Brussels court rules in favour of voter summons in French

The lower court in Brussels has told authorities in the so-called facility municipalities in the Flemish periphery of Brussels, that they have to send out election summons to French-speaking residents in French.

The court considered the issue after a complaint was lodged by four French-speaking residents in Wezembeek-Oppem, one of the Flemish municipalities just outside Brussels where French speakers are granted certain administrative language rights. They argued that the municipality was acting illegally in the 2012 elections by sending out voting summons to everyone only in Dutch.

Flanders’ minister in charge of the Flemish periphery, Geert Bourgeois, recently overturned a decision by Linkebeek’s city council to send out election summons letters in the language of the recipient. “The law states that Linkebeek municipality is required to send out the summons to vote in Dutch and only Dutch,” he stated.

But the Brussels court has now ruled in favour of the French-speaking residents, arguing that they have the right to receive official documents in French. The court also said it would impose a fine of €2,000 for any violation.

The court said that its judgment is based on a decision by the Mons court of appeal in 2011 that found that regions do not have the right to interpret federal laws.

Bourgeois, meanwhile, will appeal the decision. “Facility municipalities are in fact Flemish municipalities with facilities, but not bilingual entities,” said a spokesperson for the ministry yesterday. “The Flemish government remains committed to applying the law as it exists.”