The legal system of Belgium
A civil law system of Napoleonic origin, layered onto one of the most thoroughly federalised states in Europe. Legislative power is not hierarchical: federal laws, regional decrees and community decrees have equal rank in their own spheres, so the first question in any Belgian legal problem is which of the six legislators is competent. Brussels-Capital is bilingual and adds a further layer.
Legal tradition
Belgium belongs to the civil law tradition. A civil law system of Napoleonic origin, layered onto one of the most thoroughly federalised states in Europe. Legislative power is not hierarchical: federal laws, regional decrees and community decrees have equal rank in their own spheres, so the first question in any Belgian legal problem is which of the six legislators is competent. Brussels-Capital is bilingual and adds a further layer.
How power is divided
Federal, alongside three Regions (Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels-Capital) and three Communities (Flemish, French, German-speaking). Regional decrees and community decrees have the same legal force as federal statute within their competences; there is no general federal supremacy clause. The Constitutional Court, not a hierarchy of norms, resolves conflicts of competence.
Where law comes from
- Constitution
- The 1831 text as coordinated in 1994; supreme over all domestic norms.
- EU law and treaties
- Directly effective and take precedence over conflicting domestic law.
- Federal statutes (lois / wetten)
- Voted by the Chamber, and by the Senate where bicameral procedure applies.
- Decrees and ordinances
- Regional and community legislation, equal in rank to federal statute.
- Royal and ministerial decrees
- Executive implementing norms; reviewable by the Council of State.
- Codes
- The new Civil Code is replacing the 1804 code book by book; the new Penal Code replaces the 1867 code from 1 September 2026.
- Case law
- No formal stare decisis, but Cassation and Constitutional Court rulings are followed in practice.
The legal profession
Advocaten and avocats are admitted to a local bar and organised in two federations, the OVB for Dutch-speaking and AVOCATS.BE for French and German-speaking members. Qualification requires a law degree, a three-year traineeship (stage) under a supervising lawyer, and bar examinations. Notaries and bailiffs are separate regulated professions with numerus clausus appointments.
Law by topic in Belgium
- Criminal LawThe 1867 Penal Code is being replaced by a new code in 2026Belgian criminal law rests on the Penal Code of 1867 and the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1808, both of Napoleonic lineage. A wholly new Penal Code was adopted in 2024 and enters into force on 1 September 2026, restructuring offences and replacing the historic penalty categories with a graded scale of penalty levels.
- Data Protection & PrivacyGDPR applied through the 2018 framework act and a Litigation ChamberThe GDPR applies directly, with the Act of 30 July 2018 filling in the margins the Regulation leaves to member states. The Data Protection Authority replaced the former Privacy Commission in 2018 and, unlike its predecessor, has a Litigation Chamber able to issue binding orders and fines.
- Immigration & NationalityA single permit for work and residence, decided jointly by a Region and the federal stateThe federal Act of 15 December 1980 still governs entry and residence, but since 1 January 2019 economic migration runs through the single permit (combined permit), which merges work authorisation and residence into one application. Because employment is a regional competence while immigration is federal, the file is decided by both: the Region rules on the work component and the federal Immigration Office on residence.
- Constitutional LawOne of the oldest constitutions in force, reshaped into a federationThe Constitution of 7 February 1831 still governs, but six state reforms since 1970 turned a unitary kingdom into a federation of Regions and Communities, and the text was renumbered in a coordinated version in 1994. Federal statutes, regional decrees and community decrees hold equal rank within their own competences.
- Family LawNo-fault divorce on irretrievable breakdown, in a single family tribunalThe reform of 27 April 2007 removed fault as a ground for divorce and replaced it with irretrievable breakdown (désunion irrémédiable / duurzame ontwrichting) under Article 229 of the Civil Code. Since 1 September 2014 a single family and juvenile tribunal inside each tribunal of first instance handles the whole family file rather than splitting it across courts.
- Property & LandProperty law recodified in 2021, with purchase taxes set by each RegionBook 3 of the new Civil Code entered into force on 1 September 2021, replacing rules that in part dated from 1804 and 1824 and unifying usufruct, emphyteusis and superficies into a single framework of real rights of use. Transfer of land requires a notarial deed, and the registration duty payable on purchase is a regional tax that differs substantially between Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels.
- Tax LawFour progressive income tax brackets topping out at 50%, plus municipal surchargesPersonal income tax under the Income Tax Code 1992 is levied on four brackets rising to 50%, reached at a comparatively low income level, and municipalities add a surcharge on top of the federal liability. Companies pay 25%, with a reduced 20% rate on the first EUR 100,000 of profit for qualifying small companies. Standard VAT is 21%.
- Civil ProcedureThe Judicial Code, specialist first-instance courts and language-of-proceedings rulesProcedure is set out in the Code judiciaire / Gerechtelijk Wetboek. First instance is divided by subject as well as value: the justice de paix for small claims and tenancy, the tribunal de l'entreprise for commercial matters, the tribunal du travail for employment, and the tribunal de première instance for the rest.
- Employment & LabourStrong dismissal protection built on sector-level collective bargainingEmployment is never at will. The Unified Status Act, in force from 1 January 2014, abolished the historic split between blue-collar and white-collar notice periods and replaced it with a single statutory scale keyed to seniority. Much of the detail — pay scales, extra leave, working-time arrangements — comes from collective agreements negotiated in roughly 170 sectoral joint committees.
- Business & CorporateOne flexible company code since 2019, with no minimum capital for a BV/SRLThe Code of Companies and Associations, in force from 1 May 2019, cut the number of company forms and made the BV/SRL the default vehicle. Its most striking change was abolishing the fixed minimum capital for that form: instead of depositing a set sum, founders must show in a written financial plan that the company has enough starting assets for its planned activity. The public limited company (NV/SA) still requires EUR 61,500.
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