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Home/ Yves Sacreas

Yves Sacreas

Senior Counsel

Administrative Law and Public Procurement / Urban Planning and Environmental Law / Litigation and Arbitration

Yves Sacreas
+32 2 747 40 07
yves.sacreas@be.Andersen.com
Yves Sacreas
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I like to help solve legal problems; within the lines when I can and outside the lines when I ought to

Yves Sacreas practices in the field of public law.

He advises and represents clients before various courts, the Council of State, the Council for Permit Disputes and the Constitutional Court on constitutional and administrative law, urban planning, environmental law, expropriation law and also criminal law.

Yves was a teaching assistant in constitutional law at KULeuven for six years and is also the author of numerous scientic contributions. He worked for 16 years at a Brussels law  rm and joined Andersen in Belgium in 2022.


Publications:

Magazines and book contributions

  • “De politieke ministeriële verantwoordelijkheid”, T.B.P., 2001, 624-633;
  • “De gewestelijke bevoegdheden inzake de ondergeschikte besturen: een algemeen overzicht” in A. ALEN (ed.), De vijfde staatshervorming van 2001, Brugge, die Keure, 2002, 65-82;
  • “De ondergeschikte besturen: een stand van zaken”, T.B.P., 2004, 67-84;
  • “Constitutionele en bevoegdheidsrechtelijke benadering van het Gemeentedecreet”, Gem., 2006/1, 5-8;
  • “De bevoegdheid inzake de machtiging tot onteigening ter uitvoering van het onteigeningsplan in een gemeentelijk ruimtelijk uitvoeringsplan”, in M. BOES, J.GHYSELS, D. LINDEMANS  en R. PALMANS (Eds.), Liber Amicorum Martin Denys, Antwerpen, Intersentia, 2012, 259-266;
  • Y. SACREAS en J. GHYSELS, “Onderhandelen om niet te moeten onteigenen in Vlaanderen: stand van zaken en evaluatie”, in R. PALMANS, J. GHYSELS en R.TIJS (Eds.), Onteigenen in Vlaanderen na het Onteigeningsdecreet, Antwerpen, Boom juridisch, 2022, 205-236.

Short annotations:

  • “De politieke verantwoordelijkheid van Daems in het Sabena-dossier”, contribution in the ‘podium’ section of the Financieel Economische Tijd, Wednesday, February 5, 2003;
  • “De gevolgen van de uitspraak van het arbitragehof van 26 februari 2003 voor de verkiezingen van 18 mei 2003”, R.A.B.G., 2003, 454-457 (Contribution in the section ‘actualia’);
  • “De verklaring tot herziening van de Grondwet en de gevolgen van de ontbinding van de Wetgevende Kamers”, R.A.B.G., 2003, 560-562 (Contribution in the section ‘actualia’);
  • “Scheiding der machten kan ministers uit de wind zetten”, interview in De Morgen, Tuesday, March 7, 2006.

Book reviews:

  • F. Delpérée (red.), “Les lois spéciales et ordinaires du 13 juillet 2001”, Brussels, Bruylant, 2002, 249 p. in R.W., 2004, 638-639.

Contributions to scientific support expenditure:

  • “Valks juridisch woordenboek” (collaborator);
  • “Rechtsgids, trefwoord Uitvoerende Macht” (author).

Research reports commissioned by policy bodies:

  • Study commissioned by the Ministry of the Flemish Community, Department of Welfare, Public Health, and Culture, Health Care Administration, on the applicability of the decree on Medically Responsible Sports in the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region (in collaboration with Prof. Dr. M. Boes);
  • Contribution to the preparation of the Flemish Expropriation Decree (Janson, 2014).

Miscellaneous:

  • Brief for Respondent, The Case concerning the Vaccine Trials, The State of Kuraca v. The Republic of Senhava, on submission to the International Court of Justice (2000 PC Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition).
  • Radio-interview during “Voor de dag” on Radio 1 on the request to withdraw party funding from the Vlaams Belang party at the Council of State, Wednesday, May 17, 2006.

Expertises

Litigation and Arbitration

Litigation and Arbitration

Urban Planning and Environmental Law

Urban Planning and Environmental Law

Administrative Law and Public Procurement

Administrative Law and Public Procurement

Qualification

  • Master of Laws - KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) - 2000 - cum laude
  • Participation in international rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition arguing before the International Court of Justice (Washington D.C.
  • April 2000)

Languages

  • Dutch
  • French
  • English

Conferences and seminars

  • Studiedag van het Instituut voor Constitutioneel Recht (KU Leuven) op 16 november 2001 over de vijfde staatshervorming. Referaat over de overgedragen bevoegdheden inzake de ondergeschikte besturen
  • Belgisch-Nederlands congres van de Universiteit van Tilburg op 12 december 2001 over het primaat van de politiek: workshop over de politieke ministeriële verantwoordelijkheid
  • Vorming in gemeentelijk management (Gewestelijke School voor Openbaar Bestuur): de Regionalisering van de Gemeentewet - een juridische analyse van het Vlaams voorontwerp van gemeentedecreet - 17 juni 2004
  • Colloquium Conflictbeheersing in het Belgisch Staatsrecht (Congreszaal Federaal Parlement): Lezing over belangenconflicten 15 januari 2008
  • Studiedag van het Centrum voor Recht - Onteigening en Waardering (CROW) op 22 oktober 2021 over onteigenen in Vlaanderen na het Onteigeningsdecreet. Referaat over de onderhandelingsplicht ingeval van onteigening.
  • Legal News

    Soil Decree Updated: Pragmatism Gains Ground
    LEGAL NEWS

    20.03.2026

    Urban Planning and Environmental Law, Andersen in Belgium, LEGAL NEWS

    Soil Decree Updated: Pragmatism Gains Ground

    On 23 March 2026, several amendments to the Soil Decree enter into force. Although these adjustments may at first glance appear largely technical, they clearly address an existing tension within Flemish soil policy: the gap between theoretical standards and their practical applicability. With this reform, the legislator explicitly opts for a more flexible and enforceable framework.

    Read the article »
    Late-filed documents may alter the outcome of the permitting process
    LEGAL NEWS

    08.12.2025

    Urban Planning and Environmental Law, Andersen in Belgium, LEGAL NEWS

    Late-filed documents may alter the outcome of the permitting process

    Permit applications must be handled fairly: applicants for urban and environmental permits may not submit new technical studies or other important documents when the parties concerned are no longer able to review or comment on them in a timely manner. Yet this practice is commonplace, much to the frustration of many applicants and their legal counsels. In a judgment of 23 October 2025, the Council for Permit Disputes (CPD) now puts an end to this.

    Read the article »
    No financial charges may be imposed in an environmental permit without an urban planning regulation.
    LEGAL NEWS

    07.11.2025

    Urban Planning and Environmental Law, Andersen in Belgium, LEGAL NEWS

    No financial charges may be imposed in an environmental permit without an urban planning regulation.

    The Council for Permit Disputes (RvVb) annulled, on 9 October 2025, a financial charge imposed in a decision granting an environmental permit. Such a charge may, since 2024, only be imposed on the basis of an urban planning regulation within the meaning of Articles 2.3.1 and 2.3.2 of the Flemish Code for Spatial Planning (VCRO). Prior to the amendment of the Decree, the Environmental Permit Decree did provide that such a financial charge could be imposed by the permitting authority and under what conditions, but it was not required that a regulation be included in an urban planning ordinance.

    Read the article »
    Local authorities no longer judge and participate in their own construction projects
    LEGAL NEWS

    09.10.2025

    Urban Planning and Environmental Law, Andersen in Belgium, LEGAL NEWS

    Local authorities no longer judge and participate in their own construction projects

    The Constitutional Court has ruled that construction projects initiated by local authorities, that could have a significant impact on the environment, may no longer be assessed by those authorities themselves. This not only puts current and future construction projects at risk, but also jeopardizes permits that have already been granted.

    Read the article »