Laws:
Law of 12 April 1947 creating a presumption for the Benefit of Victims of Property Seizure
Title
Law of 12
April 1947 creating a presumption for the Benefit of Victims of Property
Seizure
Summary
This law
applied to property seized between 9 May 1940 and the liberation of Belgium by
the Occupation authorities, their agents or helpers, on the grounds of race,
nationality, opinion, political activity, or residence. A legal presumption was
created to the effect that the seizure was presumed illegal unless the holder of
the property could demonstrate that it would have occurred notwithstanding the
extraordinary circumstances of the occupation. The claimant was to commence
proceedings in the relevant court within six months from the date of publication
of the law (19 April 1947), although in the event this was not possible, a time
extension for filing suit could be granted, not exceeding two years from the
date of the law's publication.
In practice, however, many victims of anti-Jewish persecution were excluded from the benefit of the operation of the Law of 12 April 1947, owing to the established conditions of citizenship for claimants, to the fact that victims of racial persecution were not deemed to be political prisoners, and due to the fact that bank accounts, jewellery and artwork did not qualify for restitution.
Sources
Law Library of Congress June 1999,
<http://www.house.gov/international_relations/crs/aspects/belgium.htm>,
accessed 27 Nomvember 2002
<http://www.combuysse.fgov.be/>
Part 5 of the Final Report of the Study Commission into
the Fate of the Belgian Jewish Community's assets, which were plundered or
surrendered or abandoned during the war 1940-1945,
published July 2001, p. 458-9.
