The Belgian Constitution (i.e. “De gecoördineerde Grondwet” of 17 February 1994; see also 2.2) guarantees a number of fundamental rights for Belgian citizens, which include the freedom of expression (art. 19), the right to cultural development (art. 23, 5°), the freedom of press and prohibition of censorship (art. 25; see also 2.5.3), and the freedom of language use (art. 30; see also 4.1.8).
The Constitution determines cultural affairs as competences of the Communities, as well as cultural cooperation between the Communities and international cooperation on cultural affairs (art. 127, §1 and art. 130, §1; see also 1.2.3, 1.2.6, and 1.4.1). The exact scope of ‘cultural affairs’ was defined in other legislation. The current definition is to be found in art. 4 of the “Bijzondere wet tot hervorming der instellingen” (8 August 1980).
As a result of the Sixth State Reform (2012-2014), ‘Bicultural Matters of Regional Significance’ in the Brussels-Capital Region (see 1.2.3) are now under the remit of its regional government (art. 4bis of the “Bijzondere wet met betrekking tot de Brusselse Instellingen” of 12 January 1989). Art. 11 of the Constitution prohibits discrimination and is the basis of the Culture Pact (see 4.1.2).
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