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Article 458 of the Criminal Code provides for two exceptions to the duty of professional secrecy of a physician. There is no offence if a physician discloses confidential information during a testimony before a court or before a Parliamentary Committee, neither when a law obliges him to divulge such information.
- When a physician is summoned to testify in a court, he has a right (some call it a mere possibility) to speak: he cannot be sanctioned for a breach of his duty to medical secrecy. It is generally recognized that the physician has in such a case also a right to silence or testimonial privilege, this is a permission for the physician to refuse to disclose medical information in court. This right has been expressly recognized by Article 929 Civil Procedure Code. The Criminal Procedure Code does not contain a similar disposition, but in criminal affairs the testimonial privilege is generally accepted. The decision to testify or not to disclose medical information rests upon the physician, having regard to the interests of the patient. The testimonial privilege applies only to confidential disclosures made to a physician.
- In certain circumstances the law requires disclosure of information about a patient without his consent and even in face of his refusal.
The Crown order of 1 March 1971 concerning the prophylaxis of communicable diseases (Moniteur belge, 23 April 1971; IDHL, 1972, 452) makes the notification of any case, either confirmed or suspected, of a disease enumerated in Article 1 compulsory. Note that HIV-infection is not in this enumeration. This Crown order has been abolished for the Flemish Community by a Community Decree of 5 April 1995 on the prophylaxis of communicable diseases (Moniteur belge, 19 July 1995).
Health insurance legislation further contains specific exceptions to the duty to medical secrecy.
The Law on the Prophylaxis of Venereal Diseases of 24 January 1945, Moniteur belge, 26 January 1945, imposes an obligation to notify any of the four venereal diseases mentioned in Article 1 of this act. Also this law has been repealed and replaced by the Community Decree.
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