[article WIKIPEDIA article : ENGLISH · FRANÇAIS]

Order of the Flemish Government carrying out the decree of February 3, 1998, for establishing the armorial bearings of institutions and private persons

Translated by Jonathan David Makepeace on September 22, 2002, from the Dutch text of the Besluit van de Vlaamse regering tot uitvoering van het decreet van 3 februari 1998 houdende vaststelling van het wapen van privé-personen en instellingen at http://paola.erfgoed.net/aml/nl/wetten/heraldiek/decr_1998.html -- also taking into consideration the French version entitled Arrêté du Gouvernement flamand portant exécution du décret du 3 février 1998 fixant les armoiries de personnes privées et d'institutions at http://paola.erfgoed.net/aml/fr/wetten/heraldiek/decr_1998.html

The Dutch and French texts are not identical.  The English translation follows the Dutch in cases of conflict.

Printed as Jonathan Makepeace's contribution to:  Derek Howard and Jonathan Makepeace. "An Heraldic Authority in Flanders" Heraldry News: The Journal of Heraldry Australia (no. 30, November 2002) pp. 24-27 (ISSN 1039-6829)

THE FLEMISH GOVERNMENT

Further to the decree of February 3, 1998, for establishing the armorial bearings of institutions and private persons, particularly article 6, § 2 and 7;

With due regard to the order of the Flemish Government of July 13, 1999, establishing the powers of the members of the Flemish Government, modified by the Flemish Government order of October 15, 1999;

Given the advice of the Flemish Heraldic Council of January 15, 1999;

Given the consent on February 21, 2000, of the Flemish Government minister responsible for the budget;

With due regard to the deliberations of the Flemish Government on February 25, 2000, concerning the Council of State's request for advice to be rendered within one month;

Given the opinion of the Council of State, rendered on May 23, 2000, by application of article 84, first paragraph, no. 1, of the consolidated statutes of the Council of State;

Concerning the proposal of the Flemish Minister of Home Affairs, the Public Service and Sports;

Having carefully considered the matter,

ORDER

CHAPTER I : Lodging an Application

Article 1.  The Flemish Heraldic Council prepares a manual explaining how to lodge an application.  This document will be made available to interested parties without cost by the office of the Flemish Heraldic Council, hereinafter referred to as "the Council."

Article 2.  The applicant directs his request for the recognition of old arms or the grant of new arms to the president of the Council by means of a registered letter addressed to the office of the Council.

Article 3.  § 1.  If the applicant is a private person, he must include with his request a full copy of his birth certificate and a police certificate of good conduct, both bearing the official stamp of their respective issuing offices, as well as a short biography.

If the applicant is an institution, it must include with its request a certified copy of its bylaws, a list of the current members of its governing body and the decision by that body to make the application.

If the applicant is a Flemish academic institution, the application must come from the competent authority, whose composition and whose decision to make the application must be included therewith.

§ 2.  The applicant must include with his application a colour sketch of the arms.

§ 3.  If the application is for recognition of old arms, the applicant must supply certified documents which show beyond doubt that one or more of his ancestors in the direct male line or, in the case of an institution, the institution itself or one of its legal predecessors publicly bore the relevant arms at least one hundred years before the application was lodged.

If the application is for a grant of new arms, the applicant must present an explanation of the content and the choice of colours of the arms for which he is applying.

§ 4.  If the application is for the grant of new arms to a private person, the applicant must include a list of the persons who would have the right to bear the arms, as well as the proposed rules for their inheritance, which can include inheritance through the female line.

Article 4.  The secretary of the Council notifies the applicant that his application has been received.

Article 5.  If the application is found to be in order by the Council, the secretary requests payment of half of the fixed application fees.  The Council begins considering the application after the abovementioned payment is made.

CHAPTER II : Registration of the Arms

Article 6.  After the Council has approved an application, the Council's secretary submits draft letters patent to the applicant for comment.  The cover letter contains:

1.) the provisional finding of the Council, allowing the applicant to decide whether to proceed with or withdraw the application;

2.) a list allowing the applicant to select one of the heraldic draughtsmen accepted by the Council.

Upon receipt of the applicant's response and payment of the administrative fees due, the Council's secretary assigns the selected draughtsman to prepare the letters patent, in the style chosen by the applicant.

The Council's secretary gives an accession number to the letters patent in the armorial register.

The completed letters patent are submitted by the Council's secretary for the approval of the Flemish Government, and they are certified for registration by the president and secretary of the Council.

Afterward the applicant can collect the letters patent from the Council's secretary, or, by the applicant's request, they can be sent to him by registered letter.

Article 7.  A colour reproduction of the letters patent, certified by the president and the secretary of the Council, is bound into the official armorial register in numerical order.

CHAPTER III : Payment of the Administrative Fees

Article 8.  The administrative fees are comprised of fixed application fees and of fees arising from the artistic preparation of the letters patent.

Article 9.  The fixed application fees cover the administrative handling of the application from its submission through the issuance of the letters patent, after entry in the armorial register of the Council and after publication in the Belgisch Staatsblad/Moniteur Belge.

The fixed application fees are set by the Flemish Government every three years.  For the period beginning January 1, 1999, up to and including December 31, 2001, these fees amount to 20,000 Belgian francs or 500 euros.

In the case of recognition of old arms or arms registered before March 21, 1998, by the "Heraldische College" of the "Vlaamse Vereniging voor Familiekunde" (Heraldic College of the Flemish Genealogical Association) the fixed application fees are reduced by half.  This transitional provision for making an application expires on March 31, 2001.

For applications of multiple, related private persons who simultaneously apply for the same arms, the fixed administrative fees are reduced by half for each additional application.

Article 10.  The fees arising from the artistic preparation of the letters patent cover the fee of the heraldic draughtsman and the cost of the materials he uses.  The draughtsman's fees also cover his renunciation of copyright for the heraldic drawing.

The applicant can choose among different styles of letters patent.

A uniform rate for each style, which remains valid for a calendar year, is negotiated each year by the secretary of the Council with the heraldic draughtsmen accepted by the Council and is submitted for the relevant minister's approval.

Article 11.  In the event the Flemish Government grants the right to bear new arms by its own initiative to an individual or an institution, the Flemish Government itself bears responsibility for the administrative fees.

CHAPTER IV : Copies and Extracts from the Registers

Article 12.  Full, colour copies of entries in the Council's armorial register, certified by the Council's secretary, can be issued by him upon written application by interested parties, after they reimburse the Council in advance for administrative handling costs.

This fee is set by the Flemish government every three years.  For the period beginning January 1, 1999, up to and including December 31, 2001, it amounts to 2,000 Belgian francs or 50 euros for each extract.

Article 13.  The minister of the Flemish Government responsible for monuments is responsible for carrying out this order.

Brussels, July 17, 2000

The Prime Minister of the Flemish Government,

Patrick Dewael

The Flemish Minister for Home Affairs, the Public Service and Sports

Johan Sauwens

Original contributions (translation) © 2002 Jonathan David Makepeace