or prohibit the use of data collected using that method, and order that they be destroyed.
Regardless of the results of the investigation, the Committee is restricted in the information it may share with the complainant. For reasons of classification, the Committee is not authorised to share details about these results.
The processing period depends on the complexity of your case. More than two in three complaints are processed in less than three months.
Once your complaint has been received, we will send you a written acknowledgement of receipt. We will then promptly inform you if we can take any action.
If you have submitted a complaint to Committee R/I and then decide to initiate legal proceedings for the same incident (other than before the Council of State), the Committee’s actions are suspended until the end of the legal proceedings. At your request, Committee R/I may then resume the examination of your complaint.
If you wish to contest an administrative decision before the Council of State, please be aware that the period allowed for an appeal is suspended if you decided to submit a complaint to Committee R/I. The period recommences after our conclusions have been disclosed, or at the latest four months after the submission of your complaint.
If the Appeal Body is referred to, the Committee R/I must, for the entire duration of the procedure before the Appeal Body, refrain from examining the complaints and denunciations concerning an investigation or security check carried out during the security clearance or advice procedure that is the subject of the appeal. The processing of your complaint will therefore be suspended until the procedure before the Appeal Body is closed.
Yes. All Committee R/I employees are bound by professional secrecy and your complaint and personal data are processed confidentially. Please see our Data Protection Statement.