A judge from the West Flemish town of Ieper has been suspended from her duties for 3 months after her son was caught cheating during an exam for would-be magistrates. He was allegedly given the exam questions in advance by a magistrate that is a friend of his parents. A disciplinary investigation has been launched and the judge has been suspended pending the outcome.
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West Flemish judge suspended for 3 months after son is caught cheating during his magistrates’ exam
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As we reported early this month, the Supreme Judicial Council uncovered cheating during an entrance exanimation for the magistrature. A member of the examination committee, himself a magistrate and a member of the Supreme Judicial Council, had supplied information concerning the exam questions to a candidate in advance of the examination.
A criminal investigation was launched into the exam fraud. A disciplinary enquiry was also conducted and it was decided there that the Ghent Advocate-General would be suspended for three months.
The candidate that was caught cheating is the son of two magistrates. Now a disciplinary investigation has been launched against his mother, a judge at the court in Ieper. She has been suspended for three months. The president of the West Flemish Courts is keen to stress that the judge’s suspension has been taken as a matter of course and should not be interpreted as an indication of possible guilt. The judge’s suspension runs until June but could be extended for a further three months if the investigation is still ongoing.
Meanwhile, no decision has yet been taken with regard to a possible disciplinary investigation against the young man’s father, a Departmental Prosecutor in Bruges (West Flanders).