The right to social security as a standstill clause

The right to social security has been recognized by constitutional law documents as a fundamental right. The right to social security is also mentioned in Article 23 of the Belgian Constitution. In this contribution, we shall develop the idea that the way the right to social security was understood by the Belgian constitutional legislator is different from the way this right has been understood to other legal orders: the right to social security in Belgium contains, according to the constitutional legislator, a standstill clause. This position has been confirmed by the case of the Belgian courts, but several authors have identified several problems in the application of this right. In this constribution, we reflect upon the right to social security in the Belgian Constitution, and compare it with other national legal order, international instruments and literature available.