If Belgium is to be effective in the fight against organised crime, its judiciary is in dire need of more judges with the College of Courts and Tribunals stating on Tuesday that the register of judges must be enlarged by 43%.
The statement follows Justice Minister Paul Van Tighchelt's calls for 100 more judges and public prosecutors to fill vacancies in courts across Belgium. Judges currently work an average of 52.8 hours a week, with judges in courts of first instance and courts of appeal working 54 hours a week.
Among the vacancies are five advisors for the Brussels courts of appeal, four judges for the Ghent enterprise court and 13 public prosecutors in the Brussels-Capital Region.
Judges currently employed by the Belgian State are willing to put in overtime due to the societal importance of their role. However, the College emphasises that Belgium must increase its judicial workforce by 43% in order to handle cases in a timely manner, reduce overtime hours and ensure a healthy work-life balance.
While the College acknowledges that systemic improvements cannot happen overnight, they urge the government to demonstrate willingness toward a "first and serious intermediary step to a better funded judiciary". Without urgent action the system will become inefficient as a backlog of cases grows.
Appealing to the State
Van Tigchelt's call to bolster the judicial workforce follow a November ruling by the Brussels Appeals Court. This came as the Francophone and German-speaking Bar Association had lodged a case against the Belgian State, arguing that the shortage of judges was a direct result of austerity measures.
The government subsequently received orders to declare all vacancies within three months or risk a fine of €1,000 per day for each undeclared job posting.
Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt (Open VLD). Credit: Belga / Eric Lalmand
Judges have long called out the detrimental effects of the shortage, both for the Belgian justice system as well as for society more widely. In this latest appeal to the government, the College highlights the impact on citizens, politicians and judges.
"For citizens, it is important to obtain a judgement within a reasonable time, which implies that the time taken to process their case should be as short as possible."
"For politicians, it is essential to be able to assess the budget needed to invest in the number of judges per court/tribunal in order to offer citizens a well-managed judicial system. Finally, for judges, it is sufficient numbers to cope with future workloads."
