Ethics committees first appeared in Belgium at the end of the 1970's and the first ethics commission was created in 1979 by the Foundation for Scientific and Medical Research (FRSM). The National Council of the Order of Doctors defined ethics regulations in 1984. In 1991 they further clarified the function & role of RECs.

The Royal Decree of 27 September,1994 made RECs compulsory for every hospital or group of hospitals. This law also defined the RECs aims, composition & function, closely following the code of deontology of the Order of Doctors.

Currently there are 200 RECs of which 20 are non-hospital based. There is a central Consultative Committee for Bioethics, officially installed in 1996, which formulates opinion & informs the public, acting only in a consultative way.

On 7 May 2004 the Law relating to Experimentation on Humans came into force, which for the first time endows RECs with a legal status. It covers all types of medical experimentation, not just clinical trials.