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138-438: Vlaams Belang is a rebrand of Vlaams Blok , which was dissolved after it was condemned for espousing racism during a trial which was held in 2004. After it reorganized itself as Vlaams Belang, it continued to espouse the core philosophy of its predecessor by campaigning on a separatist and Flemish nationalist platform. It also supports the maintenance of Flemish cultural identity, it opposes multiculturalism , and it advocates

276-536: A court of appeal or court of appeals . Both terms are used in the United States, but the plural form is more common in American English , while in contrast, British English uses only the singular form. The correct form is whichever is the statutorily prescribed or customary form for a particular court and particular jurisdiction; in other words, one should never write "court of appeal" when

414-617: A eurosceptic stance towards the European Union and its structures as a whole and argues the EU does not financially benefit Flanders or respect national identities of member states. Political commentators have described the VB as for many years and until recently being Belgium's only and most distinct EU-critical party. In its program, the VB is strongly against any evolution towards a Federal European Superstate, argues for Flemish withdrawal from

552-414: A mixed economy . While it supported privatisation and tax reductions for small and medium businesses, it also sometimes supported protectionism and defended the welfare state , especially if allocated to the native Flemish population. The party was the only major Belgian party that opposed Belgium's membership of the European Union , as well as the idea of a federal Europe itself. It however defended

690-578: A Federal Superstate and imposes further open border policies on Flanders. The VB was previously critical of imposing sanctions against Russia and was accused of fostering links to Putin's government with some members of the party visiting representatives of Putin, but following the Russian invasion of Ukraine the party's leadership have condemned the invasion and distanced themselves from Putin with VB politician Filip Dewinter stating Putin had "totally lost it." VB leader Tom Van Grieken also stated in 2022 that

828-627: A case. But Lamine already put in a private claim to overturn the Appeals Court verdict, on the basis of substantive arguments. If Vlaams Belang were to put forth a claim against the verdict as well, at Strasbourg, the Court will bundle both cases. Then we would lose the case for sure. Lamine has thus given us the final blow." The main ideological and political strategies of the Vlaams Blok started out with its radical nationalist rejection of

966-403: A complete freeze on what it terms as non-essential immigration and expulsion of unemployed foreign nationals. The former Vlaams Blok was, according to political scientist Cas Mudde , only very rarely accused of anti-Semitism – and even then, it was strongly condemned by the party leadership. Accused of being anti-Muslim, the party favors the expulsion of all who opposed Western values and after

1104-555: A con-federal Europe based on sovereign culturally homogeneous nation-states. The European issue was however not an issue the party promoted much. It also favoured the abolition of the United Nations , citing; "The illogical composition of the Security Council . The unwieldy bureaucracy. The democratic deficit." The party did also not have any faith in such a world community or international legal system, questioning

1242-808: A majority government, retaining the cordon sanitaire . By this time, the party had nevertheless become the very most popular Flemish party in Belgium, being supported by about one in four of the Flemish electorate. In October 2000, the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism , together with the Dutch-speaking Human Rights League in Belgium registered a complaint at the Correctional Court, in which they claimed that three non-profit organisations connected to

1380-514: A meeting with the King in 1991 and 2003. Eventually, the party remained in opposition both at the regional and federal level, as, with the exception of N-VA, no other party was found willing to break the cordon. During the 2024 Belgian federal election , the European and regional elections which again took place on the same day, the VB made further gains in all, including polling in first place in

1518-406: A political issue. While the Vlaams Blok itself also largely rejected cooperation with other parties, it did increasingly consider such cooperation, particularly in elections in 1994, 1999 and 2000, only to find themselves effectively blocked by the cordon sanitaire . Although intended to keep the Vlaams Blok from gaining political influence, many argued that the cordon sanitaire in reality helped

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1656-407: A rejuvenation of the party. The following party chairman election was won by the only candidate, Tom Van Grieken , then 28 years old and at the time the youngest leader of a political party in Belgium. After assuming leadership of the party, Van Grieken sought to soften and moderate its image further. During the 2018 Belgian local elections , the party saw a resurgence in support, obtaining 13.1% of

1794-564: A restriction of unemployment benefits and child allowances for non-European foreigners. "Today, our party has been killed, not by the electorate but by the judges." Frank Vanhecke, 9 November 2004. In June 2001, the Brussels Correctional Court declared itself incompetent to hear the case, as it related to political misconduct. In February 2003, the Brussels Appellate Court followed and gave

1932-508: A similar judgement. The original plaintiffs then appealed, and the case was sent to the court of appeal in Ghent , which upheld the complaint; the Vlaams Blok non-profit organisations were fined, and it was deemed that the Vlaams Blok was an organisation that sanctioned discrimination. The Vlaams Blok lodged an appeal which was rejected, and in November 2004, the ruling was made definite, when it

2070-492: A statement saying "we have always spoken out in favor of supplying defensive equipment and weapons to Ukraine, so that it can defend its sovereign territory against Russian aggression" but has also criticised the financial extent of Belgian military support for Ukraine. The VB condemned the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel , with Van Grieken calling for an end to development aid to the Palestinian territories and criticising

2208-479: A threat to Flemish ethnic and cultural identity and were linked to crime. The same year, Dillen proposed a bill in the Chamber of Representatives to offer cash incentive for immigrants to return to their native country. In April 1987, a group around Roger Frankinouille of the only right-wing competitor to the Vlaams Blok, the anti-tax Respect for Labour and Democracy, switched to the party. The party campaigned for

2346-455: Is its highest appellate court. Appellate courts nationwide can operate under varying rules. Under its standard of review , an appellate court decides the extent of the deference it would give to the lower court's decision, based on whether the appeal were one of fact or of law. In reviewing an issue of fact, an appellate court ordinarily gives deference to the trial court's findings. It is the duty of trial judges or juries to find facts, view

2484-567: The Vlaams Belang . By 2004, the party had arguably become the single most popular Flemish party in Belgium, supported by about one in four of the Flemish electorate, as well as being one of the most successful radical right-wing populist parties in Europe as a whole. The Vlaams Blok originated from the loose Flemish Movement , which historically has included an array of organisations seeking, to varying degrees, to promote Flanders . In

2622-487: The 1987 general election with the slogan "Own people first" ( Eigen volk eerst! , inspired by French National Front slogan "The French first"), and saw a slight victory, winning their first seat in Senate (taken by Dillen), and for the first time two seats in the Chamber (Dewinter and Annemans ). The party's shift towards focusing on immigration was however criticised by some Vlaams Blok members, and ultimately also led to

2760-466: The 1991 general election , the Vlaams Blok for the first time surpassed the People's Union, going from two to 12 seats in the Chamber, and from one to five seats in the Senate, in what was afterwards referred to by its opponents as "Black Sunday". In the following years, the party saw a systematic upwards trend in all elections it participated in. In July 1992, the first Vlaams Blok motion was accepted in

2898-472: The 2006 municipal elections on the theme of "Secure, Flemish, Liveable". The VB enjoyed a massive increase of votes, and its council members almost doubled, from 439 to about 800. The election result was described by the party as a "landslide victory." In Antwerp , the VB's vote count ran behind that of the Socialist Party , which increased their share of the vote dramatically. However, the VB, which

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3036-426: The 2010 general election , the party was again reduced, to 12 seats in the Chamber, and three in the Senate. This was largely due to the great success of the more moderate new party New Flemish Alliance , which also campaigned on Flemish independence and took many of the VB's votes. Around this time, the VB also saw several high-profile members defect from or quit the party, such as former leader Frank Vanhecke . After

3174-559: The 2016 Brussels bombings , called for closed borders and a temporary stop to immigration. The party is also opposed to what it regards as lenient immigration policies and state multiculturalism forced on the Flemish region by the Belgian federal government and the European Union , arguing that such policies leave Flanders vulnerable to terrorism and have eroded Flemish culture. It also states that immigrants must adapt to Flemish values and culture rather than Flanders having to change to adopt

3312-859: The Brussels city council, as well as in the European Parliament. There, the Vlaams Blok agreed to form a parliamentary group together with the French National Front and the German The Republicans , called the Technical Group of the European Right . The group lacked an ideological coherence (stemming in part from Le Pen's support for a Belgian state nationalism), and was largely organised on pragmatic grounds simply to get financial support. In

3450-699: The European Parliament , the Chamber of Representatives and Senate and the Flemish Parliament , where the Vlaams Blok overtook the position as the third largest Flemish party, winning more than 15% of the vote in all elections, and a total of 45 seats in the various parliaments. The Vlaams Blok also benefitted from the further collapse of the People's Union, which was brought on by the VU's more national conservative members becoming disgruntled with

3588-474: The Israel–Hamas war , he later described Israel's fight against Islamist terrorism as a "fight for the whole world" as part of a "permanent struggle against radical Islam ". Like its predecessor , Vlaams Belang has been accused of racism and for promoting hostility and xenophobia by both French and Dutch speaking political opponents and media in Belgium. Although the VB has a large conservative following in

3726-645: The Ninove municipal council. In Ranst the cordon sanitaire on the party was officially broken for the first time when two local parties Vrij Ranst and PIT, the latter of which contains CD&V members and is headed by former Open VLD mayor Lode Hofmans agreed to form a governing coalition with Vlaams Belang. The policies of the Vlaams Belang focus mainly on the issues of Flemish independence , opposition to multiculturalism , and defence of traditional Western values . By 2021, media commentators described

3864-534: The Order of Flemish Militants . The Vlaams Belang supports returning Brussels to the full control of Flemish region as opposed to its current state as a bilingual capital region. It also wants Dutch to be the sole official language of Flanders. The party also favours abolishing the Belgian Senate . Although the party almost exclusively stands in the Flemish region of Belgium, it ran a list of candidates in

4002-591: The Schengen Area and the reinstatement of border controls, abolition of the Eurozone and opposes the accession of Turkey to the European Union . The party states that it supports cooperation of European nations for economic trade and to give Flanders political visibility but calls for the EU to be fundamentally changed into a smaller confederal union of independent nations or abolished if it becomes

4140-781: The Supreme Court . The Court of Appeals of the Philippines is the principal intermediate appellate court of that country. The Court of Appeals is primarily found in Manila , with three divisions each in Cebu City and Cagayan de Oro . Other appellate courts include the Sandiganbayan for cases involving graft and corruption, and the Court of Tax Appeals for cases involving tax. Appeals from all three appellate courts are to

4278-635: The Supreme Court . The Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka, located in Colombo , is the second senior court in the Sri Lankan legal system . In the United States, both state and federal appellate courts are usually restricted to examining whether the lower court made the correct legal determinations, rather than hearing direct evidence and determining what the facts of the case were. Furthermore, U.S. appellate courts are usually restricted to hearing appeals based on matters that were originally brought up before

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4416-617: The Sweden Democrats . In October 2007, the party hosted the international counter-jihad conference in the European and Flemish Parliaments in Brussels together with Edward "Ned" May of the blog Gates of Vienna , which brought together many counter-jihad ideologues including Bat Ye'or , Pamela Geller , Robert Spencer , Gerard Batten , Hans Jansen , Andrew G. Bostom , Paul Beliën , Aryeh Eldad and Lars Hedegaard . In

4554-711: The Vlaams Blok . The party also became very active in establishing contacts with post-communist parties in Eastern European countries, including the Croatian Party of Rights , Slovak National Party and IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement . While not keeping official contacts, it was in addition very supportive of left-wing nationalist parties such as the Scottish National Party , Irish Sinn Féin and Basque Herri Batasuna . Some of

4692-483: The Vlaams Blok . Following a 1989 agreement, known as the cordon sanitaire , the party was effectively blocked from entering any level of government. The court of appeal in Ghent in April 2004 ruled that some of the party's organizations had breached the 1981 anti-racism law and that the party sanctioned discrimination. The ruling was made definite on 9 November 2004, and the party shortly after reorganised itself as

4830-606: The Walloon Brabant electoral district in 2007 as a protest against the lack of splitting between Flemish and Francophone communities in Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde . The VB's main goal is to establish an independent Flemish republic. The party seeks a peaceful secession of Flanders from Belgium, citing in its program the dissolution of the Union between Sweden and Norway (1905), Czechoslovakia (1992), and

4968-519: The hijab have "effectively signed their contract for deportation." Initially, members of Belgium's Jewish community boycotted the party due to the stigma of wartime collaborationism associated with Flemish nationalism and the fact the VB's Vlaams Blok predecessor contained founders who had collaborated with the Nazis. However, in Antwerp sections of the city's large Jewish community now actively support

5106-489: The "insurance policy" of his party; "I was basically very happy with its existence. There was something a bit too much about it: everybody against us. If the sense is that there is a hunt out for us, then this will only drive people to take the side of the outlaw." In December 1988, a major split occurred in the party, when a group who opposed the "Operation Rejuvenation" tried to squeeze the Dewinter-VBJ faction out of

5244-414: The 2000s). Immigration became an important issue for the Vlaams Blok from the late 1980s. Party founder Karel Dillen called for "the return of the vast majority of non-European guest workers to their own homeland" and argued for this to happen "within a reasonable period." Interconnected with the Flemish nationalism issue, immigrants were considered to be a threat to the Flemish ethnic community. In 1992,

5382-639: The 2024 European election to see if the two parties would continue collaborating. In September 2024, VB issued a statement congratulating the AfD for its strong result in the 2024 state elections in Saxony and Thuringia . In the tenth European Parliament, the VB announced it would join the Patriots for Europe group, which was founded by Viktor Orban , the leader of the Hungarian Fidesz party. Outside

5520-505: The Belgian government for not more clearly describing the attack as a terrorist attack. Van Grieken has affirmed VB's support for Israel's right to exist, opposition to any arms embargo or boycott against Israel, and support for a two-state solution , though he has stated that the two-state solution cannot be implemented until Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israel cease. Though Van Grieken initially stated that VB would not take sides in

5658-824: The Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors (which has been renamed the Connecticut Supreme Court ), the Kentucky Court of Errors (renamed the Kentucky Supreme Court ), and the Mississippi High Court of Errors and Appeals (since renamed the Supreme Court of Mississippi ). In some jurisdictions, a court able to hear appeals is known as an appellate division . The phrase "court of appeals" most often refers to intermediate appellate courts. However,

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5796-600: The Council of State rejected the calls, arguing that the party had not violated the rules of the ECHR and that other accusations made against the party were based on old evidence revolving around the former Vlaams Blok trial. The VB's leadership described the accusations against the party as politically motivated and undemocratic. Although collaboration with the party still remains controversial within some political circles, more mainstream Belgian politicians have started to discuss

5934-694: The Dutch Centre Party '86 , the Centre Democrats and Voorpost , and the South African Boerestaat Party . In the mid-1980s, it also established close relations particularly with the French National Front , as well as the German People's Union , The Republicans and National Democratic Party of Germany . In the 1990s, it supported the minor Dutch Block party, which had modeled itself directly on

6072-732: The EU, it has ties to the Israeli Likud , the Swiss People's Party , the Serbian People's Party , South Africa's Freedom Front Plus , and the US Republican Party . VB holds three seats in the tenth European Parliament ( 2024–2029 ) for the Dutch-speaking electoral college . Vlaams Blok Vlaams Blok ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈvlaːmz ˈblɔk] , VB ; English: Flemish Block )

6210-461: The European Right. In 1996, party leader Karel Dillen, who had been nominated to hold his position for life, stepped down and personally appointed Frank Vanhecke as his successor. The choice of Vanhecke was seen a compromise between the Flemish nationalist wing around Annemans and the Lepenist wing around Dewinter, thus avoiding a potential internal struggle. In 1999, elections were scheduled for

6348-465: The Federal, Regional and European elections took place on the same day) the party made substantial gains in all three elections which some political analysts described as a significant comeback. The party polled second place in the Flemish region with 18.6% of the overall vote, increasing its number of MPs in the Chamber of Representatives to 18 (its best result since 2007). In the Flemish Parliament

6486-636: The Flemish Parliament, which rejected the right of francophone inhabitants in Flemish Brabant and Voeren to vote for Wallon institutions. In late 1992, it was announced that Staf Neel, a popular Antwerp city councillor for 22 years for the Socialist Party went over to the Vlaams Blok, thereby causing the SP and CVP to lose their majority in the city council. In 1992, the party ideologue Filip Dewinter and chairman Karel Dillen established

6624-538: The Flemish electoral college for the European elections and finishing joint first in the Flemish parliament, but didn't see as many gains as initially predicted by opinion surveys in the Federal Parliament where the N-VA remained as the largest Flemish party. In the 2024 Belgian local elections , Guy D'haeseleer became Vlaams Belang's first ever elected mayor , after the party secured an absolute majority on

6762-555: The Flemish region, some journalists and political commentators have historically been divided on whether to refer to the VB as a conservative , far-right or an extreme-right party. Individuals associated with the party such as VB spokesman Filip Dewinter and former independent MP Dries Van Langenhove , have been accused of tapping into the Great Replacement theory by using the term omvolking (population replacement) when discussing immigration. The VB itself has disputed

6900-524: The Flemish vote with an outlier of more than 40% in the city of Ninove where it fought locally under the name of Forza Ninove. The party also led a campaign against the Global Compact for Migration , which some commentators credit to successfully pressuring the rival N-VA to adopt a position against the Compact. On May 26, 2019, in what was known as "Super Sunday" in Belgium (owing to the fact

7038-415: The French National Front . In 2008, Bruno Valkeniers was chosen as new party chairman for the VB, having contested the position unopposed. In 2009, the party contested elections for the Flemish Parliament and the European Parliament . The party was reduced from 32 to 21 seats (from the Vlaams Blok's record 24%, to 15%) in the Flemish parliament, and from three to two seats in the European parliament. In

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7176-449: The Nazis. The People's Union had successfully united various strands of Flemish nationalists into a coherent movement from federalists to separatists, however some Flemish separatists had been suspicious of the People's Union since its outset, and it became clear by the 1970s that the party had moved to a moderate left-liberal course, which led to the defection of its more radical members. The remaining nationalist hardliners finally rejected

7314-451: The People's Union compromise on the Flemish autonomy issue, later to be followed by focus on immigration and security , exploitation of corruption and other scandals, and defense of traditional values. While the party was legitimized first and foremost by its defense of Flemish interests and desire for Flemish independence, its voters were mainly motivated by anti-immigration, law and order and anti-establishment protest. The main issue for

7452-446: The United States, Alabama, Tennessee, and Oklahoma also have separate courts of criminal appeals. Texas and Oklahoma have the final determination of criminal cases vested in their respective courts of criminal appeals, while Alabama and Tennessee allow decisions of its court of criminal appeals to be finally appealed to the state supreme court. The High Court has appellate jurisdiction over all other courts. Leave must be granted by

7590-451: The VB and in 2004 continued the cordon sanitaire on the party in the Federal Parliament . In 2011, all the French speaking Belgian parties in the Federal parliament, as well as the Flemish Groen! and sp.a , called on the Belgian Council of State to withdraw all allocation of parliamentary money to the party, claiming statements and policies proposed by its leadership violated the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). However,

7728-511: The VB has downplayed and placed less emphasis on ethnonationalism in recent years when discussing Flemish national identity. Political author Hans-Georg Betz noted that the party no longer features the ethnically defined version of people ("volk") that was featured in the former Vlaams Blok "Own People First" slogan and instead uses the neutral sounding Mensen — the Dutch word for human beings in its messages. The Vlaams Belang official immigration policy has been slightly moderated from that of

7866-406: The VU's move to the left. The former VU members created the Flemish National Party (VNP) and the Flemish People's Party (VVP) which formed an electoral alliance called Vlaams Blok in 1978, before merging to create Vlaams Blok as a political party in 1979. Vlaams Blok was the most notable militant right wing of the Flemish movement and its track record in the Flemish and Belgian parliament elections

8004-418: The Vlaams Blok (its education and research office and the "National Broadcasting Corporation") had violated the 1981 anti-racism law . The publications which were referred to included its 1999 election agenda and 1997 party platform. The challenged passages included those where the party called for a separate education system for foreign children, a special tax for employers employing non-European foreigners, and

8142-503: The Vlaams Blok had campaigned on heavy anti-immigration themes but had positioned itself against antisemitism and Holocaust denial . In response to the media assault following the interview, Raes was forced to resign his position but vowed to remain active within the party. Upon complaints filed by the governmental Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism and the Dutch-speaking Human Rights League in Belgium , in 2001 three non-profit organisations that in effect constituted

8280-460: The Vlaams Blok was forced to disband in 2004 after being found to sanctioned illegal discrimination. By then, the party was the most popular Flemish party, supported by about one in four of the Flemish electorate, and was one of the most successful parties considered to be right-wing populist in Europe as a whole. In Belgium in 2001, Roeland Raes , the ideologue and vice-president of Vlaams Blok, gave an interview to Dutch TV where he cast doubt over

8418-419: The Vlaams Blok was the only party to vote unanimously against the introduction of same-sex marriage . In the 2004 Flemish Parliament election , the party finally became the single largest party group in parliament. The party was invited by the formateur for government discussions, only to find that its differences with the other parties was insurmountable, resulting in the three traditional parties forming

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8556-572: The Vlaams Blok. While the Vlaams Blok called for a rather mixed economy , the Vlaams Belang moved towards neoliberalism . However, for the 2019 federal election , the party returned to a protectionist economic program. A 2023 study by Koen Abts of the Institute for Social and Political Opinion Research at KU Leuven documented the VB's economic position as somewhere between protectionism and economic liberalism . The party describes itself as pro-European in terms of protecting European culture and cooperation between nations to secure peace, but takes

8694-404: The agreement and argued that the cordon was ineffective. Nevertheless, in an interview with the popular weekly Humo , Flemish Prime Minister Yves Leterme for instance declared that a local chapter of his Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V) that would form a coalition or close agreements with the Vlaams Belang, would no longer be considered part of the CD&V. The VB contested

8832-421: The appellate court must find an error on the part of the court below that justifies upsetting the verdict. Therefore, only a small proportion of trial court decisions result in appeals. Some courts, particularly supreme courts, have the power of discretionary review , meaning that they can decide whether they will hear an appeal brought in a particular case. Many U.S. jurisdictions title their appellate court

8970-501: The capital of Brussels and to Wallonia (Belgium's other half), which Vlaams Belang considers to be unjustified. Members of Vlaams Belang argue that the French speaking Socialist Party de facto rules Belgium and does not represent the interests of Flemish voters. The party also calls for the exclusive use of the Dutch language in Flanders and for compulsory measures that both immigrants and Francophone residents of Flanders learn to speak Dutch. In contrast to its Vlaams Blok predecessor,

9108-573: The case of rape. In order to secure Flemish cities, the party wants to implement a policy of zero tolerance . It supports the abolition of the Belgian parole law, which allows convicts to be released after only one third of their prison sentence has been served. The party also opposes drug liberalization . Citing "a massive overrepresentation of immigrants in crime statistics," the party also wants to deport criminal and illegal foreigners, as well as seeking to "combat Islamic terror threat." The party's economic policy has been changed significantly from

9246-399: The centre-left faction who had taken control of its leadership. The Vlaams Blok continued to be particularly strong in and around Antwerp, where it received as much as 33% of the vote in the 2000 local elections. In 2001, the party was forced to alter its political program, as according to the laws for party financing, it was not compatible with the European Treaty on Human Rights. In 2002,

9384-414: The core of the Vlaams Blok party were charged with violation of the Law on Racism and xenophobia by assisting "a group or organisation that clearly and repeatedly commits discrimination or segregation," here the political party. By April 2004, the Appellate Court of Ghent came to a final verdict, forbidding their and the party's continued existence for its "repeated incitement to discrimination." The trial

9522-406: The court at issue clearly prefers to be called a "court of appeals", and vice versa. Historically, certain jurisdictions have titled their appellate court a court of errors (or court of errors and appeals ), on the premise that it was intended to correct errors made by lower courts. Examples of such courts include the New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals (which existed from 1844 to 1947),

9660-422: The court, before the appeal matter is heard. The High Court is paramount to all federal courts. Further, it has an constitutionally entrenched general power of appeal from the Supreme Courts of the States and Territories . Appeals to the High Court are by special leave only, which is generally only granted in cases of public importance, matters involving the interpretation of the Commonwealth Constitution, or where

9798-482: The cultures of migrants, and that immigrants who cannot adapt to Flemish culture or laws should be offered incentives to voluntarily repatriate themselves. The party also supports the expulsion of illegal immigrants and foreign residents with criminal records from Flanders. Currently, the party is seen as anti-Islam , while being strongly pro-Israel , regarding Jews and Israelis as allies against radical Islam. Filip Dewinter , for example, has stated that women wearing

9936-412: The decisions of lower courts varies widely from one jurisdiction to another. In some areas, the appellate court has limited powers of review. Generally, an appellate court's judgment provides the final directive of the appeals courts as to the matter appealed, setting out with specificity the court's determination that the action appealed from should be affirmed, reversed, remanded or modified. Depending on

10074-398: The defection of some top party figures. The party nevertheless made a clear choice of focussing on the immigration issue, which had, and would, give results in elections. The electoral success of the Vlaams Blok began after the younger generation in the party shifted the party's emphasis from Flemish nationalism (separatism) to the immigration issue. In the 1988 local election in Antwerp

10212-482: The election, there has been some media speculation that the cordon sanitaire of the party may be lifted for the first time. By 2021, the VB had again grown into one of the largest parties in the Flemish region. The direct predecessor of the Vlaams Belang was the Vlaams Blok, which was formed by the nationalist right-wing and national conservative faction within the People's Union ( Volksunie , VU) which had emerged in

10350-504: The entire logic behind the UN. It rejected the view of any international consensus about concepts as democracy, justice, freedom and human rights, especially since most of its member countries are non-Western and undemocratic. The Vlaams Blok maintained good contacts with nationalist parties throughout Europe and other countries. The Vlaams Blok did traditionally have the closest contacts with Dutch and South African far-right groups, including

10488-402: The evidence firsthand, and observe witness testimony . When reviewing lower decisions on an issue of fact, courts of appeal generally look for clear error. The appellate court reviews issues of law de novo (anew, no deference) and may reverse or modify the lower court's decision if the appellate court believes the lower court misapplied the facts or the law. An appellate court may also review

10626-597: The extreme or far-right label in recent years. The party itself has repeatedly denied that it is racist and believes such accusations are based on attempts to discredit the party. Politicians, like former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt (VLD) and Karel De Gucht (VLD) have called the Vlaams Belang and its leaders " fascist ". However, history professor Eric Defoort has stated the use of this terminology creates "a distorted image of their antagonist, whom they can then scold with missionary zeal." Since its founding, most parties in Belgium have refused to cooperate with

10764-482: The former Vlaams Blok. After updating its platform, the party simply called for the repatriation of those immigrants who "reject, deny or combat" Flemish culture as well as certain European values, including freedom of expression and equality between men and women. In its current platform, the VB states that it supports immigrants who can assimilate into Flemish culture, but positions itself against mass immigration in Belgium, calling for tightened laws on family migration,

10902-591: The ideology of the party was a populist fight against the political establishment, often manifested through political scandals which flourished in 1990s Belgium; including corruption , food and even pedophile scandals. These included the Agusta scandal and the Marc Dutroux affair. The usual suspects were politicians in the three traditional party families; especially the francophone parties. The party had no strong economic preferences, and generally supported

11040-418: The imposition of tougher law & order policies. However, the VB toned its rhetoric down and it also implemented some changes in the more controversial portions of the former Vlaams Blok statute and has sought to change its image from a radical to a more conservative party by distancing itself from some of its former programs. Nonetheless, most other parties initially continued the cordon sanitaire which

11178-424: The independence of Montenegro (2006) as examples that such would be possible. The reason to seek independence is given as the "enormous cultural and political differences between Flemings and Walloons," and according to the party, Belgian governments are also "paralyzed by ongoing disputes between Flemish and Walloon politicians." Other stated reasons given for secessionism are the financial transfers from Flanders to

11316-456: The international day against racism in 1984 held its first conference to discuss the "foreigner problem." Towards the late 1980s, the party also became one of the first in Europe to flirt with an anti-Islam agenda (warning about what it called the "Islamization of Europe") and address the issue of immigrants from majority Muslim societies, in particular Turkish and Moroccan migrant communities in Belgium. Vlaams Blok claimed that such communities were

11454-435: The late 1970s. The ideology of the Vlaams Blok started out with its radical nationalist rejection of the People's Union compromise on the Flemish autonomy issue, and later increasingly focused on immigration and security, exploitation of political scandals, and defense of traditional values. The immigration positions of the Vlaams Blok were subject to much controversy, particularly after the party released its 70-point plan , and

11592-700: The law has been inconsistently applied across the States and Territories.[19] Therefore, in the vast majority of cases, the appellate divisions of the Supreme Courts of each State and Territory and the Federal Court are the final courts of appeal. The Court of Appeal of New Zealand, located in Wellington , is New Zealand's principal intermediate appellate court. In practice, most appeals are resolved at this intermediate appellate level, rather than in

11730-471: The leadership of the VB seized the occasion to dissolve itself, and start afresh under a new name. On 14 November, the Vlaams Blok thus disbanded itself, and the Vlaams Belang was established. Other proposed names had included the Flemish People's Party and Flemish Freedom Front. The Vlaams Belang also instituted a number of changes in its political program, carefully moderating or discarding some of

11868-416: The lower judge's discretionary decisions, such as whether the judge properly granted a new trial or disallowed evidence. The lower court's decision is only changed in cases of an " abuse of discretion ". This standard tends to be even more deferential than the "clear error" standard. Before hearing any case, the court must have jurisdiction to consider the appeal. The authority of appellate courts to review

12006-400: The more radical positions of the former Vlaams Blok. Nevertheless, the party leader Frank Vanhecke made it clear that the party would fundamentally remain the same; "We change our name, but not our tricks. We change our name, but not our programme." Former Vlaams Blok chairman Frank Vanhecke was chosen as chairman of the Vlaams Belang on 12 December 2004. Despite efforts to tone down parts of

12144-459: The national liberal Flemish People's Party (VVP), respectively led by Karel Dillen and Lode Claes . The parties contested the 1978 general elections in a coalition called "Vlaams Blok", where they won 1.4% of the vote and one seat in the Chamber of Representatives (taken by Dillen). On 28 May 1979, the VNP and VVP finally merged to form a new party named Vlaams Blok, and Dillen was nominated to be

12282-637: The ninth European Parliament, the party sat with France's National Rally , Italy's Lega Nord , the Freedom Party of Austria , Alternative for Germany and the Conservative People's Party of Estonia in the Identity and Democracy parliamentary group. In 2024, the party's relations with the AfD became somewhat strained due to statements made by AfD candidates on Nazi Germany with the VB's European delegation saying it would wait until after

12420-469: The number of Jews murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. In the same interview he questioned the scale of the Nazis' use of gas chambers and the authenticity of Anne Frank's diary. The interview was met with uproar within the party with the VB's leadership immediately distancing themselves from Raes and holding an emergency meeting on whether to expel him. According to political scientist Cas Mudde ,

12558-484: The parties it established contacts with most recently was the Freedom Party of Austria and the Italian Lega Nord , which after a period of distrust, maintained contacts since 2002. Note that the election results in elections other than those for the Flemish Parliament (and the Dutch-speaking electoral college in the European Parliament ) gives a somewhat wrong image of the party's support, given that

12696-448: The party "a racist, anti-Semitic, extremist party that is unkind to women and that should be outlawed." The party responded that Ali had been misinformed and considered this to be part of a smear campaign. Vlaams Belang underlined that Ali supposedly made the statement on the occasion of a debate organised by the left-liberal think tank Liberales , whose president is Dirk Verhofstadt who is known for regularly publishing accusations against

12834-401: The party "thought at one point Putin was an ally in the fight against multiculturalism, but now it appears we were grossly mistaken" and referred to Putin as a "dictator who commits atrocities." However, the party remains critical of the impact of sanctions against Russia on fuel prices in Belgium. Since the invasion, the VB has supported supplying humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine, issuing

12972-534: The party after he decided to hold talks with the VB as part of the coalition formation on the Flemish level, as their strong results made forming a coalition without them more difficult. The ending of the Cordon Sanitaire was further speculated after the VB leader Tom Van Grieken was invited to a customary meeting with King Philippe for the first time along with the leaders of the other main parties. The former Vlaams Blok party had previously been denied

13110-457: The party also finished second, gaining 23 representatives. The party's campaign was managed by Bart Claes . Political analysts noted that the VB saw an increase in support among voters under 30 which was attributed to the party's use of social media campaigning. In response to the results, there was some speculation that the N-VA leader Bart De Wever would break the Cordon sanitaire imposed on

13248-481: The party as coming to contain two large factions: the more conservative salonfähige wing, who wish to moderate the party in order to break the cordon sanitaire by implementing a policy of de-demonizing the VB, taking inspiration from other European parties and politicians such as Marine Le Pen and the French National Rally ; and a more radical and traditionalist wing who held ties to groups like

13386-408: The party established its 70-point plan , which included measures to stop all immigration, return most immigrants to their native countries by force, and legally discriminate against residing migrants in respect of markets such as labour, housing and education. The party's opponents particularly saw its immigration program as a source of claims of racism, and the party thus in its latest years downplayed

13524-430: The party experienced a downturn in support and membership, a situation which coincided with internal problems which existed within the party and the rise of the more moderate nationalist New Flemish Alliance , which also supports Flemish independence. Under the current leadership of Tom Van Grieken , the VB has begun to regain popular support and as a result, it made a comeback during the 2019 federal elections . Following

13662-463: The party first started to take off, going from 5.5% of the vote in the city to 17.7%, a success which drew much publicity. On 10 May 1989, based on the Antwerp success, the presidents of all major Belgian parties (including the People's Union) signed a cordon sanitaire (hygienic barrier), where the parties agreed to never conclude any political agreements with the Vlaams Blok, nor make immigration

13800-415: The party had dropped its campaign against gay marriage. In 2014, the party moderated its stance and changed its policy to support same-sex marriage. This more moderate stance has not been widely accepted by all party members. On abortion the party is socially conservative. According to Vlaams Belang abortion should only be possible when the woman's life is in danger, when the unborn child is not viable and in

13938-512: The party in Antwerp in 2011. In March 2014, a party mission headed by Dewinter visited Israel and met with Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Ofir Akunis . and Samaria Regional Council , Gershon Mesika and Yossi Dagan . Like its predecessor, the Vlaams Belang was initially opposed to same-sex marriage and instead advocated civil partnerships for same-sex couples. After assuming leadership, Tom Van Grieken stated that

14076-489: The party leadership, integrating many leaders of nationalist youth and student organisations into the party council. The party's youth organisation, the Vlaams Blok Jongeren (VBJ), was founded in 1987 by among others Filip Dewinter and Frank Vanhecke . Starting in 1983, the Vlaams Blok increasingly began focusing on immigration (inspired by the success of other European right-wing populist parties), and on

14214-498: The party leadership. Led by Geert Wouters, he accused Dewinter's faction of being " Lepenists ", and of attempting to sideline the Flemish question to rather favour the immigration question. Dillen however sided with Dewinter, and Wouters and his group left the party and founded the nationalist pressure group called the Nationalist Association-Dutch People's Movement. In 1989, the party won a seat in

14352-497: The party only ran in Flanders , the one half of Belgium . Results in the Dutch-speaking electoral college is given in the parenthesis. Appellate Court An appellate court , commonly called a court of appeal(s) , appeal court , court of second instance or second instance court , is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal . In much of

14490-456: The party suffered heavy losses during the local elections of 2012 Bruno Valkeniers stepped down as party chairman and was succeeded by Gerolf Annemans . In the 2014 federal and regional elections , the party again suffered a big loss; it was reduced to 5.9% of the Flemish vote. The European list , pulled by Annemans, scored slightly better with 6.8%. Annemans resigned as party leader, a function he only performed for two years, and argued for

14628-425: The party wanted to distance itself from Holocaust denial , as it actively sought to reach out to Jewish voters in Antwerp . In 2003, the Vlaams Blok was the only major Flemish party to vote against the legalization of same-sex marriage in Belgium. The party was not opposed to homosexuality and supported civil partnerships for same-sex couples, but regarded same-sex marriage as a step too far. Another element in

14766-441: The party was Flemish nationalism , and most issues that were added later, were in some way also connected to this. The Flemish nationalism promoted by the party ( volksnationalisme ) was according to its program "based on the ethnic community being a naturally occurring entity whose cultural, material, ethical and intellectual interests need to be preserved." While the party primarily worked for an independent Flemish state (modeling

14904-672: The party was however part of the short-lived European Parliament group Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty alongside parties such as the French National Front . The party has also had some contacts with the Freedom Party of Austria , the Italian Northern League , the Dutch Party for Freedom , the Danish People's Party , the Slovak National Party , the now-defunct German Freedom Party , and

15042-429: The party's comprehensive immigration program, titled the 70-point plan . The plan sought to close the borders towards non-European immigrants, gradually repatriate those already in the country, and implement an "own people first" principle in all policy areas. Over the course of the 1990s, the party however increasingly distanced itself from the plan as it had alienated the party from gaining political influence, until it

15180-519: The party's leader for life. The party initially recruited its members from Flemish nationalist organisations, such as the Taal Aktie Komitee , Voorpost , Were Di , and the Order of Flemish Militants , while some local groups also simply turned into local branches of the Vlaams Blok. Since its inception, the party was widely regarded as an extreme right-wing and racist group. The party did not have much electoral success at first, and

15318-574: The party's legal team, claimed that the party, for propaganda reasons, purposely undertook a weak defence, in order to lose the case; "For the party leaders, losing was much more interesting. Winning just wasn't an option." Lamine himself had earlier stated that the party should have carried the trial to the European Court of Human Rights , but Vlaams Blok senator Joris Van Hauthem had already stated in 2005, that; "If we had gone to Strasbourg [ECHR] based on procedural arguments, we might have had

15456-505: The party's participation in a new five-party government coalition in 1977, and particularly the Egmont pact , believing it had conceded too much to the francophone government parties. In late 1977, the rejection of the Egmont pact by the hardliner faction of the People's Union led to the establishment of two new (short-lived) parties; the radical nationalist Flemish National Party (VNP) and

15594-405: The party's platform, the Vlaams Belang has continued to be subjected to the cordon sanitaire like its predecessor, wherein all the traditional Flemish parties have agreed to systematically exclude the party, and never form a coalition with it. This situation was however altered slightly with the emergence of the smaller right-wing party List Dedecker (founded in 2007), which did not joined in on

15732-499: The party, as they feel threatened by the new wave of anti-Semitism from the growing Muslim population. The VB's list for the 2024 municipal elections in Antwerp includes a practicing Jewish candidate for the first time. In 2010, the party was part of a delegation to Israel (along with some other rightist parties), where they issued the "Jerusalem Declaration," which defended the right of Israel to exist and defend itself against terrorism. Israeli Deputy Minister Ayoob Kara in turn visited

15870-480: The party. Vlaams Belang also wrote an open letter to Ali supporting her work. In September 2024, the party sparked controversy by putting Roeland Raes who had previously been convicted of Holocaust denial as one of its candidates in the upcoming municipal elections before removing his candidacy the following day. In the European Parliament , the party has generally been part of the Non-Inscrits . In 2007,

16008-522: The possibility of including the party in coalition talks and lifting the cordon sanitaire, arguing that the VB's gradual moderation and growth in support cannot be ignored and that some of the policies the party has campaigned on have since been adopted by the main parties. In 2006 Ayaan Hirsi Ali , a prominent critic of Islam in the Netherlands, and to whom Vlaams Belang on different occasions referred to defend its points of view on Islam , called

16146-529: The problem of political nomination of judges, and again claimed that the lawsuit had been a political process coordinated with the Belgian Ministry of the Interior. The leadership of the Vlaams Blok seized the occasion of the ban to dissolve the party, and start afresh under a new name. Five days later, on 14 November, the Vlaams Blok disbanded itself, and a new party with the name Vlaams Belang

16284-583: The re-emergence of Flemish nationalism after the war, although only a faction of the broader movement had actually pursued an agenda of collaboration. The direct predecessor to the Vlaams Blok was the big tent People's Union , which was founded in 1954 as the successor to the Christian Flemish People's Union electoral alliance, that had successfully run for election earlier the same year . The party had been careful to choose its leaders from nationalist circles that had not collaborated with

16422-637: The relevance of the 70-point plan, and softened its written positions regarding immigration. Concerns about crime and security was also linked to immigration, as the party particularly blamed Turks and Moroccans for various criminal activity, and sought a zero tolerance approach regarding law and order . The party was also strongly anti-Islamic from early on, and in its 1993 program regarded Islam as "a doctrine, which preaches holy war , assassination, forced conversions, oppression of women, slavery and extermination of "infidels", [which] will automatically lead to what we now call fundamentalism." The party

16560-404: The second half of the nineteenth century, Flemish nationalists operated within the established political parties, and had close ties with the political left. The early organised political expression of Flemish nationalism was triggered by World War I , and the introduction of universal suffrage and proportional representation in elections. The main party that initially represented the movement

16698-524: The split on that of Czechoslovakia ), it for a long time also promoted the idea that the new state should merge with the Netherlands , and establish a Dutch-speaking federation ( Greater Netherlands ). From the 1990s however, the latter idea was downplayed by the party, as the Netherlands then turned into a "permissive, multicultural and social-democratic state" according to one scholar (although this Dutch political situation would be sharply overturned in

16836-411: The strong electoral surge for the party, as it was made into what could be seen as the only "true opposition," and the party was able to bolster its claims that the Belgian political establishment sought to suppress calls for more Flemish autonomy and deny the Flemish voters a voice in national affairs. The agreement was renewed in following years, and Vlaams Blok chairman Karel Dillen was used to call it

16974-433: The trial court. Hence, such an appellate court will not consider an appellant's argument if it is based on a theory that is raised for the first time in the appeal. In most U.S. states, and in U.S. federal courts, parties before the court are allowed one appeal as of right. This means that a party who is unsatisfied with the outcome of a trial may bring an appeal to contest that outcome. However, appeals may be costly, and

17112-444: The type of case and the decision below, appellate review primarily consists of: an entirely new hearing (a non trial de novo ); a hearing where the appellate court gives deference to factual findings of the lower court; or review of particular legal rulings made by the lower court (an appeal on the record). While many appellate courts have jurisdiction over all cases decided by lower courts, some systems have appellate courts divided by

17250-532: The type of jurisdiction they exercise. Some jurisdictions have specialized appellate courts, such as the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals , which only hears appeals raised in criminal cases, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit , which has general jurisdiction but derives most of its caseload from patent cases, on one hand, and appeals from the Court of Federal Claims on the other. In

17388-415: The world, court systems are divided into at least three levels: the trial court, which initially hears cases and considers factual evidence and testimony relevant to the case; at least one intermediate appellate court; and a supreme court (or court of last resort) which primarily reviews the decisions of the intermediate courts, often on a discretionary basis . A particular court system's supreme court

17526-507: Was anti-Muslim and portrayed Muslims as fifth column of a cruel and expansionist religion, and after the 1990 Gulf War called on the government to introduce measures to keep Belgium from being Islamised . Academic Hans-Georg Betz has described Vlaams Blok as one of the first radical European populist parties to pursue and gain support through an anti-Islamic agenda. The party was according to political scientist Cas Mudde only very rarely accused of anti-Semitism – and even then, it

17664-498: Was established. (Other proposed names included the Flemish People's Party and Flemish Freedom Front.) The new party instituted a number of changes in its political program, carefully moderating some of the more extreme positions of the former Vlaams Blok. Nevertheless, the party leadership made it clear that the party would fundamentally remain the same. Professor Lamine ( KUL ), a former Vlaams Blok member and "advisor" of

17802-401: Was finally officially discarded in 2000. In the 1994 European election , the party doubled its seats (Dillen and Vanhecke) with 12.6% of the vote, but failed to continue a European Right group, due to other nationalist parties having dropped out of the parliament, or refusing to join a group. National Front and Vlaams Blok MEPs nevertheless established an "alliance" called The Coordination of

17940-439: Was implemented against the former party, effectively blocking the Vlaams Belang from taking part in government at any level. Additionally, attempts on cutting public subsidies specifically for the party were made through the Belgian draining law . Like Vlaams Blok , Vlaams Belang was initially popular among the Flemish electorate and it was also one of the most successful nationalist-populist parties in Europe. However, from 2008,

18078-461: Was in a coalition with the minor VLOTT party, slightly increased their vote in the city to 33.5%. In the 2007 general election , the party won 17 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and five seats in the Senate , remaining more or less at status quo . Earlier the same year, the party joined the short-lived European Parliament group Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty alongside parties such as

18216-486: Was met with intense debate and mixed reactions, with the Vlaams Blok leadership and some political commentators arguing the trial was a politically motivated attempt by the Belgian establishment to destroy the party. In November that year, the Court of Cassation rejected their last appeal to annul the verdict; the delay had allowed using the name Vlaams Blok for election candidacy . After the Supreme Court ruling,

18354-466: Was stable at one seat in the 1981 general elections . It stood candidates in very few communities, and was active almost entirely in the city of Antwerp . Having been founded mainly as a protest against the Egmont pact, the party revamped and broadened its platform after the pact collapsed. It did not make much progress in the 1985 general elections , and Dillen thus started the so-called "Operation Rejuvenation", allowing for an across-the-board change of

18492-548: Was strong, making it one of the most successful nationalist parties in Western Europe and it ultimately surpassed the People's Union in support. The party initially focused solely on the issues of Flemish autonomy and political freedom, which remained its core philosophy, but subsequently gained wider public support through broadening its campaigns to include immigration and law-and-order themes. All significant Flemish political parties were reluctant to enter coalitions with

18630-561: Was strongly condemned by the party leadership. When Roeland Raes cast doubt on the scale of the Holocaust in a television interview in 2001 for instance, the party leadership immediately called an emergency meeting, distanced itself from him and forced him to resign. The party also took screening measures against its local candidates to reveal any possible extremist connections, and rather wanted to risk not being able to fill its lists, rather than filling them with extremists. Particularly,

18768-675: Was the left-wing nationalist Front Party , founded by former soldiers and sympathizers from the trench wars in Flanders Fields disaffected with their French-speaking, often anti-Flemish, officers that had been unable to communicate with their troops. From the 1930s, the main party became the Flemish National Union which turned to collaborate with the Nazis during World War II , as they had promised them increased Flemish autonomy. These circumstances would compromise

18906-510: Was the name of a Belgian far-right and secessionist political party with an anti-immigration platform. Its ideologies embraced Flemish nationalism , calling for the independence of Flanders . The party originated from split within the Volksunie (VU) party after the right-wing separatist and national conservative wing became disgruntled with the compromise of accepting Belgian federalism over Flemish interests, and what they saw as

19044-484: Was upheld by the Court of Cassation . The ruling meant that the party would lose access to state funding and access to television, effectively shutting the party down. The whole trial was seen by some as a political trial, inspired by the Belgian establishment . The federal parliament had notably amended the Constitution in order to create legal possibilities to condemn the party. The Vlaams Blok also pointed at

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