Justice
The two magistrates who were suspended after a case of exam fraud remain suspended. The disciplinary court decided that.
According to the disciplinary court, “citizens must be able to trust that files will be handled without any form of favoritism.” If the two magistrates were to return to work, “it would undermine the integrity of the public prosecutor’s office.” “In the interest of the service”, the suspension therefore remains in place.
The two magistrates had appealed against their three-month suspension. They relied on the presumption of innocence and the impact on their service.
Breach of professional secrecy
The two magistrates are the Bruges department prosecutor YS, whose son is said to have been asked the questions of an entrance exam, and the Ypres department attorney JL, whose daughter took part in the same exam for admission to the judicial internship. It is also suspected that she was passed on the exam questions in question.
At the beginning of March, the Supreme Judicial Council signaled that a similar entrance exam may have been tampered with. At least one participant would have received information about the criminal law exam from CB, a member of the Supreme Council of Justice and the Ghent public prosecutor’s office. The latter has now been suspended for breach of professional secrecy. There is also a criminal investigation into the exam fraud.
