Reform of the Belgian Justice System: Changes to the Role of Jurisdiction Chief, the Empowerment of Local Managers

The last waves of reform that affected, and continue to affect, the Belgian legal system led to an injunction for increased responsibility on the part of local managers, the jurisdiction chiefs. This tendency was initiated in the 1990s, with the introduction of a managerial logic into the legal sphere, whereby local initiatives took precedence in the absence of any clear and binding direction. The 2014 reform project, through its three constituent pillars, led to the strengthening of this logic, to the point where it became an important subject. The jurisdiction chiefs were therefore confronted with a new type of responsibility in that they became responsible for the dissemination of managerial discourse within their local body, for the implementation of change, and, consequently, for the success of this change, while at the same time, being confronted by a state and by political authorities that preferred to take a back-seat role. By observing, from an exploratory perspective, the developments caused by this transformational dynamic with regard to the role and function of the jurisdiction chiefs, our contribution highlights the wide range of receptions and appropriations of the reform project, and the concepts supporting the founding trio of pillars, based on five emerging, empirically-established subjects.