Chapter 2B - Belgian constitutional law Flashcards
1815-1830
- Kingdom of the United Netherlands received criticism from Liberals and Catholics (=main political parties) towards King Willem I
- The Catholics dislike his interference w religion while the liberals are opposed idea of mandatory dutch in schools and institutions
August 1830
- First disturbances flare up after the performance of ‘The Portici Mute’
- The belgian revolation
4 October 1830
- Temporary Government proclaims Belgium’s Independence and decides to elect a parliament to draw up the constitution: the Nation Congress
- Only took a couple of months to proclaim independence
10 november 1830
the National Congress is established
7 February 1831
the Belgian Constitution is proclaimed
21 July 1831
Leopold I, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, takes the constitutional oath to become the first King of the Belgians
Separation of powers
- Legislative power
- Executive power
- Judicial power
Legislative power
task: making acts and monitoring the executive power. Parliament (House of Representatives + Senate) and the king
Executive power
Task: enforcing and executing acts, runs the country and follows the acts during this process.
King (head of the executive power!) and his government of ministers and secretaries
Judicial power
Task: pronouncing on disputes and monitoring the lawfulness of the acts and executive orders.
Various courts and tribunals (hierarchy)
Federal system there are three levels.
- Federal state + Communities and Regions
- Provinces
- Municipalities
Federal state
Belgian territory
Regions
Flemish, Walloon, and Brussels-Capital region
Communities
Flemish, French, and German-speaking community
Court of Cassation
The supreme court. Its jurisdiction covers the entire territory of Belgium, and it’s seated in Brussels. This court does not deal with the substance of cases but examines whether the decisions referred to it break the law or the rules of procedure.
=> The Court of Cassation is only applicable to judgements against which no ordinary appeal is possible anymore. It is NOT a criminal court or third appeal, but breaks off judgement from the last court.
Court of Appeal
Examines and review law cases ruled by a lower court (first instance - commercial court). It deals by way of a second opinion with the substance of the cases, and is divided into chambers. These include…
- the civil chamber (civil + commercial cases)
- the criminal chamber
- the youth chamber
Five Courts of Appeal
- Mons: Province of Hainaut
- Antwerp: Provinces of Antwerp & Limburg
- Liège: Provinces of Liège, Namur & Luxembourg
- Ghent: Provinces of West Flanders & East Flanders
- Brussels : Provinces of French- & Flemish speaking Brabant & the bilingual region of Brussels-Capital
Labour Court
An appeal court for cases tried by the labour tribunals with a mixed composition of 1 professional judges in the labour court, and 2 lay judges in social matters.
Assize Court
A non-permanent court with a mixed composition of professional judges and the people’s jury. It is organized in the administrative capital of the province and tries things such as…
- Criminal cases
- Political
- Crimes committed by way of the “printing press”
BUT it takes a lot of time and money, so public prosecutors often choose not to bring it in front of court. Due to this, crimes like hate crimes are mostly not being sanctioned.
=> It handles some of the worst crimes that can happen (murder, rape, etc.), but only when it’s brought to their attention by an attorney general. These days people want to abolish the court, and it’s not present in most of the EU countries.
District Court
A court that rules on competence issues and refers a case to the competent court. It is organized on district level and is composed of…
- The president of the first instance court
- The president of the commercial court
-The president of the labour court
Appealing against its judgement is impossible.
First Instance Court
A court that is organized on district, and is divided into sections. These sections include…
- Criminal court; in which they try criminal offences and appeal is always possible.
- Civil court; in which they hear civil disputes and appeal depends on the amount. It starts at 5k euros.
- Family and Youth court; which is split up in family chambers (cases related to adoption, marriage, divorce, inheritance, etc.) and youth chambers (criminal offences committed by minors and protective measures involving minors)
=> Appellate courts for cases not exceeding 5000 euros are tried by police courts and justice of the peace.
Commercial court
A court for all enterprises that work with an economic purpose. It’s organized on district level and has a mixed composition of professional judges and lay judges. They’re concerned with…
- Disputes between “businesses” (since judiciary reform by act of 26 March 2014)
- Commercial and corporate cases
- Bankruptcy and insolvency cases
Labour tribunal
Specialized tribunal organised on district level that…
- Hears cases related to labour law and social security law. This includes…
- Disputes between employer and employee
- Disputes between employees related to the workingfloor
- Disputes related to pensions, unemployment compensation
- Hears cases related to collective debt settlement of private persons
Justice of the peace
A single-judge court that is corcerned with cases in which the amount at stake does not exceed 5k euros. These types of cases include…
- Renting, consumer credit, servitude
- Family allowance, custody of minors
- …
Settlements are often made in these courts.
Police court
A single-judge court that is concerned with…
- Cases of smaller crimes
- Cases related to traffic
Public Prosecutor’s Office
Near the higher courts:
- Court of Cassation: Attorney General
- Court of Appeal: Attorney General
- Labour Court: Auditor General
Near the lower courts:
- First Instance Court: Senior Crown Prosecutor
- Commercial Court: Senior Crown Prosecutor
- Labour Tribunal: Labour Auditor
- Police Court: Senior Crown Prosecutor
Constitutional court
A court originally created to rule on conflicts of competence between the federal and the regional authorities .
=> They can annul legislation which breaches the constitution and rule on the conformity of legislation with specific requirements in the constitution. Their rulings are preliminary rulings.
Council of State
Their administrative section is the highest administrative court. The legislative section gives motivated opinions on draft laws, decrees and orders and proposes amendments to these drafts.
The Belgian constitution
The reason for Belgium’s monarchy is raising confidence in surrounding countries. The king has limited personal powers, which makes him unaccountable and incompetent. –> BUT he is empowered to listen to, advise, and encourage the government.
=> Constitutional power is passed on in hereditary succession according to the right of primogeniture.
History of the Belgian voting system
Aside from a monarchy, Belgium is also a representative and parliamentary democracy.
1831: Levy-based electoral system
1893: Universal right of plural of compulsory voting
1919: Universal single vote system, or one man one vote system
1948: Women were given the right to vote and to be eligible
Later evolutions include the minimum age of 18, EU citizens’ right to vote and foreigners’ right to vote
Human rights in the Constitution
Some examples of human rights in the constitution include…
- Equality and non-discrimination
- Freedom of expression, religion and worship, use of language, public meeting, etc.
- The right to privacy, an impartial judge, social security, property and ownership, etc.
Amending the constitution is a difficult procedure since there are 2 legislatures, and there needs to be a constitutional majority (2/3 majority of every language group).
