2023-07-31 17:03:00
Judicial officers have a bad reputation. Inevitably, when they knock on the door, with a small letter – we say “exploit” in the jargon –, it is rarely for good news. Their main missions, monopolistic, relate to the recovery of a debt in the judicial phase. They bring the significance of a condemnation to the payment of a sum of money, to an eviction, to a seizure of real estate or salary.
The Price Observatory of the FPS Economy, which scrutinized the sector of judicial officers in Belgium, has just published a study on the way in which this particular market functions. Bailiffs are public officers, responsible for drafting authentic deeds and ensuring the execution of court decisions. They also benefit from extrajudicial skills, including the amicable recovery of debts, for which they have no legal monopoly and no obligation to intervene.
Lack of transparency
What comes out of it? The pricing is obsolete and the practices unsuitable, according to the Price Observatory. The study also pinpoints a lack of transparency regarding their costs and fees.
The tariffs applied within the framework of their public missions are for the most part determined by law or by the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of Belgium, the professional association of the sector. The main criticism issued by the Price Observatory relates to the obsolescence of the legal tariff, which has not been modified since 1976, with the exception of indexation.
Although judicial officers have suffered more from the health crisis than other comparable liberal professions, the profitability of the sector remains positive as a whole.
Another remark relates to the lack of transparency of the fees and costs claimed by the bailiffs, in particular due to an opaque calculation method which is therefore difficult to understand, or the absence of information concerning any additional fees.
Independent but not quite
The sector is also confronted with problems related to unsuitable market practices, which stem from the particular position they occupy and the tension that this generates. Judicial officers act both as a public officer, a position for which they must remain independent, and on behalf of a client.
In 2021, Belgium had 592 bailiffs and 355 candidate bailiffs, spread over 245 offices. Although judicial officers have suffered more from the health crisis than other comparable liberal professions, the profitability of the sector remains positive as a whole.
Although new laws were voted in December 2022 (modernization and digitization of the profession) and in May 2023 (on consumer debts), it is necessary to continue to develop the profession of judicial officers, indicates the study . The changes will have to relate to greater transparency, an update of the legal tariff and a continuation of the simplification of certain procedures, according to the Observatory of prices.
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