Belgium
Civil law jurisdiction
Belgium is a civil law jurisdiction, based on the French civil code.
1. The Belgian (entrenched) Constitution establishes that Belgium is a federal state,
composed of Communities and Regions.
a. 3 communities:
i. Flemish.
ii. French.
iii. German-speaking.
b. And 3 regions:
i. Flandres.
ii. Wallonie.
iii. Bruxelles Capitale.
c. Both federated entities overlap each other.
d. This three-tiered federation was a compromise, designed to minimize
linguistic, cultural, social, and economic tensions.
2. Hence, Belgium is a constitutional state, a rule of law system.
3. The Constitution allows the distribution of power:
a. Legislative.
i. King.
ii. Parliament.
1. Chamber of Representatives.
2. Senate.
b. Executive.
i. King.
ii. Federal government.
c. Judiciary.
i. Independent judges and magistrates.
4. The Constitution can be amended by the Legislative.
a. The Legislative must declare that there are reasons to revise the constitution.
b. This is done by means of two Declarations of Revision of the Constitution:
i. One is adopted by the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate.
ii. The other by the King and the Federal Government.
c. This leads to the dissolvement of the Federal Parliament, with new elections
and a new Parliament, which will amend the Constitution.
, Constitutional reforms
There are 4 steps of constitutional reforms in Belgium:
1. 1830: Belgium is officially monolingual (French).
a. The use of language was free, but only in the private life.
b. French was the official language.
c. The Flemish influence increased with the universal suffrage.
2. 1898: Belgium is officially bilingual (French and Dutch).
a. Legislation was also adopted and published in Dutch.
b. However, French remained the leading language in practice.
i. In local administration.
ii. Higher education.
iii. And judicial branch.
3. 1932-1935: language laws.
a. Regional monolinguism was implemented.
4. 1962-1963: demarcation of the linguistic border and division of the country in
linguistic areas.
a. 4 linguistic areas:
i. Dutch-speaking.
ii. French-speaking.
iii. German-speaking.
iv. Bilingual area of Bruxelles Capitale region.
b. There are linguistic “facilities” for minorities along the linguistic border.
i. For example, Kraainem and Wezembeek-Oppem are “communes à
facilité”.
Hereditary representative parliamentary monarchy
Belgium is a hereditary parliamentary monarchy.
1. A hereditary monarchy a system in which the crown is passed from one member of
the family to another.
2. A parliamentary monarchy is a political system where the monarch exercises their
authority in accordance with the Constitution.
3. King Philippe is the symbol of the country and its institution.
a. However, he doesn’t pass and implement laws.
b. He signs them with the approval of a minister.
c. Therefore, the King plays a ceremonial and symbolic role.
Belgium is a representative parliamentary democracy, founded on the principle of indirect
democracy and national sovereignty.
1. A representative democracy (or indirect democracy) is a system where people vote for
representatives, who then enact policy initiatives.
2. A parliamentary democracy is a form of democracy in which the party with the
greatest representation in Parliament forms the actual government.
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