The procedure of questioning the city council

This page has been automatically translated from French into English by a translation software. Automatic translations are not as accurate as translations made by professional human translators. Nevertheless these pages can help you understand information published by the City of Brussels.

   

This procedure is planned in the regulation of internal order of the city council.

Objective

The right of questioning aims at facilitating direct information and the expression of the citizens about questions of municipal interest. It is so an excellent means to draw the attention of the politicians to problems of citizens.

Conditions

The questioning has to emanate from persons who are at least 16 years old and who are registered on the population register of the City.

The questioning can only contain questions of municipal interest, not on:

• Questions of a personal nature or on particular cases
• Inquiries of legal, statistical order or documentation
• A question which was already the object of a questioning less than 3 months previous or which appears in the agenda of a session of the city council
• Certain subjects which cannot legally be the object of a public discussion, for reasons of confidentiality and of respect for the private life.

To be acceptable, the demand has to answer certain prescriptions:

• Contain at least 20 inhabitants' signatures of the municipality
• Reach the Mayor, in French or in Dutch, at least 15 days before the session proposed by the Council
• Mention the name, the first name and the address of the plaintiff
• Be clearly drawn up and accompanied with a summary of the questioning

How can it be done?

The person who wishes to exercise this right of questioning has to make a preliminary demand in writing (simple letter) to the Mayor.

Mayor of Brussels
City Hall - Grand Place
1000 Brussels

In case of negative decision, the College notifies to the plaintiff its motivated refusal.
If the answer is positive, the plaintiff is invited to a public meeting by the city council to present his questioning.

Progress

The plaintiff has 5 minutes to develop his questioning, and 2 minutes more to react to the answer which is given to him.