Politics of Belgium
Constitution Taxation Constitutional Court
Monarchy Monarch (list) Philippe Duchess of Brabant Elisabeth of Belgium Crown Council Royal Family
Federal Parliament Senate President: Stephanie D'Hose Chamber of Representatives President: Eliane Tillieux
Federal Cabinet De Croo Government Prime Minister: Alexander De Croo
Judiciary Administrative jurisdictions Council of State Highest court Court of Cassation Appellate courts Court of appeal Court of labour Trial courts Court of assizes Tribunal of first instance Civil tribunal Correctional tribunal Family and juvenile tribunal Sentence enforcement tribunal Labour tribunal Enterprise tribunal Minor crimes Minor claims Police tribunal Justice of the peace
Recent elections European 2009 2014 2019 2024 Federal 2010 2014 2019 2024 Regional 2009 2014 2019 2024 Local 2006 2012 2018 2024 Political parties
Subdivisions Communities and regions Provinces Arrondissements Municipalities
Foreign relations France-Belgium relations Belgium-Germany relations Belgium-United Kingdom relations Belgium-Netherlands relations Belgium–Luxembourg relations Politics of the European Union
Belgium portal Other countries
v t e

The Crown Council of Belgium (Dutch: Kroonraad, French: Conseil de la Couronne,^[1] German: Kronrat) is composed of the King of the Belgians, the Ministers and the Ministers of State (mostly former ministers and other major politicians). The constitutional Monarch chairs the Crown Council, which has no legal competence but simply advises the crown when consulted on extraordinary matters.

During a session of the Crown Council, the Ministers of State can do nothing but advise the King, as the authority to make political decisions is vested in the King and the Federal Government, in accordance with the Belgian Constitution.

To date, the Crown Council has met on only five occasions:

Nowadays, the Crown Council is seen as an old-fashioned or even outdated political organ.^{[citation needed]} The title of Minister of State is given as an honorary title, with no view to any possible Crown Council meeting.^{[citation needed]} None of the living Ministers of State have ever participated in a Crown Council session. During the 2007–08 Belgian government formation though, King Albert II formally asked the help of several Ministers of State with experience in solving political crises. The King consulted Ministers of State Wilfried Martens, Jean-Luc Dehaene, Guy Verhofstadt, Philippe Moureaux, Willy Claes, Gérard Deprez, Jos Geysels, Philippe Busquin, Charles-Ferdinand Nothomb, José Daras, Raymond Langendries, Herman De Croo, Louis Michel, Herman Van Rompuy and Armand De Decker. Some political analysts saw this as comparable to the Crown Council.^[2] Commonly, Ministers of State are appointed to formal offices is the process of forming a government or to solve a cabinet crisis.

• André Molitor, La Fonction Royale en Belgique, CRISP, 1979