BELGIUM

Brief Introduction

• Official name: Kingdom of Belgium; Koninkrijk België (Dutch); Royaume de Belgique

(French); Königreich Belgien (German)
• Capital: Brussels
• Official languages: Dutch; French; German
• Official religion: none
• Monetary unit: euro (€)
• Currency exchange rate: 1 USD equals 0.812 euro
• Population: (2017 est.) 11,357,000
• Form of Government: Federal Constitutional Monarchy
o Total area (SQ km): 30,528
The structure of the
Federal State and the
power levels
• At the top level, we now find the Federal
State, the Communities and the Regions,
all three of which are equal from the legal The Federal State,
viewpoint. They are on an equal footing the Communities,
but have powers and responsibilities for and the Regions
different fields.
• The next level down is still occupied by
the provinces. They are supervised by all
the higher government authorities, in the The Provinces
context of the federal, community or
regional powers.
• At the bottom of the pyramid, we find the
communes, which is the level of
administration that is closest to the The Communes
people. Like the provinces, they are under
the supervision of the higher authorities.
The Federal State
The Federal State
• the powers of the Federal State cover everything connected with the public interest. In the
general interest of all Belgians, the Federal State manages the public finances, the army,
the judicial system, social security, foreign affairs as well as substantial parts of public
health and home affairs. 
• The Federal State retains a considerable "common heritage". This includes the judicial
system, the army, the federal police, social security and the important laws in the field of
social, public debt, monetary policy, prices and incomes policy, protection of savings,
nuclear energy, State-owned companies, the federal scientific and cultural institutions, etc.
• responsible for the obligations of Belgium and its federalized institutions towards the
European Union or NATO.
• The Federal Government's powers also cover everything that does not expressly come
under the Communities or Regions. The Federal State also has powers for exemptions and
restrictions on the powers of the Communities and the Regions.
The Federal Government
• The Federal Government exercises the federal executive power.
• This Government is now limited to 15 ministers. With the possible exception
of the Prime Minister, the Federal Government consists of the same number
of Dutch-speakers and French-speakers.
• The Government implements the legislation.
• The Government also participates in the legislative power, through its right
of initiative. The Government can submit bills to the Parliament and has the
right to propose amendments. This means that it can submit amendments
to its own bills, and to the bills of members of parliament. A bill that has
been approved by Parliament only becomes law after signature by the
Government, i.e. the King and the Ministers.
Prime Minister
• The Prime Minister is the head of government. It implies that he
chairs the council of ministers and the inner cabinet, that he consults
his ministers and state secretaries, that he goes over their files and
that he searches for solutions in case of possible bottlenecks.
• As the head of the government, the Prime Minister is the
government's face and voice with respect to the country's main
institutions.
Council of Ministers
The Council of Ministers must deliberate on:
• all draft royal decrees which the Constitution or a law requires to be discussed by the Council of Ministers;
• draft resolutions intended to:
• either authorise an overspend on the approved budget;
• or request a provisional endorsement from the Court of Audit;
• or impose the Court of Audit endorsement;
• any application to annul a decree or ordinance which the Council of Ministers wishes to bring before the Constitutional
Court.
• The Council of Ministers must also discuss issues for which the government is responsible:

• draft bills
• draft cooperation agreements to which the State is a party
• draft bills approving cooperation agreements
• draft royal or ministerial decrees that have major political or budgetary implications
• draft circulars with budgetary implications
• any issue that could compromise government solidarity.
Federal Parliament
• In the Chamber of Representatives, the 150 representatives are
directly elected by universal suffrage. The Senate has 71 members: 40
senators (25 Dutch-speaking and 15 French-speaking) elected by the
population, 21 senators appointed by the Communities (10 from the
Flemish Community, 10 from the French Community and 1 from the
German-speaking Community) and 10 co-opted senators (6 Dutch-
speaking and 4 French-speaking). Then we have to add the senators
by right - these are some members of the royal family.
• The Federal Parliament (Chamber and Senate) votes on laws.
The powers of the Chamber and the Senate
• Some powers are exercised exclusively by the Chamber. This concerns the control of the Federal Government,
and among other things, the budget and the State accounts. With regard to the authority to force a
government to resign, the current article 96 of the Constitution stipulates that the government presents its
resignation when the Chamber of Deputies, by an absolute majority of its members, adopts a no-confidence
motion proposing to the King the appointment of a successor to the Prime Minister, or proposes to the King
the appointment of a successor to the Prime Minister within three days of the rejection of a confidence
motion.
• The Senate in turn has sole powers to settle conflicts of interest that may arise between the Federal
Parliament and the Parliaments of the Communities and the Regions.
• Other powers are exercised alternately by the Chamber and the Senate: the introduction of candidates for the
Court of Arbitration, the Court of Cassation and the Council of State (the Supreme Administrative Court).
• For the most important powers, the two assemblies act on an equal footing. Revision of the Constitution,
approval of certain laws and ratification of international conventions.
• Both assemblies exercise all other powers, but it is the Chamber that has the final say. The Senate is a forum
for reflection and is therefore only expected to pronounce on draft laws or proposals if it considers it
necessary. The Senate may also take the initiative in putting forward a proposal for a law.
The Regions
Regions
• There are three Regions. The names of the three regional institutions are borrowed
from the name of the territory they represent. So we refer to (from north to south)
the Flemish Region, the Brussels-Capital Region and the Walloon Region.
• The Regions have legislative and executive organs: these are known as the Regional
Parliament and the Regional Government.
• Regions have powers in fields that are connected with their region or territory in
the widest meaning of the term.
-The regions have powers relating to the economy, employment, agriculture, water
policy, housing, public works, energy, transport (except Belgian Railways), the
environment, town and country planning, nature conservation, credit, foreign trade,
supervision of the provinces, communes and intercommunal utility companies.
The Flemish Region
In Flanders, the powers of the
Community and the Region are exercised
by a single Parliament and a single
Government: the Flemish Parliament
and the Flemish Government.
The Walloon Region
• The Walloon Region has a legislative assembly, the
Walloon Parliament. It has 75 members who are directly
elected by universal suffrage for a five-year term.
• The members of the Walloon Parliament vote on decrees.
These are the laws of the Region. They also exercise
supervision over the Government of the Walloon Region,
also known as the Walloon Government.
• The 75 elected representatives of the Walloon Parliament,
as already mentioned, are also members of the French
Community Parliament, together with 19 French-language
elected representatives of the Parliament of the Brussels-
Capital Region.
• The executive power lies with the Walloon Government.
It consists of a maximum of nine Ministers, including the
Minister-President. These ministers can also be ministers
in the Government of the French Community.
 The Brussels-Capital Region
• The Parliament and the Governement of the Brussels-
Capital Region were only created during the State Reform of
1988-89. (The Flemish and Walloon Region have had theirs
since 1980). The fifth state reform introduces significant
modifications with regard to the institutions of Brussels.
• The Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region exercises the
legislative power by means of ordinances. The Brussels
Parliament is constituted by 89 deputies directly elected by
universal suffrage for a five-year term. The ordinances,
voted by the Parliament, have the same legal force as
decrees and federal laws. In strictly legal terms, ordinances
have less "force" than a decree or federal law under certain
circumstances.*
• The executive power lies with the Government of the
Brussels-Capital Region . The Government consists of one
Minister-President and four ministers, two of them French-
speaking and two Dutch-speaking. Three State Secretaries,
at least one of whom must be Dutch-speaking, are added to
the Regional Ministers.
• The Ministry of the Brussels-Capital Region is the most
important instrument of the Brussels government for the
execution of its policy.
The Communities
The Communities
• The concept of 'community' refers to persons that make up a community and the bond that
unifies them, namely their language and culture. Belgium sits across the fault line that separates
German and Latin cultures. This explains why the country has three official languages: Dutch,
French and German. As a result, Belgium today, has three communities: the Flemish Community,
the French Community and the German-speaking Community. These communities therefore
correspond with the population groups
• Since the Communities are based on the concept of "language" and language is "dependent on
the individual", a number of other powers are obviously associated with the Communities.
• The Community has powers for culture (theatre, libraries, audiovisual media, etc.), education,
the use of languages and matters relating to the individual which concern on the one hand
health policy (curative and preventive medicine) and on the other hand assistance to individuals
(protection of youth, social welfare, aid to families, immigrant assistance services, etc.) 
• They also have powers in the field of scientific research in relation to their powers and
international relations associated with their powers. 
The Flemish Community
• The Flemish Community exercises its powers in the Flemish
provinces and in Brussels.
• The Flemish Parliament and the Flemish Government exercise
the legislative powers of the Flemish Community. The Flemish
Parliament consists of all the Council members directly elected
in the Flemish Region and the six Dutch-speaking members of
the Brussels-Capital Parliament. The 6 also directly elected
Flemish members of the Parliament, together with the 118
Council members, make up the 124-strong Flemish Parliament. 
• Ten members of the Flemish Parliament have seats in the
Senate: they are the "community senators" 
• The Flemish Parliament votes on decrees: these are the laws of
the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region. 
• The Government of the Flemish Community exercises the
executive power and consists of a maximum of ten Ministers,
and one Minister-President. 
• At least one Minister must reside in the Brussels-Capital Region.
Please note that the Brussels Minister(s) who is/are member(s)
of the Flemish Community Government, do(es) not take part in
the decisions relating to the powers of the Flemish Region. 
The French Community
• The French Community exercises its powers in the Walloon
provinces (except the German-speaking communes) and in
Brussels.
• In the French Community, the legislative power is exercised by a
Parliament and a Government. The legislative assembly - the
Parliament of the French Community - consists of 94 members:
the 75 elected representatives of the Walloon Parliament and
19 French-speaking elected representatives of the Parliament of
Brussels-Capital Region.
• The Parliament of the French Community delegates ten of its
members to seats in the Senate: they are the community
senators.
• The Parliament votes on decrees: these are the laws of the
French Community.
• The Government of the French Community exercises the
executive power. It consists of a maximum of eight members,
including the Minister-President. At least one Minister must
reside in the Brussels-Capital Region.
The German-speaking Community
• Ostbelgien
• The German-speaking Community exercises its powers in the
communes of the province of Liège and the German-speaking
area.
• In the German-speaking Community, the legislative power is
exercised by a Parliament and a Government. The Parliament of
the German-speaking Community consists of 25 members. One
of them has a seat in the federal Senate. The Parliament of the
German-speaking Community is directly elected. So it consists
exclusively of directly elected members.
• Just like the Parliaments of the Flemish Community and the
French-speaking Community, the Parliament of the German-
speaking Community votes on decrees.
• The executive power is exercised by the Government of the
German-speaking Community. This consists of a Minister-
President and three Ministers.
PROVINCES
Provinces
• There are five subdivision of provinces in both the Walloon Region
and Flemish Region, Brussels Region however is not subdivided
• The provinces have extensive powers. They have devised initiatives in
the fields of education, social and cultural infrastructures, preventive
medicine and social policy. They also deal with the environment, with
highways and waterways, the economy, transport, public works,
housing, use of official languages, etc.
Powers of the Provinces
• The provinces are secondary administrations that exercise their powers autonomously. And that
does not mean that they exercise their powers without any supervision from higher authorities.
For example, a provincial school is run under the supervision of the Community, while an
initiative on town and country planning will be supervised by the Region.
• The Permanent Delegation is responsible for the day-to-day running of provincial business.
Among other things, it has the power to grant licences for the operation of industrial, crafts,
commercial and agricultural premises that entail risks or are harmful and which need to be
regulated.
• The Provincial Governor has a range of powers relating to security and public order. He organises
for example the co-ordination of relief campaigns in the event of large disasters.
• The province is responsible for everything in its territory that is of provincial interest, in other
words anything which needs to be done in the interests of the province and which does not come
under the general interest of the Federal State, the Communities and the Regions, or under the
communal interest.
The Provincial Institutions
• The provinces are autonomous institutions and are under the supervision of the Federal State, the
Communities and mainly the Regions.
• The provinces have a Provincial Council.
• The members of the Provincial Council are directly elected for a six-year term. The Provincial Council
takes decisions of a general nature, votes on provincial regulations and draws up the budget for the
province.
• The Provincial Council appoints the six members of the Permanent Deputation from among its ranks.
The delegates form the Permanent Deputation.
• The Permanent Deputation executes the resolutions of the Provincial Council and ensures day-to-day
management. It is chaired by the Governor.
• The Governor is not elected; he is appointed or dismissed by the King, under the responsibility of the
Minister for the Home Department.
COMMUNES
Powers of the Communes
• The powers of the communes are very extensive and cover everything that is in the "communal
interest", in other words the collective needs of the inhabitants. In theory, a commune can do
anything that it is not prohibited from doing, ranging from building a sports centre to road-building.
• The communes have powers relating to public works, social welfare, maintaining public order,
housing, education, etc
• In its plans, it is naturally subject to the supervision of the higher authorities, specifically the
Federal State, the Communities, the Regions and the provinces.
• The communes must also perform the tasks imposed on them by higher authorities.
• They are mainly charged with the police forces, maintaining the registers of births, deaths and
marriages, plus the registers of the population. The Mayor is the head of the local police in
performing administrative police tasks.
• It is also at communal level that the Public Centre for Social Assistance operates, providing social
services.
The Communal Institutions

• In every commune, there is a communal council that consists of

between 7 and 55 members, depending on the number of
inhabitants. The Council deals with everything of "communal
interest", by means of communal regulations.
• The Council elects the Aldermen who, together with the Mayor, form
the College of Mayor and Aldermen.
• Currently there are 589 communes, majority of them are Flemish
consisting of 308 Flemish cities and communes
Judicial branch
Social law Commercial law Civil law Criminal law

Federal territory Court of Cassation (Hof van Cassatie / Cour de cassation)

Social Chamber — Civil and Commercial Chamber — Criminal Chamber

Court of Labour
Judicial areas (5)  (Arbeidshof / Cour du Court of Appeal (Hof van beroep / Cour d'appel)
travail)

Court of Assize (Hof
van Assisen / Cour
Provinces/Brussels (11) d'Assises), a jury trial
 for felonies and
political trials

Labour Court Commercial Court

Judicial  (Rechtbank van Court of First Instance (Rechtbank van eerste
arrondissements (27)  (Arbeidsrechtbank / koophandel / Tribunal aanleg / Tribunal de première instance)
Tribunal du travail)
de commerce)

1-3 per judicial Police Court (Politierechtbank / Tribunal de

arrondissement (35) police)

Judicial cantons (225) Justice of the peace (Vrederechter / justice de la

Paix)