The Constitutional Court of Belgium (Dutch: Grondwettelijk Hof, French: Cour constitutionelle, German: Verfassungsgerichtshof) plays a central role within the federal Belgian state. This is a judicial court founded in 1980. Its jurisdiction was augmented in 1988 and 2003. Successive Belgian kings are 1831-1865: Léopold I (34) 1865-1909: Léopold II (44) 1909-1934: Albert I (25) 1934-1951: Léopold III (16) 1944-1950: Charles, reigned as Prince Regent 1951-1993: Baudouin I (42) Since 1993: Albert II (13) None of these were King of... Albert II, King of the Belgians (Albert Félix Humbert Théodore Chrétien Eugène Marie), (born June 6, 1934), is the current King of the Belgians and a constitutional monarch. ... The executive branch of the Belgian federal government consists of ministers and secretaries of state (junior ministers or smaller departments) drawn from the political parties which form the government coalition. ... This is a list of Prime Ministers of Belgium, known regionally as: Premier Ministre in French, Eerste Minister in Dutch, and Premierminister in German. ... Guy Verhofstadt (help· info) (born April 11, 1953) is a Belgian politician, municipal councillor in Ghent and current Prime Minister of Belgium. ... The Belgian Federal Parliament is a bicameral parliament. ... The Belgian Senate (Dutch: de Senaat, French: le Sénat) is one of the two chambers of the Belgian Federal Parliament. ... The Belgian Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: de Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers, French: la Chambre des Représentants) is one of the two chambers of the Belgian Federal Parliament. ... Belgium has a multi-party political system, with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. ... Elections in Belgium gives information on election and election results in Belgium. ... The May 18, 2003 Belgian general elections were the first Belgian elections to be held under a new electoral code. ... The next Belgian general election is scheduled to take place on Sunday June 24, 2007. ... On June 13, 2004, regional elections were held in Belgium, to choose representatives in the regional councils of Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels, as well as in the German Community Council. ... The Belgian municipal elections, 2000 took place on Sunday October 8, 2000. ... The Belgian municipal elections, 2006 took place on Sunday October 8, 2006. ... Administrative division. ... Belgium is a federal state and is composed of three communities, three regions, and four linguistic regions. ... The European Union or EU is a supranational and international organization of 27 member states. ... The Concert of Europe sanctioned the creation of Belgium in 1830 on the condition that the country remain strictly neutral. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... A trial at the Old Bailey in London as drawn by Thomas Rowlandson and Augustus Pugin for Ackermanns Microcosm of London (1808-11). ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... In law, jurisdiction (from the Latin ius, iuris meaning law and dicere meaning to speak) is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

History

Originally founded as the Court of Arbitration, the court owes its existence to the development of the Belgian unitary state into a federal state. The original name that had been given to the Court already says a lot about its mission, which is to supervise the observance of the constitutional division of powers between the federal state, the communities and the regions. A map showing the unitary states. ... A federal state is one that brings together a number of different political communities with a common government for common purposes, and separate state or provincial or cantonal governments for the particular purposes of each community. ...

The Court of Arbitration was officially inaugurated in the Belgian Senate on 1 October 1984. On 5 April 1985 it delivered its first judgment. In May 2007, upon a change of the Belgian Constitution, the court was renamed Constitutional Court as this name is more in keeping with the actual jurisdiction of the court. The Belgian Senate (Dutch: de Senaat, French: le Sénat) is one of the two chambers of the Belgian Federal Parliament. ...

Competence

Since 1988, the Court is also responsible for supervising the application of some particular articles of the Belgian constitution, e.g. the principles of equality, non-discrimination and the rights and liberties in respect of education (the Articles 10, 11 and 24 of the Belgian constitution). With a Special law of 2003, this competence was expanded to the Section II (Articles 8 to 32), and the Articles 170, 172 and 191 of the Belgian Constitution. The Court is therefore developing into a constitutional court. This is the translation in English of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Belgium as provided by the Parliament. ... A Constitutional Court is a high court found in many countries which deals primary with constitutional law. ...

The court has two modi operandi. Each stakeholder can within 60 days of publication of a law, decree or ordinance go to the Court in order to have the law, decree or ordinance annulled because of a breach of the aforementioned Articles of the Belgian Constitution or because of a breach of the division of powers between the federal state, the communities and the regions. When the Court decides to annul a law, decree or ordinance it counts erga omnes, for all persons.

The second modus operandus of the court are the preliminary issues. If a question comes up in a particular tribunal about the correspondence of laws, decrees and ordinances with the rules laying down the division of powers between the State, the communities and the regions or with Articles 8 to 32, 170, 172 or 191 of the Constitution, that tribunal must address a preliminary question to the Court of Arbitration as the Court has the exclusive competence of interpreting the Constitution and the competence dividing rules. When the Court finds a breach of these articles, it will pronounce its decision inter partes, meaning the ruling has only effect between the parties of the specific case. Such judgement however has great moral value and will force the parliament which made the targeted law, decree or ordinance in question to amend it.

Judges

The Court is composed of 12 judges (2 linguistic groups of which 6 Dutch and 6 French speakers, one of them must have an adequate knowledge of German) appointed for their lifetime by the King (in person of the federal government) within a list of candidates provided by the federal parliament. The list to fill a vacancy contains two candidates proposed alternately by the Chamber of People's Representatives and the Senate by a majority of at least two-thirds of the members present. Each linguistic group is composed of three judges with a legal background and three judges who have had at least five years experience as members of parliament. Candidates must be at least forty years of age. The judges may hold office until they reach seventy years of age, when they retire from the bench. The executive branch of the Belgian federal government consists of ministers and secretaries of state (junior ministers or smaller departments) drawn from the political parties which form the government coalition. ... The Belgian Federal Parliament is a bicameral parliament. ... The Belgian Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: de Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers, French: la Chambre des Représentants) is one of the two chambers of the Belgian Federal Parliament. ... The Belgian Senate (Dutch: de Senaat, French: le Sénat) is one of the two chambers of the Belgian Federal Parliament. ...

Composition

The Court is currently composed as follows:

Marc Bossuyt (b. ... Baron is a specific title of nobility or a more generic feudal qualification. ... Erik Derycke (Waregem, October 28, 1949 - ) is a Flemish socialist politician, lawyer, former minister, judge at the Belgian Court of Arbitration and a freemason. ...

Judges' background

• Alen (b. 1950) is a law professor and a former chief of staff to the Prime Minister
• Arts (b. 1937) is a former senator,
• Bossuyt (b. 1944) is a law professor and a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration
• De Groot (b. 1948) is a former Member of Parliament
• Derycke (b. 1949) is a former minister of foreign affairs
• Henneusse (b. 1943) is a former senator
• Lavryssen (b. 1956) is a law professor and former judge at the Council of State
• Martens (b. 1940) is a law professor and former judge at the Council of State
• Melchior (b. 1940) is a law professor
• Moerman (b. 1952) is a former Member of Parliament
• Snappe (b. 1951) is a former member of Parliament and senator
• Spreutels (b. 1951) is a former advocate-general at the Court of Cassation

Arts will retire from the bench in October 2007 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), also known as the Hague Tribunal is an international organization based in The Hague in the Netherlands. ... Council of State (Dutch: Raad van State, French: Conseil dÉtat), in Belgium, is an organ of the Belgian government. ... The Cour de cassation is the main court of last resort in France. ...

See also

• Politics of Belgium
• Communities, regions and provinces of Belgium

The Kingdom of Belgium is a sovereign, independent state. ... Belgium is a federal state and is composed of three communities, three regions, and four linguistic regions. ...

External links

• Homepage of the Court of Arbitration