Burgelijk

Burgelijk is a Dutch adjective meaning civil or civilian. It derives from burger (citizen) with the suffix -lijk and historically refers to matters pertaining to citizens as opposed to military or religious spheres. In everyday language, it is used to describe things related to private life, civil society, or non-military or non-religious aspects of law and administration.

In law, burgelijk refers to private law, i.e., the area dealing with relations between private individuals and private organizations, as opposed to public or criminal law. In the Netherlands and in Belgium (Flanders), the term is used with phrases such as burgelijk recht and Burgerlijk Wetboek (Civil Code). Burgelijk recht governs contracts, property, family law, and inheritance. It contrasts with staatsrecht (public law) and strafrecht (criminal law) and forms the framework for private legal relations and obligations.

Civil status and civil registration are another common usage. De burgerlijke stand (the civil registry) keeps official records of births, marriages, and deaths. For a marriage to be legally valid in the Netherlands and Belgium, it must be performed as a civil ceremony by a registrar; religious ceremonies may accompany it but do not, by themselves, constitute a legal marriage. The civil registry is typically managed by local municipalities, and civil records are used for various administrative purposes, such as issuing passports, national IDs, and legal documents.

In summary, burgelijk denotes civil or private aspects of life and law, most prominently seen in civil law (Burgerlijk Wetboek) and civil status administration.