An arrondissement is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands.
Belgium is a federal state comprising three communities and three regions that are based on four language areas. For each of these subdivision types, the subdivisions together make up the entire country; in other words, the types overlap.
The Kingdom of Belgium is divided into three regions. Two of these regions, Flanders and Wallonia, are each subdivided into five provinces. The third region, Brussels, does not belong to any province and nor is it subdivided into provinces. Instead, it has amalgamated both regional and provincial functions into a single "Capital Region" administration.
Berchem-Sainte-Agathe or Sint-Agatha-Berchem, often simply called Berchem, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by Ganshoren, Koekelberg, and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, as well as the Flemish municipalities of Asse and Dilbeek. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch).
Molenbeek-Saint-Jean or Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, from which it is separated by the Brussels–Charleroi Canal, as well as by the municipalities of Anderlecht, Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Dilbeek, Jette, and Koekelberg. The Molenbeek brook, from which it takes its name, flows through the municipality. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch).
Saint-Josse-ten-Noode or Sint-Joost-ten-Node, often simply called Saint-Josse in French or Sint-Joost in Dutch, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels and Schaerbeek.
Woluwe-Saint-Pierre or Sint-Pieters-Woluwe is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by Etterbeek, Auderghem and Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, as well as the Flemish municipalities of Kraainem and Tervuren. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch).
Belgium comprises 581 municipalities, 300 of them grouped into five provinces in Flanders and 262 others in five provinces in Wallonia, while the remaining 19 are in the Brussels Capital Region, which is not divided in provinces. In most cases, the municipalities are the smallest administrative subdivisions of Belgium, but in municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, on the initiative of the local council, sub-municipal administrative entities with elected councils may be created. As such, only Antwerp, having over 500,000 inhabitants, became subdivided into nine districts. The Belgian arrondissements, an administrative level between province and municipality, or the lowest judicial level, are in English sometimes called districts as well.
Sint-Genesius-Rode is a municipality located in Flanders, one of three regions of Belgium, in the province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the town of Sint-Genesius-Rode only, and lies between Brussels and Waterloo in Wallonia. On January 1, 2008, the town had a total population of 18,021. The total area is 22.77 square kilometres (8.79 sq mi), which gives a population density of 791 per square kilometre (2,050/sq mi).
Saint-Gilles or Sint-Gillis is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the southern part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Anderlecht, Forest and Ixelles. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch).
The area within Belgium known as Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde encompasses the bilingual—French and Dutch—Brussels-Capital Region, which coincides with the arrondissement of Brussels-Capital and the surrounding Dutch-speaking area of Halle-Vilvoorde, which in turn coincides with the arrondissement of Halle-Vilvoorde. Halle-Vilvoorde contains several municipalities with language facilities, i.e. municipalities where French-speaking people form a considerable part of the population and therefore have special language rights. This area forms the judicial arrondissement of Brussels, which is the location of a tribunal of first instance, enterprise tribunal and a labour tribunal. It was reformed in July 2012, as part of the sixth Belgian state reform.
Elections in Belgium are organised for legislative bodies only, and not for executive functions. Direct elections take place for the European Parliament, the Chamber of Representatives, the Parliaments of the Regions, the Parliaments of the Communities, the provincial councils, the municipal councils and the councils of Districts of Antwerp. Voting is mandatory and all elections use proportional representation which in general requires coalition governments.
Arrondissements of Belgium are subdivisions below the provinces of Belgium. There are administrative, judicial and electoral arrondissements. These may or may not relate to identical geographical areas.
The Halle-Vilvoorde Arrondissement is one of the two administrative arrondissements in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. It almost completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region and lies to the west of the other arrondissement in the province, the Leuven Arrondissement. Unlike the Arrondissement of Leuven, it is not a judicial arrondissement; however since the sixth Belgian state reform in 2012–14, it has its own public prosecutor's service.
The Arrondissement of Aalst is one of the six administrative arrondissements in the Province of East Flanders, Belgium. It forms the Judicial Arrondissement of Dendermonde together with the Arrondissements of Dendermonde and Sint-Niklaas.
The Arrondissement of Dendermonde is one of the six administrative arrondissements in the Province of East Flanders, Belgium. It is both an administrative and a judicial arrondissement. However, the Judicial Arrondissement of Dendermonde also comprises the municipalities of the Arrondissements of Aalst and Sint-Niklaas.
The Arrondissement of Mechelen is one of the three administrative arrondissements in the Province of Antwerp, Belgium. It is both an administrative and a judicial arrondissement, as the territory for both coincides.
Woluwe-Saint-Lambert or Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). In French, it is often spelt Woluwé-Saint-Lambert to reflect the Frenchified pronunciation of what was originally a Dutch place name, but the official spelling is without an accent. The Woluwe stream, from which it takes its name, flows through the municipality.
The judiciary of Belgium is similar to the French judiciary. Belgium evolved from a unitary to a federal state, but its judicial system has not been adapted to a federal system.