Zowel het aantal schendingen van het beroepsgeheim, zoals bedoeld in artikel 272 Sr, als het aantal strafzaken is toegenomen. In de bijdrage wordt de actuele jurisprudentie behandeld.

This article deals with recent developments in legislation and court rulings concerning churches. These developments are divergent in terms of the issues they concern and the outcome they show. The article sketches the background of each of these developments and analyses and explains them in the perspective of the principle of church autonomy. It concludes with recommendations to the legislature and the courts as well as churches themselves.

Confessional secrecy is inviolable under Catholic canon law, and violations of it are severely sanctioned. Some people see this secret as an obstacle to the legal process in society and advocate a limitation in its use. This article argues that this form of confidentiality also can be defended in civil law because of the protection of spiritual care. Confessional secrecy is analyzed here and compared with forms of official secrecy that are recognized in society. Finally, there is a plea for a clear legal framework for the application of this confessional secret by Catholic priests.

De auteurs onderzoeken aan de hand van de jurisprudentie hoe de toekenning van hoge schadevergoedingen wegens onrechtmatige perspublicaties zich verhoudt met de vrijheid van meningsuiting. In dat verband besteden zij aandacht aan het zogenoemde chilling effect. Ook komt aan de orde hoe de rechter omgaat met hoge schadevergoedingen in het buitenland.

De strafrechtelijke vervolging van parlementariërs en andere politieke ambtsdragers brengt bijzondere vragen en problemen mee. Hoe kan worden voorkomen dat politieke ambtsdragers op grond van hun hoge positie een strafvervolging kunnen tegenhouden, bijvoorbeeld door druk uit te oefenen op het Openbaar Ministerie? En hoe kunnen politici worden beschermd tegen lichtvaardige en politiek gemotiveerde vervolgingsbeslissingen? Aan de hand van twee recente corruptiezaken, die speelden in verschillende landen binnen het koninkrijk, wordt in deze bijdrage ingegaan op deze problematiek.

Belgian Law mentions professional secrecy at different places. In recent years, professional secrecy has been nuanced or even eroded. It remains, however, an important item for certain professional groups, for some perhaps a privilege, for others a burden. Enough indications exist that ministers of the Protestant-Evangelical religion (pastors), even though they are not bound by priest-penitent privilege, are bound by professional secrecy. This makes it necessary to have a clear definition of ‘pastors’. Due to the relative ignorance about Protestantism in Belgium, this has taken some time. The article ends with the discussion of some practical aspects of the professional secrecy of pastors.

As a special employer, the church has an interest in shaping its own personnel policy in order to achieve the mission and objective. In part, the legislator has met this need. After all, various laws in the field of appointment, terms of employment and dismissal take account of the specific interests of the church as described before. The external border consists of fundamental human rights that are included in the ECHR and the European Directive on equal treatment. It is not always clear where the external border is exactly. The Dutch legislation regarding the battle of ‘church law’ and fundamental rights is not consistent. Moreover, there we notice a tension between national law and the European directive.

Investigative reporters show an increasing interest in criminal phenomena. Dutch journalists may be allowed access to ongoing police investigations on the condition that they comply with data protection legislation. Working in international cooperative projects, using sophisticated research tools and hot sources, journalists by themselves also manage to uncover hidden crimes that may prompt indictments. The article explores possibilities of future collaboration between criminal investigators and reporters, while acknowledging each other’s professional roles and responsibilities.

The most recent extensive study on political and administrative corruption in The Netherlands dates back to 2005 (Huberts & Nelen, 2005). Afterwards various studies have been conducted on related subthemes and areas. In this contribution, the state of affairs regarding political and administrative corruption – and the responses to them – in The Netherlands in 2018 is described, based on the results of these studies. Starting with an overview of the nature and severity of political and administrative corruption, the focus shifts to relevant developments in the control and prevention of corruption, partly addressing the causes of the phenomenon.