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Courts of Belgium

A Court of Cassation sits at the top of the ordinary courts, a Council of State above the administrative disputes, and a Constitutional Court stands apart from both.

Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.

Ordinary courts

Court of Cassation (Hof van Cassatie / Cour de cassation)Checks the law, not the facts
Courts of Appeal and Labour Courts of Appeal
Courts of First Instance, Labour Courts and Enterprise Courts
Police Courts and Justices of the Peace

Administrative courts

Council of State (Raad van State / Conseil d'État)

Stands apart from the chain of appeals

Constitutional CourtReviews laws against the Constitution and the division of powers
Appeals travel up the arrows. Boxes with a heavier border are the top court of each track.

Worth knowing

  • The most serious crimes are tried by an Assize Court with a jury.

Compare Belgium with another country →
Read the Belgium profile in the Legal Families Atlas →

Sources

Other systems

African Court on Human and Peoples' RightsArgentinaAustraliaAustriaBangladeshBrazilCanadaChileChinaColombiaCzechiaDenmarkEgyptEngland and WalesEuropean Court of Human RightsEuropean UnionFinlandFranceGermanyGhanaGreeceHong KongIndiaIndonesiaInter-American Court of Human RightsInternational Court of JusticeInternational Criminal CourtIranIrelandIsraelItalyJapanKenyaMalaysiaMexicoNetherlandsNew ZealandNigeriaNorwayPakistanPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSaudi ArabiaScotlandSingaporeSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSpainSri LankaSwedenSwitzerlandTaiwanThailandTurkeyUnited Arab EmiratesUnited StatesVietnam

TheLawToKnow Tools’s court-structure diagrams are simplified on purpose and are not legal advice. Report a mistake.