Chambers after they have been wholly re-elected. That meeting shall take place at the latest within two months. The new Chambers deliberating together shall provide definitely for the vacancy.

Section II.

THE MINISTERS.

ART. 86. No person can be a minister unless he is a Belgian citizen by birth, or has received full naturalization.

ART. 87. No member of the royal family can be a minister.

ART. 88. Ministers have no deliberative vote in either Chamber unless they are members of it.

They shall have admission to either Chamber, and are entitled to be heard when they so request.

The Chambers have the right to demand the presence of ministers.

ART. 89. In no case shall the verbal or written order of the King relieve a minister of responsibility.

ART. 90. The Chamber of Representatives has the right to accuse ministers and to arraign them before the Court of Cassation, which, sitting in full bench, alone has the right to judge them, except in such matters as shall be established by law respecting a civil suit by an aggrieved party and respecting crimes and misdemeanors committed by ministers when not in the performance of their duties.

The law shall determine the responsibility of ministers, the penalties to be inflicted on them, and the method of proceeding against them, whether upon accusation accepted by the Chamber of Representatives or by prosecution by the aggrieved parties.

ART. 91. The King can grant pardon to a minister sentenced by the Court of Cassation only upon request of one of the two Chambers.

Chapter III.

THE JUDICIARY.

ART. 92. Actions which involve questions of civil rights belong exclusively to the jurisdiction of the tribunals.

ART. 93. Actions which involve questions of political rights belong to the jurisdiction of the tribunals, except as otherwise determined by law.

ART. 94. No tribunal nor contentious jurisdiction shall be established except by law. No commissions nor extraordinary tribunals under any title whatever can be established.

ART. 95. There shall be a Court of Cassation for all Belgium.

This Court shall not consider questions of fact except in the trial of ministers.

ART. 96. The sessions of the tribunals shall be public, unless this publicity is declared by a judgment of the Court to be dangerous to public order or morals.

In cases of political and press-law offences, closed doors can be enforced only by a unanimous vote of the tribunal. ART. 97. Every judgment shall be pronounced in open court, and the reasons therefor stated.

ART. 98. The right of trial by jury is guaranteed in all criminal cases and for all political and press-law offences.

ART. 99. The justices of the peace and the judges of the tribunals shall be appointed directly by the King.

The councillors of the courts of appeal and the presidents and vice-presidents of the courts of original jurisdiction shall be appointed by the King from two double lists presented the one by these courts and the other by the provincial councils.

The councillors of the Court of Cassation shall be appointed by the King from two double lists presented one by the Senate and one by the Court of Cassation.

In both cases the candidates named upon one list can be named also upon the other.

All the names shall be published at least fifteen days before the appointment.

The courts shall choose their presidents and vice-presidents from among their own number.

ART. 100. Judges shall be appointed for life.

No judge can be deprived of his office nor suspended until after trial and judgment.

The removal of a judge from one place to another can take place only by means of a new appointment and with his consent.

ART. 101. The King appoints and removes the state officials serving in the courts and tribunals.

ART. 102. The salaries of the members of the judiciary shall be fixed by law.

ART. 103. No judge shall accept from the government any salaried office, unless he shall perform the duties thereof gratuitously, and not then if it is contrary to the law of incompatibility.

ART. 104. There shall be three courts of appeal in Belgium.

Their jurisdiction and the places where they shall be held shall be determined by law.

ART. 105. Special laws shall govern the organization of military tribunals, their powers, the rights and obligations of the members of these tribunals, and the duration of their functions.

There shall be tribunals of commerce in places which shall be designated by law. Their organization, powers, the method of appointment of their members and the duration of their term of office shall also be determined by law.

ART. 106. The Court of Cassation shall decide conflicts of jurisdiction, according to the method prescribed by law.

ART. 107. The courts and tribunals shall enforce executive decrees and ordinances, whether general, provincial or local, only so far as they shall conform to the laws.

Chapter IV.

PROVINCIAL AND COMMUNAL INSTITUTIONS.

ART. 108. Provincial and communal institutions shall be regulated by law.'

The law shall establish the application of the following principles:

1. Direct election, except in the cases which may be established by law in regard to the chiefs of the communal administration, and government commissioners acting in the provincial councils.

2. The relegation to provincial and communal councils of all provincial and communal affairs, without prejudice to the approval of their acts in the cases and according to the procedure determined by law.

1 For a description of local and provincial government in Belgium, see the paper by E. de Laveleye in the Cobden Club Essays on "Local Government and Taxation," 1875.

3. The publicity of the sittings of the provincial and communal councils within the limits established by law. 4. The publicity of budgets and accounts.

5. The intervention of the King or of the Legislative power to prevent provincial and communal councils from exceeding their powers and from acting against the general welfare.

ART. 109. The keeping of the civil register is exclusively the duty of the communal authorities.

TITLE IV.

FINANCES.

ART. IIO. No tax for the benefit of the state shall be imposed except by law.

No public charge, nor any provincial assessment shall be imposed without the consent of the provincial council.

No public charge nor any communal assessment shall be imposed without the consent of the communal council.

The law shall determine the exceptions which experience shall show to be necessary in regard to provincial and communal taxes.

ART. III. Taxes for the benefit of the state shall be voted annually.

The laws which impose such taxes shall remain in force for one year only unless they are re-enacted.

ART. 112. No privilege shall be established in regard

to taxes.

No exemption or abatement of taxes shall be established, except by law.

ART. 113. Beyond the cases expressly excepted by law, no payment shall be exacted of any citizen other than taxes levied for the benefit of the state, of the