The Constitution Committee of the Chamber unanimously approved a proposal on Wednesday to revise the regulations for evaluating head magistrates of courts and tribunals.
This proposal aims to address shortcomings identified after the murder of Julie Van Espen.
Julie Van Espen, a 23-year-old woman, was raped and murdered on 4 May 2019 by Steve Baekelmans, who was previously known for offences of morality and violence and should have been in prison at the time.
An internal investigation and parliamentary hearings revealed several failures in handling this case, including the lack of a system to evaluate head magistrates, who play an essential role in monitoring criminal cases, explained MP Kristien Van Vaerenbergh (N-VA).
Implementing such an evaluation system required a constitutional amendment. Van Vaerenbergh introduced a modification proposal which was approved on Wednesday.
The proposal will now go to a plenary session of the Chamber, where a two-thirds majority is necessary for approval. The Senate also needs to confirm the proposal.
