burgersrecht

Burgersrecht is a Dutch term referring to the civil rights or fundamental liberties guaranteed to individuals by a political order. It encompasses protections against arbitrary state action and guarantees of equal treatment before the law. In modern Dutch and Belgian constitutional law, the term is largely superseded in formal use by the label grondrechten (fundamental rights), but burgersrecht remains a common way to describe the core idea of individual rights protected by the state.

The concept covers a range of liberties and protections, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly and association, and the right to privacy and family life. It also includes the right to equal treatment, non-discrimination, and due process in legal proceedings, as well as property rights in some contexts. The aim is to limit government power and to secure a fair and lawful public order.

Enforcement of burgersrecht occurs through national courts and is reinforced by international human-rights frameworks. National constitutions enumerate the rights, while courts interpret and apply them in disputes. In the Netherlands, the protections are enforced primarily through ordinary courts and are further supported by the European Convention on Human Rights. In Belgium, constitutional mechanisms and the European system together safeguard these rights. Across the Dutch-speaking world, burgersrecht thus forms part of a broader commitment to human rights and the rule of law, aligned with European and international standards.