Magistrate calls for removal of munitions under Justice Palace

The country’s top judge, Jean de Codt, has called for the removal of five tonnes of munitions stored beneath the Justice Palace in Brussels. De Codt, who is president of the Cassation Court, says the weapons are not being stocked according to regulations.

Explosives, bullets, detonators and other munitions are stored in the Justice Palace as evidence to be presented in court. Munitions used as evidence is then removed.

Last year, the Brussels-Capital Region extended the licence for the storage of 450 kilograms of munitions. “I’m sitting with 4.5 tonnes of munitions and I don’t even begin to know what to do with them,” De Codt told the federal parliament’s justice committee.

In his capacity as senior judge, de Codt is responsible for the management of the Justice Palace building. The weapons are being stored in a dangerous manner, he said, describing conditions as “medieval”. He is also concerned about theft, he said.

The building’s services are now examining whether the stockpile could be moved to a police depot in Uccle.

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