Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citations - New York ...

BELGIUM
Koninkrijk België / Royaume de Belgique (Kingdom of Belgium)
I. COUNTRY PROFILE (Civil Law)
Belgium is a constitutional, parliamentary monarchy. The three official languages are
Dutch, French and German. There is a federal government, three Communities (the Flemish,
French, and German Communities) and three Regions (the Flemish, Walloon, and the Brussels-
Capital Regions). There are also ten Provinces. Roughly speaking, the Communities deal with
cultural affairs, education and health, and the Regions mainly deal with economic affairs.
The federal government’s power is limited by Article 35 of the Constitution to those
powers which the Constitution and quasi-constitutional laws (a special type of laws adopted by
special majorities) formally confer upon it. Legislation implementing Article 35, however, has
not yet been enacted. Until it is, the Regions and Communities hold only those powers expressly
conferred upon them by the Constitution and quasi-constitutional laws, and the federal
government continues to hold all residual powers. Belgium has a bicameral Parliament
composed of a Senate (Senaat in Flemish, Sénat in French) and a House of Representatives
(Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers in Flemish, Chambre des Députés in French). Because the
importance of the Senate has been reduced over time, the system is no longer fully bicameral.
The King, the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate collectively exercise the legislative
power. The King’s role, however, is primarily ceremonial. The Prime Minister is formally
appointed by the King and approved by Parliament.
The Constitution vests the judicial power in the courts. There is the Court of Cassation
(Hof van Cassatie in Flemish or Cour de Cassation in French). The Court of Cassation is the
highest court of appeals in its areas of compentency. It consists of bilingual Chambers
specializing in civil cases, labor cases and criminal cases. Its judges are appointed for life by the
King. The Arbitragehof (Cour d’Arbitrage) can declare laws unconstitutional. The Raad van
State (Conseil d’Etat) gives advice about proposed laws and regulations and also is the highest
administrative court. The government appoints and dismisses the officials of the public
prosecutor’s office.
The five Courts of Appeals in Belgium are the Brussels court, whose jurisdiction includes
the provinces of Walloon Brabant, Flemish Brabant and the Region of Brussels-Capital; the
Ghent court, whose jurisdiction includes the provinces of West-Flanders and East-Flanders; the
Antwerp court, whose jurisdiction includes the provinces of Antwerp and Limburg; the Liège
court, whose jurisdiction includes the provinces of Liège, Namur and Luxembourg; and the
Mons court, whose jurisdiction includes the province of Hainaut. Courts with limited
jurisdiction include commercial courts and labor courts which are governed by special laws.
Internet Resource:
Belgian Federal Portal
http://www.belgium.fgov.be
II. CITATION GUIDE
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