Constitutional Court agrees with the devil couple Lacote and Van Acker

The Court of Cassation referred questions to the Constitutional Court for a preliminary ruling about the fact that no appeal in cassation is possible against the decision of the assize president not to include certain witnesses in the witness list. In criminal cases before other courts, however, such an appeal is possible, as a result of which, according to the Court of Cassation, there is a difference in treatment. The Constitutional Court stated on Thursday that this difference in treatment is discriminatory for parties in an assize procedure.

Convicted of murder

According to the Court, the legislator’s concern to speed up the assize process does not explain why a postponed appeal in cassation would not be possible. Because of the constitutionality, the parties can therefore invoke such a deferred appeal in cassation.

Jean Claude Lacote and Hilde Van Acker were sentenced by the court of assizes to 30 and 24 years in prison for murder on March 17, 2021. Ten years earlier, they had already been convicted in absentia for these offences. But they lodged an appeal with the Court of Cassation against the judgment of the preliminary session of September 24, 2020 of the West Flemish assize president in which the witness list was established.

Postponed appeal in cassation

The Court of Cassation then referred questions for a preliminary ruling to the Constitutional Court about the lack of appeal options against the refusal of the assize president to hear certain witnesses. It also points out that an appeal in cassation against this is possible before other courts of law in criminal cases. The Constitutional Court stated that the parliamentary preparations show that the legislator wanted to speed up and simplify the assize procedure, which could justify the fact that no immediate appeal in cassation is possible against the judgment establishing the witness list.

However, according to the Court of Appeal, these preparations do not show why no postponed appeal in cassation – which can be lodged after the assize process has ended – is possible. That is why the Constitutional Court ruled that it was unconstitutional. This means that a postponed appeal in cassation is possible, it is still said.