Seven associations challenge Brussels anti-begging rule at the Council of State
Updated 29 June 2026, 00:00 UTC | Brussels - Seven associations have challenged the City of Brussels' anti-begging regulation before Belgium's Council of State, La DH reported on 11 June 2026. The applicants argue that fines will not end poverty and that the rule targets people in severe precarity. The City of Brussels' general police regulation says breaches can lead to administrative sanctions, while Belgium's 2013 law on municipal administrative sanctions sets the legal framework for local fines and alternative measures.
The challenge tests how far Brussels authorities can go in regulating behaviour linked to poverty in public space. For residents, shopkeepers, commuters and people who beg, the case affects how the city balances public order, social protection and individual rights in streets, stations, squares and commercial areas.
The case concerns a City of Brussels public-order rule described by La DH as an anti-begging regulation. According to La DH, seven associations attaquent reglement anti-mendicite before the Council of State, Belgium's highest administrative court. The dispute sits at the intersection of municipal policing, homelessness, poverty policy and the limits of local administrative fines.
Background
Begging itself is no longer treated as a simple criminal offence in modern Belgian public policy, but municipalities use police regulations and municipal administrative sanctions to manage public order. The City of Brussels says its current general police regulation, common to the 19 Brussels communes, has been in force since 1 April 2024. The Belgian law of 24 June 2013 provides the framework for municipal administrative sanctions, including fines, mediation and community service.
Impact
Regional — The impact is concentrated in the City of Brussels and the wider Brussels-Capital Region, where public-space rules are shared across several communes through the general police regulation but local enforcement remains politically sensitive.
Opposing perspectives
- Applicant anti-poverty and rights associations
The seven applicant associations, according to La DH, argue that no fine will put an end to poverty. Their position is that a règlement anti-mendicité ville approach punishes visible poverty instead of addressing housing, income, care and support needs. They frame the case as a rights and social-policy challenge to local enforcement.
- City of Brussels public-order authorities
The City of Brussels' published police regulation frames local rules around cleanliness, safety, security and tranquillity in public spaces. Under that framework, municipal authorities use administrative sanctions and alternatives to manage conduct in streets and public places. The available official text does not give a specific response to this Council of State challenge.
Sources & evidence
- La DH · 2026-06-11
- City of Brussels - Règlement général de police · 2024-04-01
- Belgian Official Gazette copy - Law of 24 June 2013 on municipal administrative sanctions · 2013-07-01