The place of the Constitutional Court

1. Introduction - Basic information

         The Constitutional Court has exclusive jurisdiction to review regulations having force of law for compliance with the Constitution (Articles 8 - 32, 170, 172 and 191) and the rules governing the division of powers of the federal State, the communities and the regions.

         The Court was conceived as a specialized judicial authority, independent of the legislative, the executive and the judiciary.

         The Court is composed of twelve judges, assisted by legal secretaries and two registrars. There are around fifty administrative staff.

2. From Court of Arbitration to Constitutional Court

a) Establishment of the Court of Arbitration

         The Constitutional Court owes its existence to the development of the Belgian unitary state into a federal state. The name that was first given to the Court says a lot about its original mission, which is to supervise the observance of the constitutional division of powers between the State, the communities and the regions.

         The establishment of the Court of Arbitration was incorporated in the Constitution (former Article 107ter) in 1980. Paragraph 2 of that article provided: “There is for the whole of Belgium one Court of Arbitration, the composition, competence and functioning of which are determined by statute. […]”. This constitutional provision was implemented by the Act of 28 June 1983, which defined the composition, competence and functioning of this new court.

         The Court of Arbitration was officially inaugurated in the Senate on 1 October 1984. On 5 April 1985 it delivered its first judgment.

b) Development into a Constitutional Court

         In the constitutional amendment of 15 July 1988, the competence of the Court was extended to include the supervision of the observance of Articles 10, 11 and 24 of the Constitution guaranteeing the principles of equality, non-discrimination and the rights and liberties in respect of education.

         By the same constitutional amendment of 1988, it is left up to the special legislator to grant the Court of Arbitration the competence to review compliance with other articles of the Constitution. This facility was used in the special Act of 9 March 2003. Not only Articles 10, 11 and 24 of the Constitution, but the entire Section II (Articles 8 to 32), as well as Articles 170, 172 and 191 of the Constitution, now constitute the frame of reference for the constitutional review of statutes by the Court.

         When the Constitution was coordinated in 1994, the provision concerning the Court of Arbitration was incorporated in Article 142.

         When the Constitution was revised on 7 May 2007, the name of the Court of Arbitration was changed to “Constitutional Court”.

3. Legal (constitutional) foundations

a) Constitutional provision

         The present Article 142, first paragraph, of the Constitution stipulates that for the whole of Belgium there is one Constitutional Court, the composition, competence and functioning of which are determined by statute. The Court rules, by means of judgments, on conflicts of authority, on violations of Articles 10, 11 en 24 of the Constitution, and on violations of such articles of the Constitution which the law designates (presently all articles of Section II of the Constitution as well as Articles 170, 172 and 191). A case can be brought before the Court by any authority designated by statute, any person who has a justifiable interest, or, in a preliminary issue, any tribunal.

b) Organic law

         Article 142 of the Constitution was implemented by the (repeatedly amended) special Act of 6 January 1989, which regulates the organization, jurisdiction, functioning, procedure and the effects of the judgments. An (ordinary) Act of 6 January 1989 regulates the emoluments and pensions of the judges, legal secretaries and registrars of the Court.

         In addition, there are several Royal Decrees, regulations and guidelines relating to various aspects of the competence and operation of the Court.

         All these texts can be found on the website under the heading “Basic texts” (only in Dutch and French).