The Justice of the Peace as a magistrate of proximity: what can other judges learn from them?

My study will focus on the concept of proximity throughout the history of the justice of the peace in Belgium. In particular, I aim to identify which elements of proximity present in this court could be extended towards other Belgian courts in order to enhance accessibility within the broad judicial system. I will do this by, first of all, conducting an in-depth literature study on the history of the Belgian justice of the peace. Second, I aim to concretize the main characteristics and proximity strategies of this court today. That’s why I will organize semi-structured interviews with 15 judges of the peace and physically visit 20 justices of the peace. Finally, after an evaluation of the functioning of the justice of the peace today, I intend to look at the future by formulating recommendations for a more accessible judicial system in Belgium. These recommendations will be inspired by the judge of the peace as a proximity judge, and will be discussed with other magistrates during a focus group.