EW, mother of the candidate magistrate who was given the exam question for the magistrates exam in advance, was suspended on Friday by the court of first instance in West Flanders. EW is a judge in the West Flemish city of Ypres. The suspension runs until June 12, and can be extended for an additional three months. The disciplinary investigation is still ongoing.
It was not immediately clear whether the trainee lawyer’s parents were involved in cheating in the magistrates’ exam. The son of magistrate couple YS, who is a department prosecutor in Bruges, and EW, who is a judge in West Flanders, was passed on the case that would be the subject of the exam through Advocate General CB, who is a jury member at the exam. A disciplinary investigation was initiated against both parents by their respective superiors as attorney and judge.
If there were sufficient indications of their involvement, a suspension would follow. That has now happened to mother EW. It is currently unknown on what information the decision to suspend him was made. “The violation of trust and the resulting impact and the seriousness of the facts” were taken into account in the decision to suspend, the press release states.
CB, who passed on the exam question, was previously suspended and a criminal investigation is underway against him. The candidate risks suspension or expulsion by the disciplinary board. (KB)
