The Enforcement of Federal Law in the Belgian Federal State

Abstract

This chapter looks at enforcement in the Belgian federal system. It first introduces the dynamics of Belgian federalism, how it channels processes of defiance to some extent through a dismantling of the federal state, and how it avoids the issue of enforcement of federal law by federate entities by reference to the exclusivity and equality principles. The chapter then analyses the exceptional situations where the enforcement of federal law is clearly provided for—concurrently through framework competences and parallel competences. It likewise analyses expressions of defiance in the framework of cooperative Belgian federalism, before turning to the power of the Constitutional Court to sanction violations of the enforcement of federal law. Finally, the chapter examines the scenario where defiance is brought to a higher level, with the flagrant and explicit disrespect by the federate entities of the Federal Constitution and of the judgments of the Constitutional Courts.