Belgium: Notes

Official Languages

Belgium emerged as a nation composed of three linguistic communities of different sizes whose population spoke mostly in French, Dutch and German. The earliest attempt to define which language should be used in official publications after the proclamation of independence (1830) was a decree of the Provisional Government of 16 Nov 1830 (Source: Pasinomie, 3^e Série, xii, 82-83). Despite the principle of the freedom of languages declared by the Government, the decree assigned French as the sole language for governmental publications in Bulletin officiel des lois et actes du gouvernement. The translations of official documents into Dutch and German were made a responsibility of local authorities. Addressing the linguistic issues at the session of the National Congress (Congrès national) 27 Nov 1830, the member of the Provisional Government Alexandre Gendebien admitted that the situation was quite complex and that the government abandoned any attempt to find a solution, entrusting local authorities to make translations. A resolution of the National Congress of 27 Nov 1830 supported the position of the Provisional Government:

Art. 2. Les décrets du congrès national seront transmis, à la diligence du bureau et dans les 24 heures de leur date, au pouvoir exécutif, qui les fera publier immédiatement, avec une traduction flamande ou allemande pour les communes où l'on parle ces langues, et qui les adressera au plus tard dans les cinq jours aux autorités judiciaires et administratives.

Source: Pasinomie, 3^e Série, xii, 94.

The resolution also introduced a "formule exécutoire" which required that all legislative acts should be passed "Au nom du peuple belge" ("In the Name of the Belgian People"), i.e. in French.

The promulgation of the Constitution on 11 Feb 1831 (effective 25 Feb 1831) did not make any significant changes in the status of languages. Belgium was declared a nation where the choice of languages is "optional" ("facultatif") but none of the three major languages was given a Constitutional status:

Art. 23. L'emploi des langues usitées en Belgique est facultatif; il ne peut être réglé que par la loi, et seulement pour les actes de l'autorité publique et pour les affaires judiciaires.

Source: Pasinomie, 3^e Série, xii, 185.

In practice, French was used in all official correspondence, becoming legally authoritative de facto. Two decrees concerning the formule exécutoire (27 Feb 1831, 4 May 1831, Pasinomie, 3^e Série, xii, 225, 345) established a new order for promulgation of laws by Régent de la Belgique.

After the installation of Léopold I^er, who had taken his oath of allegiance as roi des Belges only in French (21 Jul 1831, Pasinomie, 3^e Série, xiii, 1), the first royal arrêté changed the formule exécutoire to "Nous, Léopold I^er, roi des Belges, ..." and "Au nom du roi des Belges, ..." (22 Jul 1831, Pasinomie, 3^e Série, xiii, 2-3) without any references either to Dutch or German. The law of 19 Sep 1831 (effective 22 Sep 1831) formalised the use of French as the sole language for official legislation with corresponding translations into Dutch and German for the communities where population spoke in these languages:

2. Les lois seront insérées au Bulletin officiel, aussitôt après leur promulgation, avec une traduction flamande ou allemande, pour les communes où l'on parle ces langues; le texte français demeurant néanmoins seul officiel.

Source: Pasinomie, 3^e Série, xiii, 150.

The provisions of the law of 19 Sep 1831 were effectively repealed with the promulgation of the law of 28 Feb 1845 which replaced Bulletin officiel with Moniteur (published as Moniteur belge). This law mentioned only Dutch as the language to which translations are to be made, although the original proposal of the law discussed in the lower chamber of Belgian parliament (17 Jan 1845) also mentioned German ("... avec une traduction flamande ou allemande... ", see Chambre des représentants de Belgique, Séance du vendredi 17 janvier 1845, p. 518).

Art. 5. Le gouvernement fera réimprimer, dans un recueil spécial, les lois et arrêtés avec une traduction flamande pour les communes où l’on parle cette langue.

Néanmoins ne seront pas réimprimés dans ce recueil, les lois et arrêtés dont l’objet est purement individuel ou local.

Ce recueil sera adressé directement aux communes, immédiatement après l’insertion des lois et arrêtés au Moniteur.

Source: Pasinomie, 4^e Série, xxvi, année 1845, 32.

The accession of Léopold II marked a change of the formule exécutoire only to include the name of the new king (17 Dec 1865, Pasinomie, 4^e Série, i, année 1865-1866, 5-6) followed by the law of 23 Dec 1865 modifying the law of 28 Feb 1845 in a similar manner (Pasinomie, 4^e Série, i, année 1865-1866, 18).

A political movement for emancipation and greater autonomy of Flanders and for protection of the Dutch language known as the Flemish Movement made a considerable impact on the politics in Belgium, including linguistic situation, in the second part of the 19th century. In response to the demands of the Flemish community, the royal government carried out some reforms, such as the imposition of the Dutch language in court proceedings in the Flemish part of the country (1873), and a similar imposition on government authorities in that region (1878), followed five years later by the introduction of some teaching in Dutch at secondary level, also in the Flemish sector. At national level, Belgium started to make coins, minted separately in parallel series, which bore inscriptions either in French or Dutch.

Among its goals, the movement targeted removal of French unilingualism applied indifferently throughout the country, and introduction of a limited bilingualism. It culminated in the major reform of 1898 guaranteeing equal status for Dutch and French. The law commonly known as Gelijkheidswet (Equality Law) [1] ultimately recognised the status of Dutch as an official language for the purposes of legislation, repealing the law of 28 Feb 1845 and its amendments of 23 Dec 1865:

Art. 1^er. Les lois sont votées, sanctionnées, promulguées et publiées en langue française et en langue flamande.

For the first time after independence of Belgium, the formule exécutoire was included in the law of 18 Apr 1898 in French and Dutch, thus giving the recognition to the royal style in both languages: Roi des Belges and Koning der Belgen. During the installation of Albert I^er as King of the Belgians (23 Dec 1909), he took the oath of allegiance in French and Dutch (see Annales parlementaires de Belgique. Sénat. Session ordinaire 1909-1910. Séance solennelle des chambres réunies, tenue le 23 décembre 1909, p. 75). The Equality Law was insignificantly modified on 3 Aug 1924 and 19 Jul 1951, continuing in existence until the enactment of the Law of 31 May 1961 [2]. In 1967 a Dutch version of the Constitution was legally accepted [3].

Despite the fact that in 1970 and 1973 major changes were made in the Constitution recognising the special rights of the cultural communities of Belgium, German remained without any official status. A full-scale modification of the Constitution in 1991-1993 included the amendment of Art. 140 which provided for recognition of the German text of the Constitution:

Article unique. L'article 140 de la Constitution est remplacé par la disposition suivante:
«Art. 140. Le texte de la Constitution est établi en français, en néerlandais et en allemand.»

Source: Moniteur belge/Belgisch Staatsblad, N° 216, 31 octobre 1991, p. 24464 [4]

A proposal to change the text of the Law of 31 May 1961 to provide equal status for German as a language of legislation was introduced in the Belgian parliament in 2004 but was never passed. An alternative proposal was signed into a law on 21 Apr 2007 [5], authorising the Central German Translation Service (Service central de traduction allemande/Centrale Dienst voor Duitse vertaling) to make selective translations of laws into German and its further publication in Moniteur belge/Belgisch Staatsblad. These provisions became effective 1 Jan 2009.