Belgium’s rule of law under pressure, national human rights body warns
Belgium’s Federal Institute for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights (FIRM) has warned that the country’s rule of law is under systematic threat. In a report published on Wednesday, FIRM cites the government’s repeated failure to execute court rulings, particularly in asylum and detention cases, as threatening democratic credibility and public trust in the justice system.
Since 2021, the report says, Belgian authorities have disregarded more than 10,000 court orders to provide adequate accommodation for asylum seekers. “Thousands of people entitled to international protection are sleeping on the streets despite binding judicial decisions,” FIRM said, describing this as a “structural violation of human rights obligations”.
The problem was recently exacerbated when Asylum and Migration Minister, Anneleen Van Bossuyt of N-VA, publicly said she would deliberately refuse to enforce certain rulings - a stance for which Belgium was condemned by the European Court of Human Rights in 2023.
Eroding foundations
FIRM also highlights the worsening overcrowding in Belgian prisons, where more than 13,200 inmates are held in facilities designed for just over 11,000.
Rather than expanding prison capacity, the focus should be on limiting the inflow through better judicial resources and alternatives to detention. The institute warns that chronic underfunding “erodes the foundations of the rule of law”.
Further concerns have been raised about government plans to merge the Council for Alien Law Litigation - an independent administrative court that deals with appeals against decisions made by the Immigration Office and the Commissioner-General for Refugees and Stateless Persons - into a new federal migration administration.
"Protecting and strengthening the rule of law demands constant vigilance"
Under this administration, judges would be appointed for renewable five-year terms rather than for life. This could endanger judicial independence and blur the separation of powers. The institute also criticises the growing shift of policing powers to municipalities, such as the imposition of local administrative fines or bans on protests, which lack the procedural safeguards of criminal law.
The report identifies eight major areas of concern and presents more than 30 recommendations to restore institutional accountability.
"Protecting and strengthening the rule of law demands constant vigilance," it concludes, urging Belgium's leaders to uphold the European Convention on Human Rights and ensure that court judgements are executed without exception.
Occupants of the future National Crisis Centre in Brussels on Monday, 20 March 2023 © BELGA PHOTO BENOIT DOPPAGNE
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