Rząd Federalny w Belgii (aspekty ustrojowe i administracyjne)

Abstract

This article is devoted to the constitutional position of the Federal Government in Belgium. In the parliamentary system of government the cabinet is a body of executive power. However, according to the original version of the Belgian Constitution of 1831, there was no collegial body of the executive power. To this day the constitution still states that executive power belongs to the King. In practice the Cabinet exercises competences reserved for the King – ministers countersign all royal acts. For this reason, the whole of the executive branch is exercised by the Federal Government. The article discusses the most important aspects of the constitutional position of the Federal Government as a body of executive power: the organization and composition of the Federal Government, the tasks and powers of the Federal Government, and the political responsibility of the Federal Government and its members. According to the author it is determined by two basic factors: evolution of the parliamentary system of government and the federal structure of the state, which is associated with linguistic and ethnic divisions.