Constitution of Belgium (1831)

The liberal nineteenth century charter, later federalized to hold a divided country.

Overview

Adopted February 7, 1831, the Belgian Constitution was among the most liberal of its century, enumerating freedoms of press, association, and education, limiting royal power, and making parliament the essence of the state. It organized a unitary constitutional monarchy, decentralization arriving through successive revisions, 1970, 1980, 1988 89, 1993 formally declaring Belgium a federal state, and 2012 14 completing the sixth state reform. The constitutional court, first arbitrage court from 1980, now reviews rights and competence conflicts. It remains the reference point for studying constitutional accommodation of linguistic communities through federalization and parity rules.