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The Belgian Constitution, Belgium
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Superseded Text
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Year of Version
2012
Dates
Entry into force:
February 27, 1994
Adopted:
February 17, 1994
Published:
February 17, 1994
Type of Text
Constitution/Basic Law
Subject Matter
Other
Notes
The Belgian Constitution is the supreme law of Belgium. The Constitution was adopted by the National Congress on February 7, 1831 after Belgium’s declaration of its independence in 1830, and established Belgium as a constitutional monarchy.
In July 14, 1993, the Constitution of 1831 was significantly revised and changed the form of government of Belgium from a unitary State to a federal State. The Constitution was last amended in 2012 and this 29th version consolidates all amendments up to this date.
Belgium is a federal state with parliament democracy under a constitutional monarchy. The Constitution specifies the powers and duties of the three branches of the Government as well as the role of the monarchy under which the King is the supreme authority.
The legislative, executive and judicial powers are granted to the King as well as other branches of the government.
The executive powers are entrusted to the King and the Federal Government.
The legislative powers are exercised by the federal parliament, which is composed of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate. The King participates in the legislative sphere as all legal texts must bear the King's signature before they become laws.
The judicial powers are attributed to the courts and tribunals of Belgium, and the decisions are enforced in the name of the King.
The Belgian legal system belongs to the civil law tradition, under which its core principles are codified into codes that serves as the primary source of law.
The Constitution does not contain provisions on intellectual property. However, Article 16 protects private property and stipulates that: “No one can be deprived of its property except if is for a public utility, in cases established by the law and through a just and prior indemnity”.
Source: http://www.senate.be/doc/const_fr.html
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La Constitution belge
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Dutch
De Belgische grondwet
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WIPO Lex No.
BE118