The Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) Brussels, a leading conservative educational and think-tank organisation associated with Hungary’s Government, has won its final court case against the municipality of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode in Brussels over an attempt to shut down a conference.
The ruling brings to a close legal proceedings stemming from the move in April 2024 to try to shut down the National Conservatism (NatCon) conference, co-organised by MCC Brussels. The move drew international condemnation.
The dispute originated on April 16, 2024, when Emir Kir, the socialist Mayor of the Saint-Josse-ten-Noode district, issued an administrative order prohibiting the NatCon event from continuing.
Citing public safety concerns amid anticipated counter-protests, police arrived at the Claridge venue shortly after the conference began, preventing further entry and effectively halting proceedings.
Organisers, supported by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, immediately challenged the ban before Belgium’s highest administrative court, the Conseil d’État.
In a late-night emergency ruling delivered after midnight on April 17, 2024, the court overturned the mayor’s order.
In the latest final judgment, the court upheld MCC’s position, confirming the unlawfulness of the initial closure attempt.
The ruling represents a significant affirmation of freedom of expression in the face of administrative overreach, particularly in politically charged contexts.
The court found that the ban constituted a civil fault, which it attributed directly to the Mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Emir Kir.
The Conseil d’État now said it found no evidence that the conference itself posed a threat to public order, describing the mayor’s justification as “derived purely from the reactions that its organisation might provoke among opponents”.
It reaffirmed that public authorities not only must refrain from imposing abusive or indirect restrictions on fundamental freedoms but also have a proactive duty to take the measures necessary to ensure these freedoms can be exercised peacefully, regardless of the ideas expressed at a lawful event.
The court affirmed that the right to peaceful assembly, protected under the Belgian Constitution, had been violated.
The municipality was ordered to pay symbolic damages of €1, reflecting the moral harm caused by the violation of MCC’s fundamental rights, as well as procedural costs.
Importantly, the court rejected the argument that potential protests or generalised security concerns could justify an event’s prohibition.
It emphasised that, in the absence of any evidence of violence linked to the event itself, authorities were obligated to protect the conference rather than prevent it.
Prominent speakers including Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage, MP Suella Braverman, who yesterday defected from the Conservative Party to Reform, and Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orbán were among those affected.
The attempt to stop the event drew widespread criticism, both in Belgium and internationally, as an infringement on freedom of expression and assembly.
Italy’s Prime Minister @GiorgiaMeloni has slammed those behind attempts to censor the National Conservatism conference in Brussels, calling them a “danger to democracy”. https://t.co/5d6CGqeA3p
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) April 17, 2024
Kir had justified his decision at the time by stating that “the far-right is not welcome” in his district or in Brussels more broadly, referencing concerns over “right-wing extremism” and potential provocations from listed speakers.
Frank Furedi, executive director of MCC Brussels, had earlier described the mayor’s actions as part of a broader pattern of pressure against dissenting voices in the European Union capital.
Then Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo publicly condemned the mayor’s decision as “unacceptable” and “unconstitutional”.
Following the initial victory allowing the conference’s second day to proceed uninterrupted, MCC pursued further legal action against Kir personally and the municipality for the alleged infringement on free speech rights.
Proceedings focused on seeking formal recognition of the violation and potential remedies for the disruption caused.
In a reaction to the final decision, Furedi called the judgment “of historic importance”.
“It confirms that public authorities have a duty not only to tolerate freedom of expression, but actively to protect it. What makes this ruling particularly significant is that both French-speaking and Dutch-speaking courts in Belgium have now reached the same conclusion: Censorship, even when dressed up as administrative necessity, has no place in a democratic society governed by the rule of law,” he said.
MCC emphasised that the case was not merely about one event but about defending the principle that conferences and debates, even those controversial, cannot be arbitrarily suppressed by local authorities.
Brussels Signal reached out to the municipality of Saint Josse for comment had not received a reply at the time of publication.
