The Belgian justice system has acted to protect the freedoms of speech and assembly with a decisive emergency late-night ruling in favour of the conference on National Conservativism.
The conference, scheduled for April 16-17th, will be free to meet today for its second day of talks without further interference from state authorities, the Conseil d’État, the highest court in Belgium relating to issues of public administration, has ruled.
The program features several elected officials and high-profile public figures, including UK parliamentarian Miriam Cates, former UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman, and German Cardinal Ludwig Müller.
A legal challenge was filed by conference organisers, with support from ADF International, regarding the authorities’ decision to prohibit the conference, hosted in Brussels, from continuing since 12pm on 16th April. The venue was surrounded by police, and speakers and guests outside were denied access.
In the decision, considered a victory for free speech, the court decided that “Article 26 of the Constitution [of Belgium] grants everyone the right to assemble peacefully,” and although the mayor has the authority to make police ordinances in case of “serious disturbance of the public peace or other unforeseen events,” in this case there was no sufficient threat of violence to justify this. The Court reasoned that “it does not seem possible to infer from the contested decision that a peace-disrupting effect is attributed to the congress itself”. Rather, as the decision notes, “the threat to public order seems to be derived purely from the reactions that its organization might provoke among opponents”.
Paul Coleman, Executive Director of ADF International, human rights lawyer and speaker at the conference, said:
“In allowing the National Conservatism Conference to continue, the Administrative Court has come down on the side of basic human rights. While common sense and justice have prevailed, what happened yesterday is a dark mark on European democracy. No official should have the power to shut down free and peaceful assembly merely because he disagrees with what is being said. How can Brussels claim to be the heart of Europe if its officials only allow one side of the European conversation to be heard?
The kind of authoritarian censorship we have just witnessed belongs in the worst chapters of Europe’s history. Thankfully, the Court has acted swiftly to prevent the repression of our fundamental freedoms to both assembly and speech, thus protecting these essential characteristics of democracy for another day.”
“No official should have the power to shut down free and peaceful assembly merely because he disagrees with what is being said. How can Brussels claim to be the heart of Europe if its officials only allow one side of the European conversation to be heard?”- Paul Coleman, Executive Director of ADF International, and speaker at “NatCon” Brussels
Conservative viewpoint censorship on marriage, abortion, and more
The order to shut down the peaceful gathering, issued by the mayor of the Saint-Josse-ten-Noode district in Brussels, cites the reason as including:
“that [NatCon’s] vision is not only ethically conservative (e.g. hostility to the legalisation of abortion, same-sex unions, etc.) but also focused on the defense of “national sovereignty”, which implies, amongst other things, a “Eurosceptic” attitude…”.
It also states that some of the speakers “are reputed to be traditionalists” and that the conference must be banned “to avoid foreseeable attacks on public order and peace”.
Speaking before the decision was announced by the court, Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo condemned the actions of the Brussels authorities on “X” and defended the rights of the conference participants to freedom of speech and of assembly:
“What happened at the Claridge today is unacceptable. Municipal autonomy is a cornerstone of our democracy but can never overrule the Belgian constitution guaranteeing the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly since 1830. Banning political meetings is unconstitutional. Full stop.”
Concerns for Europe’s Freedoms
The conference was cancelled by two other venues under political pressure in the days leading up to the event, before securing a third hotel venue near the European Quarter.
Emir Kir, the mayor of the Saint-Josse-ten-Noode district in Brussels who was responsible for sending police to shut down the event, complained that the conference hosted personalities from “the conservative, religious right”. Kir himself was removed from the Socialist Party in Belgium “PS” in January 2020 for meeting with members of “far-right” political organisations which support the AKP government in Turkey, responsible for cracking down on religious freedom and expelling Christian residents from the country.
Belgian lawyer Wouter Vaassen, part of ADF International’s network of lawyers, filed the challenge with support from the free speech-supporting legal group. Reflecting on the decision, he commented:
“We are greatly relieved that the Administrative Court rightfully has decided to block the unjust attempt to shut down the National Conservatism Conference. But this should never have happened, especially in Brussels—the political heart of Europe.
The free and peaceful exchange of ideas, and the basic freedom of assembly, are hallmarks of a democratic Europe. That a legal challenge of this kind needed to be mounted simply to be able to gather as a peaceful conference is a disgrace. We must diligently protect our fundamental freedoms lest censorship become the norm in our supposedly free societies.”
