Alien law of March, 28(th) 1952: the alien should be perfect

Between 1830 and 1952 alien legislation in Belgium changed from a liberal to a much more restrictive form of legislation. In 1939 a stricter 'decree-law on the alien police' replaced the liberal law of 1897, as a result of the pressure that had been accumulating since WW I from working class, middle class and government circles. It gave the executive power a large measure of authority over aliens staying in Belgium. After the war, the alien police remained in favour of the decree-law which was temporarily prolonged pending a new alien law. Only in march 195 1, the senate found the time to discuss alien legislation. The result of these discussions differed strongly from the project the government had originally drafted in December 1949. The Senate had taken into account not only the suggestions by the members of the executive power, but also those by Edmond Rouse, reporter of the senate committee of justice, who advocated alien rights against arbitrary governmental actions. Influenced by the administration, the Attorneys General of the Courts of Appeal and the Minister of Justice Pholien, the House of Representatives modified the bill in a restrictive way. After new delays, the Senate succeeded in cancelling some of the most restrictive articles, although overall the eventual Act remained very restrictive. This new alien law was clearly meant to protect the Belgian state against unwanted aliens. This can be explained by three contemporary phenomena: the predominant position of the executive power in the trias politica, the general mood of distrust because of the Cold War and the new guest worker policy, which consisted of treating aliens as purely economic assets. Equally important is the fact that the aliens themselves were not involved in the realization of the law and that only a few individuals were prepared to defend alien rights before parliament. Not until the 1970s protest became strong enough to open up the possibility of change