The Federal Institute for Human Rights highlights the weakening of the rule of law in Belgium
In its 2023 annual report, the Federal Institute for Human Rights draws attention, among other things, to the failure of the authorities to enforce the rulings of the Belgian and European courts and tribunals, in particular in the context of the reception crisis. The lack of resources for the judiciary, threats to human rights defenders and weaknesses in the right to information are also underlined.
On 23 May 2024, the Federal Institute for Human Rights, which is responsible for ensuring respect for human rights in Belgium, published its 2023 annual report. The report highlights in particular the following worrying trends:
- The lack of human and financial resources for the judiciary has a negative impact on the duration of legal proceedings, the workload of magistrates, the quality of the decisions issued and, indirectly, on the confidence that citizens have in the justice system.
- The Belgian authorities fail to enforce judgments relating to issues such as reception conditions for asylum seekers, overcrowding in prisons, arms export licenses, noise pollution from Brussels-National Airport, etc. The Institute concludes that "If a government decides, without consequences, that it can ignore court decisions regarding the reception conditions of asylum seekers, it also normalizes in this way the fact of not enforcing certain decisions deemed contrary to its political interests. This practice opens the door to an "à la carte" respect for the judicial power, which overturns the hierarchy of norms and weakens the separation of powers".
- Civil society organisations have noticed a deterioration of their situation over the last two years, due to their financial insecurity, but also the difficulties they experience in participating in the public policy-making process.
- There are shortcomings in terms of freedom of the press and the right to information. Everyone should have easy access to administrative information. However, despite recent modifications, the legislation remains complex, administrations have numerous exceptions that they can invoke to refuse to transmit a document, the procedures are long and the Federal commission for access to administrative documents does not have binding powers.
The Federal Institute for Human Rights emphasises that committing to solving these problems requires more structural changes, significant investments of time and resources, and a coordinated and transparent strategy.
For further information, please read the press release from the FIRM/IFDH in French or in Dutch.