First page Moniteur belge - Belgisch Staatsblad

The Belgian official journal (, , ) is the

official journal A government gazette (also known as an official gazette, official journal, official newspaper, official monitor or official bulletin) is a periodical publication that has been authorised to publish public or legal notices. It is usually establish ...

or gazette of the

Kingdom of Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southe ...

. It is where the official publication of laws, royal decrees, decrees, ordinances, and official notices are published. The publication is handled by the Federal Public Service Justice.

Content and history

Any new law or changes to it made by the government can only take effect once it has been published in the ''Staatsblad''/''Moniteur''. Other legal formalities about which the Belgian people need to be informed, including activities such as starting a business, are also published in this paper. Also published are Court mournings after important deaths, and official banquets at Court, with transcripts of speeches. The journal was established on 16 June 1831. During World War II, the journal continued to be published domestically but under the same title another document was published by the

Belgian government in exile The Belgian Government in London (; ), also known as the Pierlot IV Government, was the government in exile of Belgium between October 1940 and September 1944 during World War II. The government was wikt:tripartite, tripartite, involving minis ...

that didn't have effect in the German-occupied Belgium. However after occupation ended, both were considered valid historical continuations of the prewar journal. In order to distinguish between the two, the government-in-exile version is retrospectively entitled Belgian Official Journal (Exile Government). To save money, the paper version of the ''Staatsblad''/''Moniteur'' was replaced by an electronic equivalent in 2003, which is available to the public on the Internet. Three copies of every issue are still printed: one for the Royal Library, one for the Senate and one for the House of Representatives.

References

External links

Official sitejustice.belgium.be
{{Authority control Law of Belgium Government gazettes 1831 establishments in Belgium Publications established in 1831 Government of Belgium