There is no code of ethics at the national, Belgian level. Like the entire media policy and the biggest part of the media market, it is strictly divided along linguistic borders. The French- and German-language on one hand, and the Dutch-language Belgian news media on the other, have their own independently functioning self-regulating bodies: the Conseil de déontologie journalistique and the Raad voor de journalistiek (RvdJ), respectively.
The RvdJ’s code is thus applicable for all Flemish news organisations and brands as well as individual journalists; it is taught in journalism studies at colleges and universities and according to the interviews, it is semi-regularly consulted in cases of quarrels among journalists themselves, or with civilians or politicians. The RvdJ’s code is divided into four chapters: Faithful reporting, Independent inquiry, Fair play, and Respect for the privacy and human dignity. Most of the 26 articles of the code have their own specific guidelines to be adhered as well (RvdJ, 2010b; for the English version, see RvdJ, 2010a).
