How should an appeal be lodged?

An appeal may be only lodged by a registered letter issued by the applicant or by his/her lawyer. A lawyer's assistance is not compulsory; however, the law does not allow any other person to provide assistance.
The appeal must be addressed to the Appeal Body for security clearances, certificates and advice, Rue de Louvain 48/5, 1000 Brussels.
This letter should be accompanied by a so-called ‘deed of appeal’, as well as two copies of the same certified by the applicant or his/her lawyer. The deed of appeal must contain the following information:

• the last name and first name, place and date of birth, place of domicile or residence of the applicant or, if he/she is acting on behalf of a legal person (e.g. a public limited company), the name and registered office, the identity of the directors, business managers, statutory auditors or the persons appointed for its administration and management and a copy of the Articles of Association;

• the decision or advice against which the appeal is being instituted (unless, of course, the appeal is directed against the failure to take a timely decision);

• an account of the circumstances of the case and the reasons invoked;

• if necessary, the document showing that the applicant had been informed of the security verification to be carried out;

• any document the applicant considers useful;

• a list of the documents submitted as evidence.

The appeal must be lodged within:

• 30 days from the notification of the decision in case of refusal or withdrawal of the security clearance or 30 days from the end of the period assigned to the authority for completing the request;

• 8 days from the notification of the decision in case of refusal or withdrawal of a security certificate or 8 days from the date mentioned in the document received by everyone who is the subject of a security verification;

• 8 days from the notification of negative security advice;

• There is no fixed period for an appeal against a decision of an authority to request security certificates or security advice in specific cases.