award of National Order for the various ministries. In addition, the National Orders may be awarded by the King for especially meritorious deeds. The Royal Decrees are published in the Belgian Official Journal (Moniteur Belge). The Minister responsible for Foreign Affairs, currently the Federal Public Service (SPF/FOD) Foreign Affairs, administers the national orders and has a role of advisor in cases not fitting within a regulation. For the award of National Orders for persons to which no regulation apply or has been adopted, the number of awards is limited every year by decision of the Council of Ministers (contingent). The classes of the National Orders are integrated in a combined hierarchy defined by law, whereby within one class the Order of Leopold is senior to the Order of the Crown, which is senior to the Order of Leopold II. Except in some specific cases, one cannot be awarded a National Order at a level below the highest that the recipient has already received. People who are the subject of criminal proceedings will usually not be awarded a National Order until they are declared not guilty. Award conditions to military personnel The Order of Leopold II is mostly awarded to military personnel on the basis of their length of service, although exceptions to that rule exist where the order is presented to military personnel for exceptional or meritorious service. (e.g. awards to officers or non-commissioned officers for devoted service to His Majesy the King). When officers are considered for the award based on their length of service, their years of service in a non-officer's rank count for half. The first twelve years of service as a member of the flying personnel counts double. Grand Officer: Awarded at the time of retirement to a major-general having a minimum of 40 years of meritorious service; Commander: Awarded after 30 years of meritorious service to a field officer member of the flying personnel with minimum rank of lieutenant-colonel, or at the time of retirement to other field officers with minimum rank of lieutenant-colonel having a minimum of 30 years of meritorious service; Officer: Awarded after 22 years of meritorious service to a commissioned officer member of the flying personnel with minimum rank of captain, or at the time of retirement to other commissioned officers with minimum rank of captain having between 20 and 25 years of meritorious service; Knight: Awarded after 13 years of