The Labour Court of Appeals of Liège rejected the evidence gathered by a private detective, with respect to an employee who claimed to be entitled to a social security allowance because of his partial disability due to an industrial accident, while he was in fact able to work. The Court ruled that this evidence was gathered in violation of the Belgian privacy legislation and was therefore not admissible. In doing so, the Court did not revert to the so-called Antigoon-ruling, rendered by the Supreme Court in 2003 in a penal case, on the basis of which illegitimately gathered proof will only be rejected if the right to a fair trial is at risk, the reliability of the proof has been affected or in case of a condition defined under the penalty of being null and void has been violated. Surprisingly, the Court stated that this Antigoon-ruling only applies to penal cases and not labour cases. This goes against the current, as most labour courts do apply the Antigoon-ruling in labour cases.
Belgium