2023-08-09 12:59:49
In an open letter, the parents of Julie Van Espen, murdered in 2019 in Antwerp, criticized the attitude of the Superior Council of Justice before the Justice Committee of the House of Representatives. “Their intervention was once once more very mediocre, even defensive”, they regret. A message to which Commission President Kristien Van Vaerenbergh (N-VA) replied to our colleagues at Het Laatste Nieuws.
The letter follows two meetings of the Justice Committee, on July 4 and 5, and a previous open letter published last April. This time, the parents of Julie Van Espen are particularly attacking the Superior Council of Justice (CSJ). “The Superior Council of Justice has once once more failed. His contribution was once once more mediocre, even defensive,” they say. “During these two days of hearings, it was said on several occasions that the CSJ was created at the time to restore public confidence in justice following the Dutroux affair, unfortunately at no time did we have seen that.”
The parents of the girl, killed in 2019 by Steven Bakelmans, a man already convicted twice of rape, had previously pleaded in favor of an extension of the period during which one can file a complaint as well as an assessment of the heads of body within the prosecutor’s office and the courts. The fact that the Superior Council of Justice was not in favor of the extension of this period did not escape them. “The only body that does not want to deviate from the six-month deadline is once more the CSJ. For us, however, there is sufficient consensus to extend it.”
“Professional liability is obviously a very difficult subject within the legal system.”
Julie Van Espen’s parents
The previous open letter also called for the improvement of the disciplinary procedure vis-à-vis the magistrates, but on this point too, the family remains unsatisfied. “Professional liability is obviously a very difficult subject within the legal system.”
As a reminder, at the time, the Antwerp Court of Appeal had taken the decision to close a chamber, which resulted in the suspension of certain urgent files, including that of Steve Bakelmans. The man was therefore free at the time of the events, his immediate arrest not having been requested pending an appeal decision for a previous rape case. An element for which “no one has ever been held responsible”, believe the parents of Julie Van Espen.
“Tricky Question”
“Other than that, we mostly heard what not everyone can do. For example, it was reiterated (which we already knew) that the CSJ does not have disciplinary jurisdiction, but can lodge a complaint with the competent disciplinary authority. Our request to see the CSJ play a more active role in handling complaints is apparently a sensitive issue.” The parents nevertheless hope that this question will be the subject of a “thorough examination”.
Finally, they hope that the Commission will “deepen on the issues raised in their open letter which are the subject of a clear consensus”, but not only. “We also expect the commission to take initiatives on subjects which are not the subject of a consensus – for example, whether or not to maintain in camera proceedings for sex cases – or on subjects for which we are not there yet – for example, an operational disciplinary law.”
“The journey is not over”
If the open letter contains strong criticism of the CSJ, it is actually addressed to the president of the Justice Committee of the chamber, Kristien Van Vaerenbergh (N-VA). “I appreciate the contribution of the Van Espen family. The auditions do not mean the end of the journey for me either”, she replies in the columns of Het Laatste Nieuws. “Political announcements do not help the victims and it is time for the Justice Committee, and therefore also the De Croo government, to get rid of the knots on pain points such as our disciplinary law for magistrates. We are in 2023. It must and can be done better. Without progress, we can hardly restore citizens’ trust in justice.”
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