Robes at the Court of Cassation

Dress for magistrates and clerks of the Court of Cassation is governed by the Royal Decree of 22 July 1970. The decree gives the Court its own provisions and makes a clear distinction between ordinary and solemn hearings. The claim that a Belgian magistrate always wears red is therefore inaccurate here, just as it is in the lower courts.

The Court principally reviews whether judicial decisions apply the law correctly; it does not retry the facts as a court on the merits. That special procedural role does not widen the robe population. Only the offices expressly connected to official dress by the governing texts belong in the relevant dress group.

For solemn hearings the decree prescribes a red robe. The magistrates’ version includes red silk details, a white lace cravat and a black velvet toque with gold decoration according to rank. The solemn garment is therefore not an ordinary black robe with a single red accessory added to it.

The clerk’s solemn robe is red as well, with red silk finishing and a belt with black tassels; the toque continues to show functional and rank distinctions. A shared main colour does not make the garments interchangeable. Office and rank must be established before materials, finish and accessories are selected.

The 2024 annual report records a specialist bar of twenty lawyers at the Court of Cassation. They are lawyers, not Cassation magistrates. Admission requires, among other conditions, at least ten years at the bar and completion of the special training and examination associated with Article 478 of the Judicial Code.

There is no separate red ‘Cassation lawyer’s robe’ for this group. Their professional dress remains the lawyer’s model under the Royal Decree of 30 September 1968: black, with a white pleated rabat and a black epitoge bearing one row of white fur at each end. The twenty must not be added to national bar totals a second time.

A useful specification starts with five facts: office, rank, ordinary or solemn hearing, entitlement to an epitoge, and the institution’s intended ownership or stock model. Body measurements, movement allowance, sleeve fall, closure, lining and care follow afterwards. A well-fitting robe cannot cure selection of the wrong legal category.

A shared wardrobe should record a unique garment number, wearer or size range, office, hearing type, accessory list and care history. Black and red versions, belts and toques should be tracked separately. The law defines the dress model; it does not impose a universal ready-made size, fixed service life or nationwide purchasing cycle.