Government of the German-speaking Community

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The seat of government in the Grand Ry house on the Eupener Klötzerbahn
The building, presumably designed by Johann Joseph Couven, is a listed building

The government of the German-speaking Community (sometimes abbreviated as DG Government ), formerly the executive of the German-speaking Community , is the executive body of the German-speaking Community (DG) in Belgium, with its seat in Eupen .

The government is composed of a Prime Minister and currently three other members. The main powers of the government are the drafting of decrees and the execution of decrees that have been passed in the DG's parliament . In addition, the government drafts and coordinates the policy of the community, manages external relations within its areas of responsibility and organizes the administration of the DG.

The government is solely responsible to the parliament of the German-speaking community. This can demand the presence of the government and give it or withdraw its confidence.

history

The German-speaking area of ​​Belgium

On the occasion of the creation of the cultural communities through the first state reform in 1970 and the first transformation of Belgium into a federal state , a council of the German cultural community (RdK) was also established. This was put together at the level of the German-speaking area of ​​Belgium through direct elections (the first election took place on March 10, 1974) and is considered to be the forerunner of today's parliament of the German-speaking community .

The RdK, which was able to vote on its own ordinances in the cultural sector, but was not (yet) allowed to pass any norms with legal force, was not provided with its own executive at that time. This led to a peculiar situation in which a directly elected state body was able to create a regulatory framework, but the implementation of this framework was still the responsibility of the federal authority, the then national government . Even if some employees from the German-speaking part of the country were represented in the national government (the so-called "Ostbelgienkabinett"), it was still the case that the ministers of this government were not responsible before the councils of the cultural communities, but only before the national parliament .

The first government of the German-speaking Community, then still called the Executive, was only set up on January 31, 1984. In fact, with the second state reform in 1980, the cultural communities were transformed into communities with their own legislative competence. The creation of special executive bodies, which were elected by the community councils and were responsible before them, had thus become inevitable, so that the German-speaking community also received its own executive after the adoption of the so-called Ostbelgiengesetze.

The executive branch finally received the designation "Government of the German-speaking Community" through the 1993 constitutional revision carried out on the occasion of the fourth state reform.

Government formation

In principle, a new government is formed when the previous government resigns. In principle, this is the case after every new parliamentary election. But it is also possible that a new government will have to be formed after the unplanned failure of the predecessor. A government election always requires coalition negotiations between the parliamentary groups represented in parliament. It should be noted in this context that there is no time limit for the formation of a government. The negotiating parties can take as much time as they need. Until the formation of the new government, the outgoing government takes over the "current business". (see below)

According to the constitution , the members of each community government are elected by its parliament. The government candidates who have been nominated on a list signed by an absolute majority of members of parliament are elected as ministers; this list must contain several people of different sexes and determines the ranking of future ministers. The respective nominations must be signed by at least three members of parliament, with each member of parliament only being allowed to cast his or her vote once. If the President of Parliament is not given a list signed by an absolute majority of parliamentarians on the day of the election, separate secret elections are held for members of the government.

Finally, the ministers take the constitutional oath before the President of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community. Unlike ordinary ministers, the prime minister takes his oath not only in front of parliament, but also in front of the king .

By taking the oath before parliament, the government is already considered to be formed and fully functional. In practice, however, a government declaration is read out in parliament a few weeks after the formation of the government. Following this, the government usually asks again formally for parliament's confidence .

composition

Prime Minister

Seat of the Prime Minister in Eupener Gospertstraße

The Prime Minister of the German-speaking Community is the head of government of the community and thus one of the most important political office holders. The government itself appoints the prime minister from among its members; this decision must be ratified by the king. In the absence of a consensus, the Prime Minister is chosen by secret ballot and an absolute majority of the members of the government.

The Prime Minister heads the government as primus inter pares and chairs government meetings (see below). He represents the government in the various institutions and represents the community on a national and international level.

As for the incompatibilities and other conditions that must be met in order to become Prime Minister, the office of Prime Minister is no different from that of an ordinary minister.

The previous Prime Ministers of the German-speaking Community were:

minister

The ministers form the government of the German-speaking community and assume all constitutional and statutory executive functions. The number of members of the government, including the Prime Minister, is fixed at a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5; While the government still met three people until 2004, it currently has four members.

To become a Minister of the Government of the German-speaking Community, four conditions must be met:

  • have Belgian citizenship,
  • be at least 18 years old,
  • be entered in the population register of a municipality in the German-speaking area,
  • are not in one of the legal grounds for exclusion.

The office of minister is incompatible with certain other functions. So it is not possible to be a member of parliament and hold a ministerial office at the same time. In addition, ministers of the DG government cannot be appointed as ministers in the federal government or in another community or regional government.

The ministers have a certain immunity to exercise their offices . Indeed, they must not be prosecuted or the subject of any investigation in the exercise of their office. Your criminal or civil liability can nevertheless be determined in certain cases. (see below)

Powers

The government of the German-speaking Community draws up draft decrees and decrees, proposes the budget to parliament, and drafts and coordinates community policy in general. Your work thus extends to different levels.

Executive force

Content of the legal instruments

Decrees issued by the government are in the Belgian Official Gazette published

The government of the German-speaking Community receives its responsibilities as the executive authority on the one hand through explicit delegations from the decree-maker, who entrusts the government with the clarification of certain aspects of a decree. The first execution act incumbent on the government is the sanction and the execution of the decrees.

On the other hand, it is provided by law that the government shall adopt the measures necessary to implement the decrees without being able to suspend the decrees themselves or exempt them from their implementation. For example, the government can specify provisions that the decree-maker only stipulated at the level of principle. However, the tasks of the executive go beyond that: in truth, the government ensures the day-to-day functioning of the community. The direct implementation of the laws by the public authorities and administrations as well as the guarantee of public authority, which aims to ensure the implementation of the decrees, also belong to the tasks of the executive body.

As far as the content of the legal instruments is concerned, a distinction is made between standard decrees (also called ordinances) and individual decrees (also called individual decrees):

  • Standard enactments : Enactments with regulatory effect contain general and abstract provisions that define a norm of behavior for the present and the future. It therefore affects an indefinite number of cases based on objective criteria. The initiative for the creation of a rule decree always lies with the authority itself.
  • Individual decrees: These decrees have a limited scope and are only applicable to certain people and specific situations. They represent the decision of an authority, which may also have been made at the request of the data subject (e.g. an application for approval).

Form of legal instruments

In order to fulfill its task as the executive power, the government of the German-speaking Community makes use of various legal instruments, such as government decrees, ministerial decrees or circulars.

Government decrees : They are the highest legal norm of the executives of the German-speaking community. The other decrees, such as ministerial decrees, decrees of the provincial colleges or mayor decrees, are subordinate to the provisions of the government decrees. In the hierarchy of norms , however, they are subordinate to the constitution and the laws and decrees.

The adoption of a government decree is subject to certain formal rules:

  • They list the constitutional, legal or decree bases that entitle the executive to act;
  • Insofar as they have a regulatory content (see above), they are first sent to the State Council for legal review;
  • In the case of individual decrees (see above), they must be justified in terms of both content and form;
  • They may be published in the Belgian State Gazette in German with a French and a Dutch translation; etc.

Ministerial decrees (or ministerial decrees): These decrees are drafted by a minister himself and not adopted by the government. As a rule, they only affect individual decisions.

Circulars : Circulars are official communications from a minister to the officials of the ministry, in which, if necessary, the interpretation of a decree or order is specified. They serve the smooth functioning of the services. In principle, they have no binding effect on citizens.

Decree initiative

The entrance sign of the Ministry of DG

In addition to the members of parliament, the government of the German-speaking Community has a right of initiative for the preparation of decrees, i.e. legal instruments with legal norms . While the texts submitted by parliamentarians are called proposed decrees , those submitted by the government are called draft decrees . The draft decree is preceded by a preliminary draft drawn up by the government for which a non-binding opinion has been obtained from the legislative department of the State Council . The preliminary draft will be adapted if necessary on the basis of this opinion and any comments made by other persons or institutions consulted. If the government agrees with the exact wording of the draft decree, it can be deposited in parliament.

The submitted draft decree usually consists of several parts. In addition to the draft itself, it contains a general justification and, if necessary, a commentary on the articles, a copy of the preliminary draft submitted to the Council of State, as well as the Council of State's opinion, a summary of the subject matter of the draft and, if applicable, the appendices to the draft. In any case, the drafts will be submitted in German.

The government makes frequent use of its right of initiative and most of the legislative texts adopted are usually based on a government bill.

Organization of administration

The government of the German-speaking Community has the Ministry of the German-speaking Community as the administrative authority . The Ministry's officials ensure that government decisions are implemented; they are appointed by the government in accordance with a statutory framework.

External relations

The Hôtel De Brouckère, seat of the DG's external representation in Brussels

Since the fourth State reform of 1993, the Government of the German-speaking Community, as well as the governments of other communities and regions, empowered within their jurisdiction, its own international relations to lead and has in this respect over the so-called "treaty-making power" (authority under international law contracts to be signed).

In Belgium, therefore, a distinction must be made between three types of international treaty when it comes to the question of jurisdiction:

“Federal” treaties : treaties which affect the competences of the federal state (or its “residual competences”) are negotiated and concluded by the king (and the federal government).

“Member State ” treaties : within the limits of their competences, the Governments of the Communities and the Regions can conclude treaties in complete autonomy. Since they also legally bind the Belgian state under international law, the constitution reserves the federal government some possibilities of intervention. The member states must inform the federal government in advance if they want to start negotiations with a view to the signing of international treaties. After receiving this information, the federal government has 30 days to notify the government concerned, if any, that it has objections to the treaty; this automatically suspends the aforementioned negotiations and the “inter-ministerial conference on foreign policy” is convened. This is tasked with finding a consensus solution within 30 days. If this is impossible, there is another 30-day period: If the federal government does not react, the suspension of the proceedings is ended and the member state can continue its negotiations. However, if the government wishes to confirm the stay of the proceedings, it can do so solely on the basis of one of the following circumstances:

  • the contracting party was not recognized by Belgium ;
  • Belgium has no diplomatic relations with this contracting party;
  • a decision or action by the contracting party resulted in relations with Belgium being severed, annulled or seriously damaged;
  • the draft treaty contradicts Belgium's international or supranational obligations.

Mixed treaties : In international treaties that affect both the competences of the federal state and those of one or more member states, a cooperation agreement regulates the cooperation between the various governments. The federal state must inform the inter-ministerial conference of foreign policy in advance if it intends to negotiate a mixed treaty. The negotiations are conducted by the representatives of the various authorities, with the FPS Foreign Affairs taking over the coordinating lead . In principle, the federal foreign minister and a minister from the member states concerned sign the treaty together. After the signature, the various governments submit the treaty to their respective parliaments for approval and inform each other about this. Only when all parliaments have given their approval does the federal foreign minister prepare the ratification document for Belgium's approval and have it signed by the king.

The usual constitutional rules apply to the implementation of international treaties with regard to the division of responsibilities between the legislature and the executive on the one hand, and between the federal state and the member states on the other. What is remarkable here is that the federal government can take the place of a member state (and thus “exclude” the federal structure) if it fails to meet its international or supranational obligations. In these cases, the federal state can even claim back the costs incurred. However, intervention by the federal authority is only possible if three conditions are met at the same time:

  • the Belgian state has been convicted by an international or supranational court for failure of a member state;
  • the authority concerned received three months' notice;
  • the federal state involved the authority concerned throughout the procedure.

The representation of Belgium in the various assemblies and bodies at international level also provides for a complicated interaction between the federal government and the various governments of the member states. Cooperation agreements have been concluded for Belgium's representation in international organizations (such as the Council of Europe , the OECD or the United Nations ) or in the EU Council of Ministers . The way in which the federal authority can represent the member states before the international courts of law was also regulated in a cooperation agreement.

Parliamentary control

The Parliament of the German-speaking Community on Eupener Kehrweg

One of the main features of parliamentary democracy is that the legislature has a right of control over the executive and, in the worst case, can withdraw its trust and that the executive must therefore justify its policy to the legislature. In addition to this political responsibility, the members of the executive branch, despite their legal immunity, can in certain cases also be made responsible under criminal and civil law.

Political accountability

The government has to answer to parliament for its policies and the members of the government have to answer questions. The confidence initially expressed can be withdrawn by Parliament at any time, either through a constructive vote of no confidence in which Parliament proposes a successor government or minister, or through a vote of no confidence. (see end of a government )

The control of the government also includes the control of the individual ministers. Parliament can therefore require individual members of the government to be present.

Finally, the parliament of the German-speaking Community has the right to investigate. This means that Parliament can set up a committee of inquiry that has the same powers as an investigating judge.

Criminal and civil liability

The criminal procedure against members of the government was fundamentally reformed in 1998 after the so-called " Agusta affair " (bribery payments for armaments contracts), in which various ministers were prosecuted. Since then, the Constitution has stipulated that crimes committed by ministers in and outside of the exercise of their office are judged exclusively by the Court of Appeal and not, as before, by the Court of Cassation itself. Only the public prosecutor at the competent court of appeal can initiate and lead the prosecution in criminal matters against a minister. All applications to regulate the procedure, every direct summons before the Court of Appeal and every arrest, unless discovered in the act, require the approval of Parliament. This approval automatically removes any parliamentary immunity of ministers. Parliament's decision is limited to the seriousness of the public prosecutor's inquiries; a parliamentary debate is not possible in order to comply with the separation of powers and the presumption of innocence and not to anticipate a judicial process. A complaint against the decisions of the Court of Appeal can be filed with the Court of Cassation in the united chambers, which does not know about the matter itself.

As for civil liability ( liability ), the constitution provides that a separate law should regulate this issue. However, since such was never passed, common law remains applicable.

End of a government

Three possible scenarios

The end of a government can be brought about in the following three cases:

  • Resignation : The government ministers or the prime minister alone determine that there are such incompatibilities within the government or the majority in parliament that further cooperation seems impossible. You therefore decide on your own initiative to submit your resignation to Parliament. After the resignation, a new majority (or the old majority with a new composition or new confidence) has to be found in parliament and a new government has to be formed. Unlike at the federal level, the possibility of dissolving parliament and calling new elections is not provided for the parliaments of the communities and regions.
  • No confidence vote : the government or one or more ministers lose the majority in parliament. This approves a motion of no confidence with an absolute majority and at the same time proposes a new government or one or more new ministers. The vote on the motion of censure may take place no earlier than 48 hours after it has been submitted.
  • Refused vote of confidence : The government also loses the majority in parliament in this case. The absolute majority of MPs refused to trust the government after it had put the vote of confidence in parliament. The vote on the vote of confidence may take place no earlier than 48 hours after it has been submitted.

Ongoing business

It can be a long time between the end of a government and the appointment of a new one. Until the appointment of the new government, the outgoing one carries out the so-called "current business" in order to avoid a legal void (the government is also referred to as "executive"). The outgoing government is therefore taking all measures necessary for the smooth continuation of the institutions. However, it is unclear what exactly the current business covers. In principle, no new political decisions can be made in the course of ongoing business. The legal theory traditionally distinguishes the current business in three types:

  • the day-to-day execution of public affairs (such as paying civil servants' salaries or pensions);
  • the continuation of decisions taken before the government resigned with a view to their intended outcome;
  • urgent matters which, in the absence of proper handling, would cause irreversible harm to the general public.

The State Council reserves the right to annul government decisions if they fail to comply with these requirements in the course of day-to-day business.

Current government

In the elections to the parliament of the German-speaking Community on May 25, 2014 , the Christian Socials ( CSP ) emerged as the strongest parliamentary group, but lost a few percentage points. While the Liberals ( PFF ), the Greens ( Ecolo ) and above all the Socialists ( SP ) also made significant losses, ProDG and Vivant emerged as the winners of the election.

The outgoing coalition of the SP, PFF and ProDG agreed a few days after the election to continue the alliance, this time under the leadership of ProDG. The CSP, as the strongest faction again, had to step into the opposition, in which it has been since 1999.

In the current legislative period, the government of the German-speaking Community consists of the following four members:

The long-time Prime Minister Karl-Heinz Lambertz (SP) left the government and was elected President of the Parliament of the DG.

See also

Portal: German-speaking community  - overview of Wikipedia content on the topic of German-speaking community

literature

  • S. Thomas: David versus Goliath? The (power) relationship between parliament and government of the German-speaking community . In: K. Stangherlin (Ed.): La Communauté germanophone de Belgique - The German-speaking Community of Belgium . La Charte, Brussels 2005, ISBN 2-87403-137-2 , pp. 287-319 .
  • F. Berge, A. Grasse : Belgium - disintegration or federal future model? The Flemish-Walloon conflict and the German-speaking community (=  regionalization in Europe, Volume 3 ). Leske and Budrich, Opladen 2003, ISBN 3-8100-3486-X , p. 178-180 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Article 59ter of the amended constitution of 1831 (before its coordination in 1994). Law of July 10, 1973 on the Council of the German Cultural Community ( BS July 14, 1973).
  2. ↑ Law of December 31, 1983 on institutional reforms for the German-speaking community.
  3. ↑ Article 122 of the (coordinated) constitution.
  4. ↑ Article 60, §§ 1 u. 5 of the Special Act of August 8, 1980 for the Reform of Institutions ( BS August 15, 1980) and Article 49 of the law of December 31, 1983 ( BS January 18, 1984).
  5. ↑ Article 60, §§ 2-3 of the Special Act of August 8, 1980 and Article 49 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  6. ↑ Article 62 of the special law of August 8, 1980 u. Article 51 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  7. ↑ a b Article 60, Section 4 of the Special Act of August 8, 1980 u. Article 49 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  8. ↑ Article 49 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  9. ↑ Article 5, § 1 of the law of 6 July 1990 and Article 50, paragraph 1 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  10. ↑ Article 11bis u. 50, paragraph 1 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  11. ↑ Article 11ter u. 50, paragraph 1 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  12. ↑ Article 50, paragraph 2 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  13. ↑ Article 124 of the Constitution.
  14. ↑ Article 52, § 1, Nos. 1-3 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  15. ↑ Article 78 of the Special Act of August 8, 1980 u. Article 51 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  16. ↑ Article 21 of the special law of August 8, 1980 u. Article 7 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  17. ↑ Article 20 of the special law of August 8, 1980 u. Article 7 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  18. ↑ Coordinated legislation of January 12, 1973 on the Council of State ( BS March 21, 1973).
  19. ↑ Law of July 29, 1991 on the express justification of administrative acts ( BS September 12, 1991).
  20. ↑ Article 53 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  21. ↑ Article 132 of the Constitution; Article 17 and 18 of the special law of August 8, 1980 u. Article 7 and 52, § 1, No. 1 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  22. ↑ Article 55 of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community; see also: Language legislation in Belgium .
  23. ↑ Article 87 of the special law of August 8, 1980 u. Article 54 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  24. ↑ Article 167, § 2 of the Constitution.
  25. ↑ Article 167, § 3 of the Constitution.
  26. ↑ Article 81, § 1 of the Special Act of August 8, 1980 and Article 51 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  27. ↑ An action for annulment can be filed with the State Council against the government's decision ; see Article 26bis of the coordinated legislation of January 12, 1973 on the Council of State.
  28. ↑ Article 81, §§ 2-4 of the Special Act of August 8, 1980 and Article 51 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  29. ↑ Cooperation agreement of March 8, 1994 regarding the modalities for concluding mixed contracts, in implementation of Article 92bis, § 4ter of the Special Act of August 8, 1980 and similar. Article 55bis of the law of December 31, 1983.
  30. ↑ Article 1 of the cooperation agreement of March 8, 1994.
  31. ↑ Article 5 of the Cooperation Agreement of March 8, 1994.
  32. ↑ Article 8 of the cooperation agreement of March 8, 1994. However, this approach was rejected at EU level ; see the "Declaration by the Kingdom of Belgium on the signing of the treaties by the Kingdom of Belgium as a Member State of the European Union" ( OJ C-351/1 of November 18, 1998, available on EUR-lex (PDF) ).
  33. ↑ Article 10 of the cooperation agreement of March 8, 1994.
  34. ↑ Article 12 of the cooperation agreement of March 8, 1994.
  35. ↑ Article 169 of the Constitution.
  36. ↑ Article 16, § 3 of the special law of August 8, 1980 and Article 5 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  37. ↑ Cooperation Agreement of 30 June 1994 on the representation of the Kingdom of Belgium in international organizations whose actions relate to mixed competences.
  38. ↑ Cooperation agreement of March 8, 1994 on the representation of the Kingdom of Belgium in the Council of Ministers of the European Union.
  39. ↑ Cooperation agreement of July 11, 1994 regarding the procedural modalities before international and supranational jurisdictions in mixed legal disputes; see also Article 81, Section 7 of the Special Act of August 8, 1980 and Article 51 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  40. ↑ Article 70 of the special law of August 8, 1980 u. Article 51 of the law of December 31, 1983. See also: dgparlament.be: Parliament of the German-speaking Community - election and control of the government. Retrieved April 1, 2014 .
  41. ↑ Articles 71-72 of the special law of August 8, 1980 and Article 51 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  42. ↑ Article 37 of the Special Act of August 8, 1980 u. Article 44 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  43. ↑ Article 40 of the special law of August 8, 1980 u. Article 44 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  44. ↑ Article 125, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution; Article 2, § 2 of the special law of June 25, 1998 regulating the criminal liability of members of community or regional governments ( BS June 27, 1998).
  45. ↑ Article 125, para. 4 and 5 of the Constitution; Article 3 ff. Of the Special Act of June 25, 1998.
  46. ↑ Article 12 of the Special Law of June 25, 1998.
  47. ↑ Article 125, Paragraph 3 of the Constitution.
  48. ↑ Article 125, Paragraph 8 of the Constitution.
  49. ↑ Articles 1382-1383 of the Civil Code.
  50. ↑ Article 73, paragraph 1 of the special law of August 8, 1980 and Article 51 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  51. ↑ Article 46, Paragraph 3 of the Constitution.
  52. ↑ Article 71 of the Special Act of August 8, 1980 u. Article 51 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  53. ↑ Article 72 of the Special Act of August 8, 1980 u. Article 51 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  54. ↑ Article 73, paragraph 2 of the special law of August 8, 1980 and Article 51 of the law of December 31, 1983.
  55. ↑ M. Uyttendaele: Regards sur un système institutionnel paradoxal. Précis de droit public belgium . In: Précis de la Faculté de Droit de l'Université Libre de Bruxelles . Bruylant, Brussels 1997, ISBN 2-8027-1028-1 , pp. 442 ff . (French).
  56. ↑ M. Uyttendaele: Regards sur un système institutionnel paradoxal. Précis de droit public belgium . In: Précis de la Faculté de Droit de l'Université Libre de Bruxelles . Bruylant, Brussels 1997, ISBN 2-8027-1028-1 , pp. 446-447 (French).