Art. 162
Provincial and Communal institutions are governed by the law.
The law applies the following principles:
1° the direct election of provincial and of communal council members;
2° the attribution to provincial and communal councils all that which is in
the provincial or communal interest, without prejudice to the approval of their actions in cases and following that manner determined by law;
3° the decentralization of attributions in favour of provincial and communal institutions;
4° the publicizing of provincial and communal council meetings within the limits established by law;
5° the publicizing of accounts and budgets;
6° the intervention of overseeing authorities or of the federal legislative power, to prevent violations of the law or harm to public interests.
In application of a law adopted by majority vote as described in Article 4,
last paragraph, the organization and application of administrative overseeing may be determined by community or regional councils.
In application of a law adopted by majority vote as described in Article 4, last paragraph, the decree or the ruling described in Article 134 establishes the conditions and the manner in which several provinces or communes may
associate themselves or co-operate. However, the convening of several
provincial or communal councils for joint deliberation may not be allowed.
Art. 163
Those responsibilities exercised within the Walloon and Flemish Regions by elected provincial bodies are exercised, in the bilingual region of Brussels-Capital, by the French and Dutch Communities, and by the common Community Commission, each with respect to matters within their jurisdictions and by virtue of Articles 127 and 128 and, with respect to other issues, by the Brussels-Capital Region.
However, a law adopted by majority vote as described in Article 4, last paragraph, establishes the conditions by which the Brussels-Capital Region or all institutions the members of which are designated by the latter exercise the responsibilities described in paragraph 1 which do not depend upon those matters described in Article 39. A law adopted by the same majority establishes the attributions to those institutions described in Article 136 of all or part of the responsibilities described in paragraph 1, subject to those matters described in Articles 127 and 128.
Art. 164
The drafting of civil acts and maintenance of registers belong exclusively to the attributions of communal authorities.
Art. 165
§ 1. The law creates urban entities and federations of communes. It
determines their organization and their responsibilities through application of those principles described in Article 162. For each urban area and for each federation there exists a council and an executive committee.
The president of the executive committee is elected by and within the
council; his election is ratified by the King; the law establishes his statute.
Articles 159 and 190 apply to the rulings and regulations of urban entities and federations of communes.
The geographical limits of urban entities and of federations of communes may only be changed or rectified on the sole basis of a law.
§ 2. The law creates the body within which each urban entity and nearby federations of communes may meet, according to the conditions and manner which the law establishes, for the examination of common problems of a
technical nature within their respective areas of competence.
§ 3. Several federations of communes may cooperate or associate
themselves with one or more urban entities in accordance with the conditions and in the manner prescribed by law, to jointly manage and regulate those issues within their respective areas of competence. Their councils may not engage in joint deliberation.
Art. 166
§ 1. Article 165 applies to that urban entity to which the capital of the Kingdom belongs, with the exception of that which is established hereafter.
§ 2. The responsibilities of the urban entity to which the Kingdom’s capital belongs are, in the manner determined by a law adopted by majority vote as described in Article 4, last paragraph, exercised by those bodies of the
Brussels-Capital Region created by virtue of Article 39.
§ 3. The bodies described in Article 136:
1° possess, each for its community, responsibilities identical to those of other organizing powers with respect to cultural, educational and personal matters;
2° exercise, for their respective communities, the responsibilities delegated to them by the French Community Council and by the Flemish Community Council;
3° jointly settle those matters described in 1° which are of common
interest.
