The Belgian Justice System and Covid-19

As of April 22nd, Belgium has 40,956 total coronavirus cases, 5,998 deaths and 9,002 recoveries. Faced with the emergency, Belgium proceeded with a lockdown, as did most other European countries. In Belgium, essential commerce has remained open (food shops, pharmacies, newsagents, petrol stations and fuel suppliers, telecoms shops, libraries), whereas recreational areas remain closed (e.g. playgrounds, etc.), although parks can remain open, subject to social distancing measures.

But what is the situation for the main judicial bodies?

Suspended activities sine die

Most judicial bodies are closed until further notice and the main functions scheduled until May 3rd, have been cancelled or postponed.

The High Council of Justice (CSJ), the Constitutional Court, the Foreign Contentious Council (CCE) and prisons are the most restricted bodies, postponing hearings to a later indefinite date.

Late March, the Constitutional Court issued a directive regulating his functions, postponing indefinitely the cases already scheduled for hearings until end of April. So do the Foreign Contentious Council (CCE), which held only hearings of an extremely urgent nature and expedited procedures.

Another restriction concerns the visitors’ reception. As for prisons, all visits in all their forms (in the visiting room, children, unsupervised) are cancelled until further notice. To compensate for the cancellation of these visits, the prisoner receives an additional €20 euro call credit to maintain contact with their family. So do the High Council of Justice (CSJ), which continues its functions thanks to an e-mail service and an available telephone hotline.

Additional news in this respect is the suspension of the elections of the magistrate members of the CSJ, which had to be held end of March. In these circumstances, the Bureau of the CSJ was obliged to ask the minister of justice to take the necessary measures to postpone the elections because the sanitary measures do not allow for proper preparation of such elections. It was first due to happen at the end of April and is more likely to be postponed until further notice.

Justice doesn’t sleep

The case of the Court of Cassation, colleges and courts is quite different. They have both stayed open, providing a minimum level of service to ensure emergency services. As for colleges and courts, all procedural documents may exceptionally be sent by e-mail or e-deposit (unilateral requests, requests for appeal, summonses, etc.); fee-paying documents will only be received with proof of prior payment of fees.

Mid-March the Court of Cassation stated that the hearings of the Court of Cassation would continue, although the procedure before the court being essentially written and the presence of the parties not necessary for civil cases. For urgent (mainly criminal cases), lawyers were invited to agree to represent their clients, particularly if they were detained and could not be transferred to the courthouse.

Required innovation

So, Belgium’s judiciary has acted in three different ways. First, it suspended activities and hearings considered non-essential. On the other hand, for emergency practices, a minimum level of service is granted, limiting human presence only to the parts necessary to carry out the practice. The third step is innovation.

The e-Deposit web portal allows citizens, companies and lawyers to remotely submit preliminary procedural documents and files to a court.  Lawyers can also register via DPA-Deposit. Another measure announced by the federal public service of justice, concerns the introduction of a QR code to authenticate extracts from criminal records. Criminal record excerpts sent to individuals include a QR code and an internet address, which is available for a period of three months. They enable the recipient to authenticate the document. To do this, the QR code is scanned with a smartphone connected to the internet, or a URL address is entered. The recipient is automatically redirected to the source, the electronic version of the extract.

Meanwhile, the National Security Council has recently extended the lockdown until May 3rd, without tightening or relaxing of the measures currently in force. Sophie Wilmès, the Belgian prime minister, announced it, adding that all mass gatherings, such as concerts, are suspended until august 31st^st.

Francesco Magon (@francesco_magon)