Report No. 162

3.8 Belgium.-

In the course of the nineteenth century the Belgian ordinary courts worked out a system of substantive droit administratif not far removed from the French system. The Belgian Conseil d'Etat was established by the Law of December 23rd, 1946. It consists of two sections, one of which deals with legislative matters and the other with administrative affairs.

The legislative section is responsible for improving the drafting and editing of legal texts. The administrative section has the task of ensuring protection of the citizens' rights and interests in relation to exercise of public powers. It has jurisdiction to quash a decision of the administration (contentieux d'annulation) on grounds (cas d'ouvertures) corresponding to the grounds of French administrative law.