Created in 1980 as the Court of Arbitration to police the boundaries between the federal state, the Regions and the Communities, and renamed the Constitutional Court on 7 May 2007 as its human-rights docket grew. It can annul or suspend legislation of any of the six Belgian legislators. Its founding provision sits in Article 142 of the coordinated Constitution.
How the court is constituted
- Tier
- constitutional
- Court type
- Constitutional review and competence disputes
- Jurisdiction
- National — federal statutes, regional and community decrees, and Brussels ordinances
- Seat
- Brussels
- Established
- 1980
- Composition
- Twelve judges, six Dutch-speaking and six French-speaking, sitting in a bilingual bench. Half come from a judicial or academic legal background and half must have served at least five years in a parliamentary assembly — a deliberate mix of legal and political experience.
- Appointment
- Appointed for life by the King from a list of two candidates put forward alternately by the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate; retirement at 70. The presidency alternates annually between the two language groups.
- Languages
- Dutch, French, German
Where an appeal goes next
None; judgments are final and binding. Annulment operates with retroactive effect unless the Court limits it.
Filing at this court
- Annulment action
- Within six months of publication of the norm in the Moniteur belge
- Preliminary question
- Referred by any court that must apply the norm; no time limit
- Standing
- Public authorities, or any person showing a personal and direct interest
- Electronic filing
- eProConst digital submission of procedural documents
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