Belgian court strikes down order shuttering National Conservatism conference for hosting the ‘conservative, religious right’

The Belgian justice system has acted promptly to protect the freedoms of speech and assembly by issuing a decisive emergency late-night ruling in favour of the conference on National Conservativism that has been mired in controversy and disruption since it began yesterday in Brussels.

The conference, scheduled for 16 – 17 April, will now be able to meet today for its second day of talks without further interference from state authorities and the police, the Conseil d’État, the highest court in Belgium relating to issues of public administration, has ruled.  

The conference features several elected officials and high-profile public figures, including UK parliamentarian Miriam Cates and former UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman. German Cardinal Ludwig Müller spoke at the conference yesterday, when he reportedly compared the actions of the police and local authorities to being like something out of Nazi Germany.

A legal challenge was filed by conference organisers, with support from ADF International – an international legal organisation defending the religious liberty of Christians – regarding the authorities’ decision to prohibit the conference, hosted close to Brussels’ European Quarter that houses the institutions of the European Union, after police surrounded and closed the entrance to the venue at 12 p.m. on 16 April, with speakers, including the likes of French politician Eric Zemmous, and guests left outside after being 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 noted that 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 the court judged that there was no sufficient threat of violence to justify the actions taken against the conference.

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 organisation might provoke among opponents”.

Groups such as Antifa, a left-wing anti-fascist and anti-racist political movement in the United States, have labeled the conference as spreading “toxic lies” and attempting to “normalise hatred”.

More substantial pressure has also come from the political leadership of Brussels itself, reports the Brussels Signal, with the Socialist mayors of the Brussels central region and Etterbeek both successfully pushing for two separate venues for the conference “into being revoked”.

Speaking to Peter Caddle of the Brussels Signal at the Claridge event venue, Paul Coleman, Executive Director of ADF International, a human rights lawyer and speaker at the conference (who was among those denied entry), called it “an amazing result”.

Coleman said it was “a surreal experience to be in court at 10.30 p.m., something I’ve never experienced before, and may never for the rest of my life. It was amazing to see that the Belgian judiciary come together to hear this case in extraordinary circumstances.”

He added: “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.” 

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.” 

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”, reports ADF International.

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.” 

Photo: The legal team supporting the emergency challenge (from let to right): Paul Coleman, ADF International; Wouter Vaassan, Courtside Law; Jean-Paul Van der Walle, ADF International; Tristan Carolus, Courtside Law. Photo courtesy ADF International.

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