WORLD TRADE G/TBT/Notif.96.203
8July1996
ORGANIZATION
(96-2635)
Committee onTechnical Barriers toTrade
NOTIFICATION
Thefollowing notification isbeing circulated inaccordance withArticle 10.6.
1. Member toAgreement notifying: BELGIUM
Ifapplicable, name oflocalgovernment involved (Articles 3.2and7.2):
2. Agency responsible: Ministerie vanJustitie
Bestuur Strafwetgeving enRechten vandeMens
Dienst Wapens
Waterloolaan 115
1000 Brussels
Agency orauthority designated tohandle comments regarding thenotification canbe
indicated ifdifferent from above:
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X],2.10.1 [],5.6.2 [],5.7.1 [],other:
4. Products covered (HSorCCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICSnumbers may beprovided inaddition, where applicable): Inter alia,locks,
laminated glass andwired glass, extinguishers, alarm equipment, strongboxes, etc.
5. Title, number ofpages andlanguage(s) ofthenotified document: Royal Order Defining
theSecurity Requirements Applicable totheStocking, Storing andCollection of
Firearms andAmmunition.
6. Description ofcontent: Permission tostore weapons andammunition ismade subject to
compliance withanumber ofsecurity measures, depending onthequantity andtypeof
weapons concerned. Anexisting Dutch standard isproposed forlocks, anexisting
Belgian standard isproposed forlaminated glass andwired glass. Alarm installations
mustbeinconformity withtheexisting regulations issued bytheMinistry oftheInterior
(Royal Decree of1991). Other safety measures haveonlytomeet specific criteria such
asweight, thickness, strength etc.,aswiththeregulations already inforce.
./.G/TBT/Notif.96.203
Page2
7. Objective andrationale: These regulations, which areessential fortheprotection of
public order andsafety, arelaiddown inthelegislation onweapons. Itisoften found,
when gunsmiths 'shops orarmouries arerobbed, thatsecurity measures were either not
taken orwere inadequate, andthattheweapons stolen subsequently passintoillegal
channels andarethenfrequently usedtocommit crimes. Through theapplication of
these regulations, persons storing weapons themselves willalsobebetter protected.
8. Relevant documents: TheWeapons ActandtheLawonSecurity Enterprises, asdefined
inthedraftlegislation, accompanied byseveral oftherelevant enforcement decrees. All
thetextsinquestion areannexed tothedraft.
9. Proposed dateofadoption:
Proposed dateofentry intoforce:60days
10. Final dateforcomments:
11. Texts available from: National enquiry point [X]oraddress andtelefax number ofother
body: CIBELNOR