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35-583: 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. The Court of Arbitration was officially inaugurated in

70-488: 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 operandi of

105-504: 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 practice, 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 Representatives and

140-590: Is delegated by the Parliament of the United Kingdom , which may enact laws unilaterally altering or abolishing devolution. Similarly in Spain , the devolved powers are delegated through the central government. Belgian Federal Parliament Opposition (29) Opposition (74) The Federal Parliament ( Dutch : Federaal Parlement ; French : Parlement fédéral ; German : Föderales Parlament )

175-635: Is not required for the bill to pass. The matters for which the Chamber of Representatives is exclusively responsible include naturalizations , ministerial liability, State budget, and accounts and military quotas. The United Chambers (Dutch: Verenigde Kamers , French: Chambres réunies , German: Vereinigten Kammern ) is the name given to the body created when both chambers of the Federal Parliament meet in joint session . The United Chambers are convened only on certain occasions enumerated in

210-445: Is required to make amendments. This means that the sub-national units have a right to existence and powers that cannot be unilaterally changed by the central government. Italics : States with limited recognition from other sovereign states or intergovernmental organizations . The United Kingdom is an example of a unitary state. Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland have a degree of autonomous devolved power, but such power

245-623: Is the bicameral parliament of Belgium . It consists of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate . It sits in the Palace of the Nation (Dutch: Paleis der Natie ; French: Palais de la Nation ; German: Palast der Nation ) in the centre of the nation's capital, Brussels . The Chamber of Representatives is the primary legislative body ; the Senate functions only as a meeting place of

280-731: The Belgian Constitution : the King must take the constitutional oath before the United Chambers, in accordance with article 91 of the Constitution, and the United Chambers must provide for the regency if the successor to the Crown is a minor or the King is unable to reign, in accordance with articles 92 and 93 of the Constitution. The last session of the United Chambers took place on 21 July 2013, when King Philippe took

315-523: 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. Since 1988, the Court is also responsible for supervising the application of some particular articles of the Belgian constitution such as

350-497: The Federal Parliament and at least two judges with a legal background. Cases can also be heard by the whole Court if either President so decides or if at least two judges of the ordinary panel of seven judges so requests. If cases are heard by the whole Court, the Court cannot rule unless at least 10 judges and an equal number of Dutch- and French-speaking judges are present. In this case, if the votes are equally divided,

385-829: The French period . During the Dutch period , it was one of two homes of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the other being in The Hague . Following Belgian independence in 1830, the Provisional Government of Belgium and Belgian National Congress moved into the building and the first session of the House of Representatives and Senate was held there a year later. The building stands across

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420-599: The Palace of the Nation in Brussels ( see below ). Eligibility requirements for the Chamber are a minimum age of 21, citizenship , and residency in Belgium. The number of seats in the Chamber is constitutionally set at 150 elected from 11 electoral districts. The districts are divided along linguistic lines: 5 Flemish (87 seats), 5 Walloon (48 seats), and the bilingual district of Brussels (15 seats). The districts are

455-400: 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. Currently six of

490-463: The UN member countries , 166 out of 193, have a unitary system of government, while significant population and land mass is under some kind of federation. A unitary system of government can be considered to be the opposite of federalism . In federations, the provincial/regional governments share powers with the central government as equal actors through a written constitution , to which the consent of both

525-857: The community and regional parliaments : 29 by the Flemish Parliament , 10 by the Parliament of the French Community , 8 by the Walloon Parliament , 2 by the French-language group of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region , and 1 by the Parliament of the German-speaking Community . The 10 other senators are co-opted: elected by the 50 other senators. Eligibility requirements for the Senate are identical to those for

560-765: The Belgian State, laws approving agreements of cooperation between the Federal State , the Communities and the Regions , laws on the approval of international treaties, and laws on the organization of the judiciary, the Council of State , and the Constitutional Court . In this case, the mandatory bicameral procedure applies, which means that both Chambers must pass exactly the same version of

595-687: The Brussels-Capital Region and some 35 Dutch-speaking municipalities in Flemish Brabant , including 7 with language facilities for French-speakers, voters in the 6 municipalities with language facilities surrounding Brussels have been given the right to vote in the Brussels district instead. The current composition was elected at the federal elections of 2024 . Since 2014, the Senate (Dutch: Senaat , French: Sénat , German: Senat ) consists of 60 members. There are two categories of senators: co-opted senators and senators of community and regional parliaments. 50 senators are elected by and from

630-535: The Chamber. Before 2014, the Senate consisted of 71 senators, only 21 of which were elected by the community parliaments. 25 were directly elected by the Flemish-speaking constituency and 15 by the French-speaking constituency. The last direct election of these 40 members occurred in the 2010 federal elections . The 2014 elections were the first ones with the reformed Senate. The President of

665-493: The President of the Court has a casting vote . The appeal must include the subject of the appeal and must be motivated. The party submitting the appeal can also request that the law, decree or ordinance in question be suspended pending a final ruling by the Court. A law, decree or ordinance can be suspended only when the application of the law, decree or ordinance in question could incur serious, and difficult to repair, harm to

700-408: The Senate did the same parliamentary work on an equal footing, but now there are three different legislative procedures that can be followed: the one-chamber procedure, the optional two-chamber procedure, and the mandatory two-chamber procedure. In certain matters, both Chambers have equal power. These include constitutional revisions, laws requiring a qualified majority, laws on the basic structure of

735-462: The Senate since 2014 has been Christine Defraigne ( MR ). The Senate holds its plenary meetings in the Palace of the Nation, Brussels. Since the elections of 21 May 1995, there has been a breakdown of powers between the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate, which resulted in the latter having fewer competencies than the Chamber of Representatives. Prior to that, the Chamber of Representatives and

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770-403: The amendments proposed by the Senate or make new proposals. The Senate can also submit a bill it has adopted to the Chamber, which can approve, reject or amend it. Whatever the case, the Chamber has the final word. The one-chamber procedure applies in cases where the Chamber of Representatives has the sole power to legislate. It means that the Senate cannot intervene and that the Senate's approval

805-456: The bill. For most other legislation, the Chamber of Representatives takes precedence over the Senate and the optional bicameral procedure applies. This means that the Senate may still intervene as a chamber of consideration and reflection. It has the opportunity to, within specific time limits, examine the bills adopted by the Chamber of Representatives and, if there is a reason to do so, make amendments. The Chamber may subsequently adopt or reject

840-538: The constitutional oath. The Palace of the Nation (Dutch: Paleis der Natie , French: Palais de la Nation , German: Palast der Nation ) was built from 1778 to 1783 to a neoclassical design by the French architect Gilles-Barnabé Guimard and includes sculptures by Gilles-Lambert Godecharle . Under Austrian rule , it housed the Sovereign Council of Brabant before being used as a courthouse during

875-525: 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 Constitutional Court as the Court has

910-430: 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 effect only between the parties of the specific case. Such a judgement, however, has great moral value and will force the parliament which made the targeted law, decree or ordinance in question to amend it. The Court

945-537: The federal communities and regions . The Belgian Constitution does not mention the Federal Parliament as such; it stipulates that the federal legislative power is exercised by the King and the Chamber of Representatives (and exceptionally the Senate), and defines when the United Chambers convene. The Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers , French: Chambre des Représentants , German: Abgeordnetenkammer ) holds its plenary meetings in

980-468: The party submitting the appeal. 50°50′31″N 4°21′37″E  /  50.8419°N 4.3603°E  / 50.8419; 4.3603 Unitary state List of forms of government A unitary state is a state or sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create or abolish administrative divisions (sub-national or sub state units). Such units exercise only

1015-548: The powers that the central government chooses to delegate. Although political power may be delegated through devolution to regional or local governments by statute , the central government may alter the statute, to override the decisions of devolved governments or expand their powers. The modern unitary state concept originated in France ; in the aftermath of the Hundred Years' War , national feelings that emerged from

1050-587: 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 . The court has two modi operandi. Each stakeholder can within 6 months of publication of

1085-424: The provinces and the Brussels-Capital Region. Each district is given a number of seats proportional to its population (not the number of voters) ranging from 4 for Luxembourg to 24 for Antwerp . All districts have an electoral threshold of 5%, except for Brussels and Leuven . After the dissolution of the former Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde district in 2013, which encompassed both the 19 bilingual municipalities from

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1120-457: The request of two thirds of its members, and by any person who can demonstrate an interest in the cancellation. In other words, the law, decree or ordinance must be harmful to the party submitting the appeal. Cases before the Constitutional Court are normally heard by a panel consisting of seven judges that decides by majority. The panel always comprises both Presidents, at least three judges from each linguistic group, at least two former members of

1155-405: The twelve judges are female. According to a change in 2014 to article 12 of the special law, the membership of the court needs to contain a measure of gender equality: at least a third of its membership needs to be of the opposite sex. Until that number is reached, new appointments are legally obliged to be of the underrepresented sex. However, this obligation has not been respected when Michel Pâques

1190-475: The war unified France. The war accelerated the process of transforming France from a feudal monarchy to a unitary state. The French then later spread unitary states by conquests , throughout Europe during and after the Napoleonic Wars , and to the world through the vast French colonial empire . Unitary states stand in contrast to federations , also known as federal states . A large majority of

1225-594: Was appointed in 2018. The Court is currently composed as follows: † denotes that judge served as President of his linguistic group An appeal to cancel a law, decree or ordinance may be submitted to the Court by the Council of Ministers , by the Government of a Community or Region of Belgium , by the Presidents of the Chamber of Representatives , Senate and the Community and Regional Parliaments, at

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