Belgium's Justice Ministry has run out of money to pay external contractors - including interpreters, tow truck drivers, and undertakers - until further notice. This stems from a chronic underfunding of Belgium's justice system.
The Ministry contacted affected freelancers last week, according to De Standaard, to let them know because the budget for their services for this year had been "exhausted," invoice payments would be suspended.
Those affected include pathologists and psychologists who support the Ministry with progressing cases.
The Ministry has run out of funding before. In 2024, for example, it used up its budget twice after an initial release of emergency funding was also exhausted. At the time, interpreters staged protests, with some reportedly borrowing money from family and friends to cover the income shortfall.
According to the Ministry, it has initiated a special procedure to release additional budget for this year. This procedure requires a Royal Decree, De Standaard reports, which the King must sign.
The Ministry's inability to pay is a symptom of wider "structural underfunding" of Belgium's justice system which has led to a shortage of judges, unsafe buildings, and a growing backlog of cases. According to a joint statement last year by prosecutors and tribunal and appeal courts, this underfunding is delaying justice and eroding the rule of law.
In September, the head of the Brussels Court of Appeal, Laurence Massart, wrote to Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V), asking for 57 extra staff after it was revealed that some appeal cases were being scheduled as late as September 2028.
A report last month from the College of Courts and Tribunals also found that while the justice system ended 2025 with a reduced backlog, this masked deep structural problems that resulted in over 584,000 cases still to be processed at the end of 2025.
According to the report, by 31 December 2025, the system was short of 80 full-time equivalent magistrates and 578 registry staff, with labour courts being the most affected.
In labour courts, which handle cases such as unfair dismissal, contract disputes, and workplace discrimination and harassment, the average case took 645 days to process.
