Consular judge

The consular judge is a judge who is not a professional judge and who sits in the Commercial Court next to a professional judge.

The consular judges have the particularity of not being judges by profession. In fact, they come from commercial and/or financial enterprises. As a general rule, they are appointed for a period of five years by the King, on the joint proposal of the Ministers for Justice, Economic Affairs, and SMEs and the Self-Employed.

The consular judges are appointed to assist the professional judges by contributing their knowledge of the economy. Each Chamber of the Commercial Court is, moreover, made up of a professional judge and two consular judges. The vote of the consular judges is accorded as much importance and weight as that of the professional judge hearing a case. Decisions are thus taken by consensus. If it should so happen that consensus is not reached, the rule of simple majority is observed. (Two votes to one)

15/10/2018

Definitions provided under this section refer to the Belgian situation; unless specified otherwise. The texts are meant to summarize concepts in daily language and should not be considered as comprehensive or definite. We welcome suggestions for modifications or additions at glossary@tcm.be.