Brussels Court of Appeal is facing a dire staff shortage, with some cases being scheduled as late as September 2028.
Head of the court, Laurence Massart, has written a letter to Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V), Le Soir reported on Wednesday, asking the federal government for 57 extra staff: 26 French-speaking judges, 20 court clerks and 11 assistants.
Currently, the court has more than 5,000 cases waiting to be dealt with, and does not have enough judges or other staff to handle them.
Between 2020 and 2025, the number of new cases handled by some French-speaking sections of the court rose by between 60% and 65%. The number of judges, nonetheless, did not increase at the same rate, leaving more work for less staff.
In July, the court was already dealing with more than 2,000 criminal cases waiting to be heard, with more than 3,000 civil and business cases also pending. This means that the court is obliged to prioritise certain cases.
Cases involving people who are currently held in prison are given priority, while other urgent cases, including those involving sexual offences and domestic violence, are also moved forward. However, cases that are considered less urgent can wait for years.
Sophie Leclercq, who leads one of the court's criminal chambers, is now scheduling some cases for September 2028, Le Soir reported.
She is also deliberately keeping some hearing dates free over the next two years, which can then be used when an urgent case arrives.
Financial and tax cases are among those that can face longer wait times because they generally do not involve someone who is being held in prison.
“But we must not overlook the suffering of people who wait several years,” Massart told Le Soir. “It is sad for them and for justice.”
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Judges under pressure
When a judge is unavailable, retired judges, temporary replacements, or judges from other sections are sometimes called in. This happened 373 times on the French-speaking side of the court in 2025.
But taking a judge from another section does not solve the wider staff shortage. The judge still has their usual work to complete on top of the additional hearing.
Massart told the French-speaking daily the pressure is beginning to take a serious toll on staff.
Some judges have even chosen to leave the appeal court and return to lower courts despite losing seniority and receiving lower pay.
“They are on the verge of tears, of imploding,” Massart told Le Soir. “And we are not talking about a minority.”
She said the court is currently surviving because staff continue to take on additional work, sometimes even preparing cases during their holidays.
Massart is asking the government for 57 extra staff to reduce the backlog and bring waiting times down.
Justice Minister Verlinden is due to meet representatives of the court in mid-October to discuss the situation.
