Introduction

• Author: Ouhnaoui, Hania; Bribosia, Emmanuelle; Navasartian, Areg; Rorive, Isabelle
• Pages: 14-19

14

INTRODUCTION

The national legal system

In the Belgian federal system, the competence to legislate on discrimina tion in the areas

covered by the Racial Equality and Employment Equality Directives is divided between the

federal state, the three communities35 and the three regions.36 Unlike in the French-

speaking part of Belgium, in the Flemish part of the country, the region and community

are merged into one body.

With respect to the implementation of the principle of equal treatment in the fields to which

only Directive 2000/43/EC applies (social protection, including social security and

healthcare; social advantages; education; access to and supply of goods and services

which are available to the public, including housing),37 the Constitution and the Special Act

of 8 August 1980, lastly revised on 6 January 2014 (Sixth Belgian State Reform), provide

that:

- social security is a federal matter, except for family allowances38 which has been a

responsibility of the communities since the Sixth Belgian State Reform of 2014;

- healthcare is essentially a competence of the communities, except for certain matters

including the adoption of framework legislation and health insurance, which remain

matters of federal competence;

- with a few exceptions, social aid is a competence of the communities;

- education is a competence of the communities, including the status of school teachers

and other civil servants or employees working in schools (Article 127(1)(2) of the

Constitution);

- social housing, as well as the rules relating to the private housing market, are the

responsibility of the regions, since the Sixth Belgian State Reform of 2014;

- prohibition of discrimination in the access to and supply of goods and services

available to the public should be dealt with by each competent authority in the sphere

of its powers (for instance, public transport falls within the competence of the regions,

apart from the national airport and the public railway company, which are the

responsibility of the federal state).

With respect to the implementation of the principle of equal treatment in the fields to which

both the Racial Equality and the Employment Equality Directives apply, the Special Act of

8 August 1980 specifically reserves to the federal level the competence to legislate in

employment law. The regions and communities, however, have important powers in the

domain of employment policy:

- the regions have been granted powers relating to the placement of workers (which

includes vocational guidance) and the adoption of programmes for the professional

integration of the unemployed;

- the communities have been granted powers relating to vocational training (although,

in the French-speaking part of the state, vocational training was transferred from the

French Community to the Walloon Region and the Brussels Capital Region);

- the status of personnel of the regions or communities is the exclusive competence of

the regions and communities.

35 The French Community (Communauté française) which is referred to as the Federation Wallonia-Brussels

(Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles) in the political and media discourse, the Flemish Community (Vlaamse

Gemeenschap), and the German-speaking Community (deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft).

36 The Walloon Region (Région wallonne), the Flanders Region (Vlaams Gewest) and the Brussels Capital

Region (Région de Bruxelles-capitale).

37 Directive 2000/43/EC, Article 3(1)(e) to (h).

38 Parental leave allowances are still a federal matter.