History
HISTORY
To find out more about the history of the Bar at the Court of Cassation, we refer you to the following contributions:
- R. Bützler & H. Geinger, “Kleine kroniek van de Orde van Advocaten bij het Hof van Cassatie”, in Liber amicorum Lucien Simont, Bruylant, 2002, 11-32
- W. van Eeckhoutte, “De Balie Bij Het Hof van Cassatie : Oorsprong en Evolutie”, Pro memorie (Hilversum), Georges Martyn et al. (ed.), vol. 11, no. 1–2, 2009, pp. 297–318
- J. de Brouwer & S. Vandenbogaerde, Geschiedenis van de balie bij het Hof van Cassatie- Histoire du barreau près la Cour de cassation, P. Lefebvre & C. De Baets (ed.), KnopsPublishing, 2023
SOME STRIKING CASSATION LAWYERS
Note: dates indicate the period during which the lawyers listed were members of the cassation bar.
- Pierre Sanfourche-Laporte : 1832 – 1852
Mr Sanfourche-Laporte was born and graduated in France. He was among the first group of ten cassation lawyers appointed in 1832. He was the first Bar president, elected in 1837. - Auguste Beernaert: 1859 – 1912
Mr Beernaert, who was appointed a lawyer at the Court of Cassation at thirty already, was also a long time member and then president of the Chamber of Representatives. He also became a minister and later a minister of state. He represented Belgium at the peace congresses in The Hague in 1899 and 1907, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1909. - Edmond Picard: 1880 – 1920
Mr Picard was a very versatile man as a sailor, lawyer, professor, senator, art expert, patron, writer, publicist. The Pandectes belges, the Journal des Tribunaux, and the Codes Edmond Picard are due to him, as well as the presence of works of art in the Palace of Justice in Brussels and other public places. However, his anti-semitism is a lasting stain on his record. - Paul Struye: 1938 – 1974
During World War II, Mr Struye was one of the driving forces behind the Cassation Bar’s protest against the regime of the German occupiers and its measures of deportation and forced labour. He is also remembered as the proposer of a bill to allow women to become lawyers at the Court of Cassation, which was passed in May 1947. - Cécile Draps: 1980 – 2008
Mr Draps was the first woman to be appointed a lawyer at the Cout of cassation, in 1980. She was president of the Bar from 1996-1998.