PROFESSIONAL TRAINING IN CASSATION

The Court of Cassation has a very different task from the other courts and tribunals of the judiciary. Its main task is to rule on appeals against judgments delivered at last instance against which a violation of the law or of substantial or prescribed forms under penalty of nullity is alleged (Article 608 of the Judicial Code). In doing so, the Supreme Court does not enter into the assessment of the facts or of the cases themselves (Article 147 of the Constitution).

The conduct of proceedings before the Court of Cassation (see Articles 1073 to 1121/6 of the Judicial Code) is also completely different from that of proceedings before the other courts.

Proceedings before the Supreme Court therefore require different knowledge and skills from those that lawyers generally need to possess. To familiarise interested lawyers from the other Bar Associations with this, the Bar Association at the Court of Cassation has been organising training in cassation technique and cassation proceedings since 1978.                                                         

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The course can be followed by those who wish to draft their own cassation provisions, pleadings in support or pleadings in reply in cases where the assistance of a lawyer at the Court of Cassation is not required. However, a knowledge of cassation technique may also be useful for those who wish to anticipate possible later cassation proceedings in their submissions in cases on the merits.

Of course, the training is decisive for those who aspire to become a lawyer at the Court of Cassation, since only those who pass the exam after the multi-year cycle can apply for that office (Article 478(2) of the Judicial Code). In other words, passing the exam is a condition for being appointed as a lawyer at the Supreme Court.

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The training is organised every five years by the Bar Association at the Court of Cassation, pursuant to Article 478(2) of the Judicial Code.

That multi-year training is distinct from the training in cassation proceedings in criminal cases, referred to in Article 425, §2, of the Code of Criminal Procedure and organised by the OVB and the OBFG. The latter training makes it possible to become a holder of the certificate required under the aforementioned provision to act before the Court of Cassation in criminal cases.

The training organised by the Bar Association at the Court of Cassation is organised in Dutch and in French. For the content of the training and the way it is organised, please refer to the information provided on this website in Dutch (Opleiding in de cassatietechniek en -procedure – Advocass) and French (Formation à la technique et procédure de cassation – Advocass).