Three magistrates are set to appear before the Brussels Court of Appeal over charges related to a case of fraud in the magistrates’ examination.
The three will face charges of conflict of interest and breach of professional confidentiality, according to the Brussels chamber of indictments on Monday.
The Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office had requested that a fourth magistrate also be referred to the Court of Appeal for breach of professional confidentiality. However, the magistrate was cleared of all charges.
It is not yet clear when the trial before the Court of Appeal will take place.
On 3 March 2024, the High Council of Justice (HRJ) reported that there were indications that a member of the HRJ had provided one participant in advance with the criminal law case study from the comparative entrance examination in January 2024 for the judicial traineeship, as well as the content of the marking scheme.
C.B., Advocate General at the Ghent Court of Appeal, as a member of the examination board, reportedly provided the exam paper in advance to trainee solicitor N.S., who is the son of Y.S., a public prosecutor in Bruges, and E.W., a judge at the Ypres division of the West Flemish Court of First Instance. However, C.B. had also reportedly passed on information regarding the criminal law and contract law case studies to several other candidates, including a legal officer at the public prosecutor’s office.
The results of the exams in question were subsequently declared null and void, and the magistrates involved were subjected to disciplinary sanctions.
Alongside the disciplinary investigation, however, a judicial investigation into the fraud was also underway, in which the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office intended to prosecute four magistrates. These are Advocate General C.B., District Prosecutor Y.S., District Prosecutor J.L., and the Ghent Advocate General J.E., who is alleged to have passed on the criminal law exam case to two prosecutors taking the exam.
Advocate General C.B., District Prosecutor Y.S. and District Prosecutor J.L. have now been referred to the Court of Appeal.
This article was updated to include more details.
