Police interview in Belgium: your rights and the right to a lawyer

After a road accident, an alcohol check or a hit-and-run report, you often receive a letter inviting you to a police interview (audition). Many people go unprepared, as if it were a formality. It is not. What you say is recorded in a police report (procès-verbal) and can later be used as evidence against you.

During an interview, the law gives you clear rights. They are set out in article 47bis of the Code of Criminal Procedure: these are the so-called Salduz rules. In this article, you will find out what your rights are, when you are entitled to a lawyer and how to have your statement corrected. It is part of our overview road accident: what to do and who is liable?.

When is it an interview?

An interview is questioning about criminal offences, recorded in a police report. The police can interview you as a suspect, a victim or a witness. After an accident, those roles are not always clear. So ask in what capacity you are being interviewed.

Not every conversation with the police is an interview. The Court of Cassation held on 21 February 2017 (P.16.0614.N) that a person stopped in traffic about his or her driving, who states on the spot that he or she was the driver and how he or she was driving, is not being interviewed within the meaning of article 47bis. On 18 September 2018, the Court ruled in the same way on a brief questionnaire after a speeding offence. Some legal commentators disagree with this position.

What you say spontaneously at the roadside can therefore end up in the police report without you having been informed of your rights. So be careful about what you say about the events.

Your rights if you are interviewed as a suspect

Before the interview, the police must briefly inform you of the facts you will be questioned about. You also receive the following information:

• you have the choice to make a statement, to answer questions or to remain silent, after giving your identity;
• you cannot be forced to incriminate yourself;
• your statements can be used as evidence in court;
• you can ask for all questions and answers to be recorded in the exact words used;
• you can ask for a specific investigative step to be taken, for example interviewing a witness or seizing camera footage;
• you can use documents in your possession and ask for them to be added to the file;
• if you are not under arrest, you can leave at any time.

If you do not properly understand the language of the proceedings, you are entitled to a sworn interpreter, at the State’s expense. A family member who translates is not a sworn interpreter.

When are you entitled to a lawyer?

You can have a confidential consultation with a lawyer before the interview and be assisted by a lawyer during the interview, where the offence carries a custodial sentence. Since a 2013 judgment of the Constitutional Court, this also applies to traffic offences.

Since 1 September 2026, the new Criminal Code works with penalty levels; a prison sentence is only possible from level 2. You are therefore certainly entitled to a lawyer at an interview about:

• an accident causing injury (harm to physical integrity under article 218 of the Criminal Code, level 2);
• a fatal accident (homicide dans le cadre de la circulation, i.e. causing death in road traffic, level 3 or 4);
• a hit-and-run causing injury or death.

For a simple breach of the Highway Code (Code de la route), punishable only by a fine, you do not have this right; you do, however, keep your right to silence. For other traffic offences, such as driving under the influence or a hit-and-run causing only material damage, it depends on the penalty level. If in doubt, ask expressly and have your request noted in the police report. Also see our overviews of drink driving and hit-and-run.

Interview after a written invitation

Most of the time, you are invited by letter. If that letter sets out your rights and a brief description of the facts, the law assumes that you have already been able to consult a lawyer. So contact a lawyer immediately and pass the invitation on to him or her.

If your rights were not set out in a prior letter, you can ask once for the interview to be postponed so that you can consult a lawyer.

Arrest

If you are deprived of your liberty, for example after a serious accident, the police arrange contact with a lawyer through the bar’s duty service. You can also ask for a lawyer of your choice.

Waiving your right to a lawyer

An adult can waive the right to a lawyer, voluntarily and deliberately. This must be done in writing, in a document that you date and sign yourself. You can later withdraw that waiver. A minor who turns up without a lawyer after an invitation can only be interviewed after a confidential consultation with a lawyer.

Do not sign such a waiver just for convenience: a first statement carries weight throughout the case.

What should you say after an accident?

There is no ready-made answer, but there are some basic rules:

• Prepare. Write down in advance what you remember and bring the photos and the accident report form (constat amiable).
• Stick to the facts. Do not speculate about speeds or distances you are not sure of. “I don’t know” is an honest answer.
• Consider remaining silent. Silence is a right. It is sometimes wiser to make a statement only after you have seen the case file.
• Be consistent. Statements that contradict each other undermine your credibility.

Rereading the police report and having it corrected

At the end of the interview, you are given the text to read, or you ask for it to be read to you. The police must ask whether you want to correct or add anything. If a passage does not match what you meant, have it corrected before you sign. Never sign a text that you have not read or do not understand.

You receive a free copy of the record of your interview. Ask for it expressly if you are not given it straight away.

What if your rights were not respected?

Article 47bis provides that a judge cannot convict you on the basis of statements made while your right to a lawyer or your other Salduz rights were breached. Since a judgment of the Constitutional Court of 14 February 2013, this is the case even where there is other evidence: the irregular statement cannot be used to support the conviction.

That does not mean the whole case collapses: the judge examines whether the other evidence is sufficient. Also see our article on errors in the police report.

Frequently asked questions

Have your case reviewed

Have you been invited to a police interview after an accident, an alcohol check or a hit-and-run report? We prepare the interview with you and assist you during it. Get in touch with us. Also read our article on refusing a breath test.

Law as at 30 September 2026. We update this article when the rules change.