Belgium makes continuing education mandatory for judicial experts

King Philippe has signed a royal decree of 15 July 2026 that makes continuing education a binding condition for judicial experts and sworn translators, interpreters and translator-interpreters to renew their registration in the national register. The decree, published in the Moniteur Belge of 19 August 2026 (p. 45367), sets a minimum of 60 hours of continuing education over the six years of validity of each registration, directly affecting legal professionals who appear before Belgian courts.

The text was adopted on the proposal of the Minister of Justice, A. Verlinden, and implements articles 555/9, 2° and 555/10, § 1, alinea 3 of the Judicial Code, inserted by the law of 5 May 2019. It follows the opinion of the Data Protection Authority (n° 19/2026 of 18 February 2026) and opinion 79.077/16 of the Council of State of 13 May 2026.

A six-year obligation to renew registration

Under the decree, both judicial experts and sworn translators, interpreters and translator-interpreters must submit a renewal file to the national-register service of the Federal Public Service Justice at the latest six months before the six-year period referred to in article 555/10 of the Judicial Code expires. The file must include:

• an updated CV;
• an activity report showing regular practice of the profession and how knowledge and skills were maintained;
• the list of civil and administrative missions entrusted during the six years of validity (which may be anonymised);
• the list of trainings followed, related to the expertise domains or languages requested for renewal, or to legal knowledge;
• proof of at least 60 hours devoted to continuing education over the six years of validity of the registration.

For experts who belong to a professional order or institute, the proof may instead consist of the minimum number of training hours required by that order or institute.

Derogations and recognition of training

A derogation from the 60-hour requirement is available to professionals who can prove that they have regularly developed and maintained their linguistic and legal knowledge through the regular practice of their activities. To obtain it, they must provide a substantiated file listing their missions, the subjects translated, an estimate of pages translated or hours devoted to interpretation, and justify why the 60 hours were not followed.

To be recognised as continuing education, a training activity must aim to maintain or develop knowledge in the expertise domains or languages validated in the national register, or the theoretical, technical and methodological knowledge needed to practise, including the legal knowledge necessary for the proper execution of missions. The detailed content of the trainings and a participation certificate must be sent to the national-register service at the latest six months before the six-year period expires, and the professional must be able to explain the link between the training and the objective pursued.

Recognised activities

Annexes 1 and 2 to the decree list, on a non-exhaustive basis, the activities that may be recognised as continuing education. For judicial experts these include:

• following an academic training (including e-learning) in the field of expertise or in legal knowledge;
• teaching in a university, higher-education institution or professional association;
• preparing a doctoral or post-doctoral thesis;
• participating in a conference, seminar, colloquium or symposium as speaker or audience;
• contributing to a research project or writing an article in a scientific journal;
• completing an internship in a national or international organisation.

For sworn translators, interpreters and translator-interpreters, recognised activities include deepening legal terminology, non-legal terminology (medical, banking, technical), the validated languages, translation and interpretation techniques, liaison interpretation in criminal proceedings, and special technologies such as videoconference interpretation and telephone tapping.

The refusal of recognition of trainings or of a derogation is decided by the Minister of Justice or his delegated official, after advice of the accreditation commission, and is notified to the applicant. The decree was given at Brussels on 15 July 2026 and signed by A. Verlinden.

For the thousands of experts and sworn language professionals registered in Belgium, this decree turns continuing education from a professional recommendation into a legal condition for staying on the register. Those who fail to document at least 60 hours of training over six years, or to obtain a derogation, risk losing their registration and, with it, the right to be appointed by the courts.

Source: Moniteur Belge, n° 185, 19 August 2026, Lois, décrets, ordonnances et règlements, p. 45367 (official reference: C-2026/006221).