New from Hart Publishing
The Constitution of Belgium
A Contextual Analysis
Patricia Popelier and Koen Lemmens
The Belgian Constitution, once described as a model of consensus
democracy, has now become an enigma in comparative federalism. On the one hand,
it demonstrates features which suggest institutional instability as well as
elements that enhance the probability of secession. On the other hand, Belgium
continues to exist as a federal system, based upon linguistic bipolarity. This
linguistic bipolarity dominates Belgian politics and has shaped the design of
Belgium’s institutions as well as the Constitution’s fundamental organising
principles: concepts of federalism, democracy, separation of powers,
constitutionalism and the rule of law.
In this book, the institutional structure and the principles governing
the Belgian constitutional system are explained in the light of its historical,
demographic and political context. Linguistic bipolarity and its historical
evolution explain the establishment of the Belgian State structure as a dual
federalism, with exclusive powers, instruments for consensus making and
obstruction, and elements of confederal decision making. It also explains the
evolution in the concept of principles of democracy and the rule of law.
Besides describing the devolutionary process, the book also incorporates two
other elements that have shaped the Belgian constitutional landscape:
fundamental rights and Europeanisation.
Patricia Popelier is Professor of
Constitutional Law at the University of Antwerp.
Koen Lemmens is Associate Professor of
Human Rights at the Catholic University of Louvain.
October 2015
9781849464154 312pp
Paperback RSP: £19.99
DISCOUNT RATE TO AUTHOR EMAIL LIST SUBSCRIBERS: £14.99
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