Almost the entire legal world is aware that anyone who reminds others of their duties every day must always and everywhere color within the lines. In the legal world, the news that the Ghent Advocate General CB, member of the Supreme Council of Justice, himself committed fraud, came as a bombshell.
CB, which has been organizing the criminal law magistrates’ exam for three years, provided a young candidate magistrate with the subject of the case that would be discussed in the exam. For example, the candidate knew in advance that he would have to write a paper on how he would legally tackle a recently rounded up gang of thieves. He also got good marks.
The written exam took place in January. The oral part should have taken place this week, but will not take place. The entire exam has been annulled and will be reorganized.
Suspicious searches
The candidate magistrate in question is the son of magistrate couple YS, who is a department prosecutor in Bruges, and EW, who is a judge in West Flanders. CB confessed the facts to the Supreme Court last weekend and resigned. The young candidate magistrate also confessed.
It has not yet been determined whether his parents were involved in the attempted fraud. They have been traveling for the past few days and have been unreachable until now. Advocate General CB and the couple know each other very well.
According to our information, the fraud came to light after the law firm where the candidate magistrate was doing an internship smelled something wet. According to Het Laatste Nieuws, they noticed that in the run-up to the exam, their intern had done many internal searches in files on thieving gangs, without apparently having a good reason for this. This was confirmed to De Standaard. When the lawyers at the firm later learned from other participants what the exam question was, they became aware and raised the alarm.
At the Supreme Court of Justice itself, all lights turned red. The members soon discovered that the accusations were true. The candidate magistrate had even received a small last-minute adjustment to the case from his tipster CB
Because CB has been on the committee for three years, the Supreme Court does not rule out that previous exams were also subject to tampering. This will now be investigated.
Impeccable reputations
The Ghent Attorney General Erwin Dernicourt has opened a disciplinary investigation into CB. The West Flemish prosecutor Filiep Jodts has done the same to his department prosecutor YS. A disciplinary investigation is also underway against Judge EW.
A criminal investigation is also underway against CB. What these investigations mean for the careers of the three magistrates remains to be seen. CB is a leading magistrate at the Ghent Public Prosecutor’s Office. He is known as solid, very correct and very human. In the past he was advocate general at major assize trials. He argued, among other things, about an eight-year-old boy who had been poisoned with ether by his mother. As a department attorney for Bruges, Attorney YS directs the other attorneys. He also had an impeccable reputation until this weekend, in particular as a ‘football attorney’ who tackled the hooligans from the province. He also argued at a number of assize trials.
There is great indignation at the Supreme Council of Justice. “We are deeply shocked and disappointed that the fraud could happen,” said Hilde Melotte, president of the Supreme Court. “The misunderstanding about this is completely justified.”
