Belgian Monarchy - Inviolability

Inviolability

Article 88 of the Belgian Constitution provides that "the King's person is inviolable, his ministers are responsible". This means that the King cannot be prosecuted, arrested or convicted of crimes, cannot be summoned to appear before a civil court and is not accountable to the Federal Parliament. This inviolability was deemed incompatible with Article 27 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court which states that official capacity shall not exempt a person from criminal responsibility under the statute.