François Tulkens
Partner
For more than 35 years, François Tulkens has been focusing on the various aspects of public and administrative law in Belgium, in particular those related to the complex federal structure of the state.
He frequently appears before the Constitutional Court and the Council of State. The most important areas of competence are constitutional law (division of powers and public freedoms), administrative law, urban planning and environmental law, energy law and media law.
After studying law and philosophy in 1983, he obtained his law degree magna laude from the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) in 1986 and received the Jacques Falys Prize. He has been a member of the Brussels Bar since the same year and continued his education by participating in the Summer Legal Program organized by the Law School of the University of Wisconsin Madison (Wisconsin, USA, 1988) and by vocational training in cassation proceedings (1999).
François has been teaching administrative and environmental law at the Université Saint-Louis Bruxelles since 2006, where he also led work in the field of contemporary legal thought. In 2020, he took over the position of teaching constitutional law, a position he already held between 1999 and 2006. Finally, he teaches the Belgian public law courses organized by CEDRE (Centre d'étude du droit de l'environnement) within the framework of the master's degree of specialization in environmental law and public real estate law (Université Saint-Louis and UCLouvain). François also participates in several research projects organized by Université Saint-Louis and UCLouvain in public law, environmental law and climate governance.
He is a prolific author, has published and contributed to several books, and regularly publishes numerous articles in leading legal journals. François is active on the editorial boards of several Journals of Belgian Law, including the Journal des Tribunaux, of which he has been chief secretary-general since 2004, the Revue belge de droit constitutionnel (member of the editorial board since 1994) and the journal Aménagement-Environnement (member of the editorial board since 2007).
François has been a partner at Liedekerke since 2017.
Contact
Studies
Catholic University of Louvain (degree in Philosophy) 1986
Catholic University of Louvain (Law degree) 1986
Relevant expertise
Acting for Engie/Electrabel before the Constitutional Court re. a 10 years extension of nuclear power plants.
Assisting Hannover Leasing in environmental permitting issues related to an office building in Brussels.
Assisting Interparking in various questions re. public procurement, permitting process, new environmental legislation etc. for new or existing public partings.
Assisting City Mall with the development of an extension to Les Grands Prés shopping centre in Mons, together with the development of a new IKEA store adjacent to the shopping centre.
Acting for the Brussels Region before the European Court of Justice, the Constitutional Court, the Council of State, and several Civil courts in the context of the air traffic nuisances in the vicinity of the Zaventem airport.
Advising Belgian Business Services in a dispute before the Belgian courts regarding the sale of an industrial site in Brussels, dispute in which arise several soil pollution issues (including the liability of a consultancy firm in the area of soil remediation) (environment, waste).
Publications/Speaking Engagements
Artikel "Ter bevordering van een vernieuwde en verdiepte praktijk van de democratie" ds D. Misonne (coord.), A quoi sert le droit de l'environnement ?, Brussel, Bruylant, 2018, p.109-122.
"Artikel 41. Het recht op behoorlijk bestuur' ds F. Picod, S. van Drooghenbroeck en C. Rizcallah (red.), Handvest van de grondrechten. Commentaar artikel per artikel, Brussel, Bruylant, 2017, p.873-891.
Met N. Van Damme: "Het sectorplan. Inhoud, herzieningsprocedure en afwijkingen" ds M. Delnoy en Ch.-H. Born (coord.), De nieuwe Territoriale Ontwikkelingscode (CoDT). Decreet van 20 juli 2016, Brussel, Larcier, 2017, p.129-180.
Met P. De Pauw, "Les pouvoirs d'enquête et de sanction en matière financière dans le Code de droit économique à l'épreuve des droits de l'homme", ds Cahiers AEBDF/EVBFR_Belgium, 2016, n°28 over het thema The Increasing Impact of Human Rights Law on the Financial World.
"Het Grondwettelijk Hof zoals gezien door de Balie", ds A. Alen , J. Spreutels, L. Lavrysen, P. Nihoul, E. Peremans, B. Renauld, J. Theunis en W. Verrijdt (Ed.), Grondwettelijk Hof 1985-2015 - Grondwettelijk Hof 1985-2015, Het Handvest, 2016, pp. 37-49.
"Terugkoppeling over het recht van administratieve sancties in milieuzaken in het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest", ds P.-O. de Broux, B. Lombaert en D. Yernault (Regie), Le droit bruxellois, un bilan après 25 ans d'application (1989-2014), Brussel, Bruylant, 2016, p. 939-950.
Met P.-F. Henrard, "La Cour constitutionnelle et les juridictions administratives: des réformes inachevées", ds H. Dumont, E. Berhoumi en I. Hachez (Regie), La sixième réforme
de l'Etat: l'art de ne pas choisir ou l'art du compromis, Bruxelles, Larcier - Les Dossiers du Journal des tribunaux, 2015, p. 41-54.
Met M. Vanderstraeten, "Urgence, extrême urgence, mesures provisoires et balances des intérêts devant le Conseil d'Etat", ds F. Viseur en J. Philippart (regie), La justice administrative, Bruxelles, Larcier- Conférence Jeune Barreau, 2015, p.39-62.
"Toewijding van de verantwoordelijkheid van de Staat in geval van een voldoende gekarakteriseerde schending door de Raad van State van de toepasselijke rechtsregels" nota onder CC 99/2014, 30 juni 2014, R.G.A.R., 2015, nr. 15164.
Met S. Seys en D. de Jonghe, "Les principes généraux du droit", ds Les sources du droit administratif revisitées, Limal, Anthemis-USL, 2013, p.103-159 (Deze tekst is de reproductie van de volgende referentie).
F. Tulkens, "La nature supraconstitutionnelle du droit européen et son impact sur la distribution des compétences en matière de protection de l'environnement", ds Revue de la Faculté de Droit - Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2011, vol. 39, themanummer: Federalisme en milieu: Belgisch-Canadese perspectieven, pp. 201-215.
Met A.Rizzo, "La responsabilité environnementale: avancées récents ou 'Chi va piano, va (de plus en plus) sano' ...", ds F. Glansdorff en P. Henry (dir.), Droit de la responsabilité, Domaines choisis, Commission Université Palais, Anthemis, Louvain-la-Neuve, 2010, p. 227-288
Recognition
François Tulkens is strong at handling public law matters, including those relating to planning and environment matters. He represents clients in administrative disputes and the environmental and planning aspects of development projects. "François Tulkens has excellent knowledge of our sector and gives visionary opinions." Chambers Europe, 2023, Band 2 (Public law, Planning & Environment)
François Tulkens is ranked as “Leading Individual” in the area of Environment - Legal 500, 2020
François Tulkens "maintains very high standards in public law," according to one satisfied client. One client enthuses that "the main strengths of the team are excellent knowledge, fast reactivity and a highly customer-oriented approach." Others stress that "the lawyers are reliable, pragmatic, efficient, fast and always available and ready to react." – Chambers Europe, 2020
“François Tulkens advises on the environmental law and urban planning law aspects of new developments, with additional experience handling disputes concerning insecticides.” – Chambers, 2019, Band 2 (Environment)
François Tulkens is described as “Expert” - Who’s Who Legal, 2019
François Tulkens is recommended in the area of Environment - Legal 500,2019
François Tulkens has a strong focus on administrative and environmental law, particularly urban planning and environmental litigation - Chambers Europe, 2018
Memberships & Admissions
Member of the Brussels Bar
Editor-in-chief at Journal des Tribunaux
Languages
- French
- English
- Dutch
