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BELGIUM

The controlling principle of the Congress of Vienna was that of establishing checks upon the power of France. To this purpose is largely due the creation of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands which was established by the consolidation of Holland, the bishopric of Liège, and the former Austrian Netherlands. William of Orange accepted the sovereignty of the new kingdom, guaranteeing equality of treatment to all parts of the consolidated territory.

The constitution of the Netherlands, drawn up in Holland, was submitted to an assembly of Belgians for approval, but was rejected. Nevertheless, it was adopted and remained until 1830 the constitution of the united kingdom. The administration was conducted in a manner more favorable to the Dutch territory than to the Belgian provinces. Dutch was made the official language, although French was spoken in a large part of Belgium, and the Protestant Dutch government antagonized the Belgian Catholics.

The French revolution of July, 1830, first gave the Belgians the idea of a revolt. The government attempted to conciliate the population, being now willing to grant demands which it had theretofore rejected, but the people were bent upon separation. In September, 1830, armed conflict resulted between the Belgian population and Dutch troops. Belgium rose in revolt, and a national congress declared Belgian independence. A constitution was adopted on February 7, 1831, and Leopold of Saxe-Coburg became king in June of the same year.

The king of the Netherlands was unwilling to consent to the new arrangement, but it was supported by the conference of the great powers at London in 1831, and the Dutch government was brought to terms by the employment of French troops.

The Belgian constitution of 1831 remained unaltered for over sixty years. But the electoral franchise was upon a very narrow basis, and a movement for revision began as early as 1866. At last the delays in this respect caused so much dissatisfaction that

all parties were forced to unite in 1893 in a revision of the constitution which should grant universal male suffrage.

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

THONISSEN, J. J. La constitution belge annotée. (3d ed., Brussels, 1879.) The standard commentary; for the amendments of 1893 it is supplemented by the work of Thiebault and Henry.

THIEBAULT, CHARLES ET HENRY, ALBERT. Commentaire des articles revisés de la constitution belge. (Brussels, 1894) VAUTHIER, M. Das Staatsrecht des Koenigreichs Belgien. 1892. Handbuch des oeffentlichen Rechts.)

(Freiburg,

(7th ed.,

MASSON, F. ET WILIQUET, C. Manuel de droit constitutionnel.
An excellent elementary work, intended for use in

Brussels, 1904.) normal schools. LARCIER, FERDINAND. Code politique et administratif de la Belgique. (2d ed., Brussels, 1893.) Contains texts of constitution and of all important laws bearing upon the political and administrative organization of Belgium.

GIRON, A. Dictionnaire de droit administratif et de droit public. (Brussels, 1895-96. 3 vols.) A fairly satisfactory dictionary of Belgian public law. The same author also has a treatise on Belgian public law, La droit public de la Belgique (Brussels, 1884), and the best work on Belgian administrative law, Le droit administratif de la Belgique (2d ed., Brussels, 1885. 3 vols.).

ORBAN, O. Le droit constitutionnel de la Belgique. Tome 1.

(Liège,

1906.) To be completed in two volumes. This work has not been examined, but Orban is a high authority, and his treatise will probably supersede the older commentaries.

DUPRIEZ, LÉON. L'organisation du suffrage universe! en Belgique. Vote plural, vote obligatoire, représentation proportionelle. (Paris, 1901.)

CONSTITUTION OF BELGIUM1

(February 7, 1831)

In the name of the Belgian people, the National Congress

enacts:

1 In the preparation of this text assistance has been received from the translation made by Professor J. M. Vincent and issued as a supplement to the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, May, 1896.

TITLE I. THE TERRITORY AND ITS DIVISIONS

ARTICLE I. Belgium is divided into provinces. These provinces are: Antwerp, Brabant, West Flanders, East Flanders, Hainaut, Liège, Limbourg, Luxembourg, Namur.

If there should be occasion for it, the territory may be divided by law into a greater number of provinces.

The colonies, possessions beyond the sea, or protectorates which Belgium may acquire shall be governed by special laws. The Belgian forces required for their defense shall be recruited only by voluntary enlistment."

ART. 2. Subdivisions of the provinces shall not be made except by law.

ART. 3. The boundaries of the state, of the provinces, and of the communes shall not be changed or rectified except by law.

TITLE II. BELGIAN CITIZENS AND THEIR RIGHTS

ART. 4. Belgian nationality is acquired, retained, and lost according to regulations established by the civil law.

The present constitution and the other laws relating to political rights determine what other conditions are necessary for the exercise of these rights.

ART. 5. Naturalization is granted by the legislative power. Full naturalization alone admits foreigners to equality with Belgians in the exercise of political rights.

ART. 6. There shall be no distinction of classes in the

state.

All Belgians are equal before the law; they alone are

2 As amended September 7, 1893. By treaty of April 19, 1839, Belgium secured a portion of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, freed from all connections with the German Confederation. The provision regarding colonies was introduced in 1893 to give the government power to administer the Congo Independent State when it should become a Belgian possession. By a treaty signed on November 28, 1907, Belgium takes over the whole administration of the Congo Independent State. This treaty has not yet been ratified, but the administration will probably be taken over in 1908.

admissible to civil and military offices, with such exceptions as may be established by law for particular cases.

ART. 7. Individual liberty is guaranteed.

No one may be prosecuted except in cases provided for by law and in the form therein prescribed.

Except when one is taken in the commission of an offense no one may be arrested without a warrant issued by a magistrate, which ought to be shown at the time of arrest, or at the latest within twenty-four hours thereafter.

ART. 8. No person shall be removed against his will from the jurisdiction of the judge to whom the law assigns him. ART. 9. No penalty shall be established or enforced except by virtue of a law.

ART. 10. The private domicile is inviolable; no search of premises shall take place except in the cases provided for by law and according to the form therein prescribed.

ART. II. No one may be deprived of his property except for a public purpose and according to the forms established by law, and in consideration of a just compensation previously determined.

ART. 12.

Punishment by confiscation of property shall

not be established.

ART. 13. Total deprivation of civil rights (mort civile) is abolished and shall not be re-established.3

ART. 14. Religious liberty and the freedom of public worship, as well as free expression of opinion in all matters, are guaranteed, with the reservation of power to suppress offenses committed in the use of these liberties.

ART. 15. No one shall be compelled to join in any manner whatever in the forms or ceremonies of any religious denomination, nor to observe its days of rest.

ART. 16. The state shall not interfere either in the appointment or in the installation of the ministers of any religious

La mort civile is abolished as a punishment by itself. The condition follows as a secondary consequence of condemnation to death, hard labor, or transportation for life.

denomination whatever, nor shall it forbid them to correspond with their superiors or to publish their proceedings, subject, in the latter case, to the ordinary responsibility of the press and of publication.

Civil marriage shall always precede the religious ceremony, except in cases to be established by law if found necessary.

ART. 17. Private instruction shall not be restricted; all measures interfering with it are forbidden; the repression of offenses shall be regulated only by law.

Public instruction given at the expense of the state shall likewise be regulated by law.

ART. 18. The press is free; no censorship shall ever be established; no security shall be exacted of writers, publishers, or printers.*

In case the writer is known and is a resident of Belgium, the publisher, printer, or distributor shall not be prosecuted.

ART. 19. Belgians have the right, without previous authorization, to assemble peaceably and without arms, conforming themselves to the laws which regulate the exercise of this right.

This provision does not apply to assemblies in the open air, which remain entirely under the police laws.

ART. 20. Belgians have the right of association; this right shall not be restricted by any preventive measure.

ART. 21. Anyone has the right to address petitions to the public authorities, signed by one or more persons.

Legally organized bodies alone have the right to petition under a collective name.

ART. 22. The privacy of correspondence is inviolable. The law shall determine who are the agents responsible for the violation of the secrecy of letters intrusted to the post.

ART. 23. The use of the languages spoken in Belgium is optional. This matter may be regulated only by law and only for acts of public authority and for judicial proceedings.

See also Arts. 96 and 98 which relate to trials of offenses of the press.

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