Cassation

If a client or the Public Prosecution Service is of the opinion that the Court of Appeal has made mistakes in a court case, an appeal in cassation may be lodged. Grounds for appeal in cassation must be submitted by the attending lawyer. For example, cassation grounds can be about:

• a law or rule that has been misinterpreted by the Court of Appeal;
• the fact that the judgment of the Court of Appeal has not been properly substantiated;
• refusing to hear a witness (right of interrogation);
• not applying the right to an adversarial proceedings;
• not having an important (legal) question investigated;

An appeal in cassation is handled by a seat of 3 or 5 Supreme Court judges. The Supreme Court bases itself on the facts of a case such as established by the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court examines whether the Court of Appeal has complied with the law and the procedural rules and whether the court has sufficiently substantiated its ruling. If a Court of Appeal has made mistakes in this regard, the procedure must be redone. The case must also be redone if the Supreme Court interpretes the applicable law differently than the Court of Appeal has done.

Mr. Ralph Takens handles cassations cases at our office. He is a member of the Association for Cassation Lawyers in Criminal Matters (VCAS).