'Attack on rule of law': Judiciary slams migration minister for refusing to pay penalties
The judiciary in Belgium has raised concerns about the migration minister's refusal to pay penalties imposed for failing to provide shelter for asylum seekers. The refusal "constitutes a direct attack on the rule of law and the separation of powers," it said.
Over the past few years, Belgium has been condemned more than 10,000 times for failing to provide shelter. Last weekend, minister for Asylum and Migration Anneleen Van Bossuyt told the newspaper L'Echo that she is not prepared to pay the resulting penalties.
Her statements "are symptomatic of a worrying development in which a member of the executive branch believes they can place themselves above the law," the country's Court of Cassation, the College of Public Prosecutors and the College of Courts and Tribunals said in a statement on Wednesday.
“This is in violation of the principles of a democratic constitutional state,” they said. According to an Amnesty International report, the penalties had already amounted to a total of almost 16 million euros in April.
Separation of powers
The refusal to pay the penalties began during the previous Belgian government's tenure, under the leadership of former secretary of state Nicole de Moor. Her successor, Van Bossuyt, is adopting the same approach.
“I inherited a situation that I did not choose,” Van Bossuyt told L'Echo. “I am not prepared to pay those penalties. It is more important to me that the money is used to solve the problem structurally," she said.
Her recent comments have upset the judiciary. "The minister's statement is worrying and undermines the constitutional foundations of our constitutional state, particularly the separation of powers," said the judicial institutions.
Failure to implement judicial decisions and refusal to pay imposed penalties constitutes a direct attack on the rule of law and the separation of powers”
“Judicial decisions are binding on all citizens and authorities. Failure to implement judicial decisions and refusal to pay imposed penalties constitutes a direct attack on the rule of law and the separation of powers,” they said.
The institutions stated that public authorities can propose legislative changes whenever they deem the current legislation to be inappropriate. The argument that the money could be spent more effectively elsewhere is also invalid, they added. "That would mean every citizen could decide not to pay a fine simply because they wanted to," they said.
'Inherited mess'
In response, Van Bossuyt remained steadfast in her position. “I would rather spend my budget on getting our asylum and migration policy in order than paying off the mess I inherited from the Vivaldi government,” she said on Wednesday.
The situation is also improving under the current government, she added. "In the past four weeks, Fedasil has been convicted 19 times, compared to 146 convictions in the same period in 2024."
Van Bossuyt did agree that change must come from politics. "That is why we are committed to a complete change of course, introducing new legislation to limit inflows, increase outflows, and combat abuse," she said. "This will enable us to achieve a more humane reception system that will ultimately lead to zero penalty payments,’" she said.
A makeshift tent camp set up in Flagey Square, Brussels, in September 2023 to accommodate asylum seekers © BELGA PHOTO KRISTOF VAN ACCOM
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