Marjan Justaert and Christof Vanschoubroek (De Standaard) win 3rd Press Prize OVB
Standaard journalists Marjan Justaert and Christof Vanschoubroek win the third Press Prize of the Order of Flemish Bars for their article series 'De Onzichtbare Macht'. They just received the prize worth €7,500 from the hands of chairman Edward Janssens at the OVB's annual New Year's reception.
The jury's reasoning reads as follows:
"The article series offers insight into a little-known characteristic of our rule of law. Possibly it is even typical of the whole entanglement of elites in Belgium. Indeed, what does this series reveal? Belgian laws are often written by ghostwriters outside parliament. Two journalists from De Standaard have excellently tried to untangle this tangle, also pointing out the delicate position of some lawyers. Although the series led to a particularly lively discussion during the judging, the judges agreed: this is excellent journalism, of which there should be more. In the end, the reader gets the last word. The journalists highlight different facets of usage, are very critical, but ultimately allow the reader to form their own opinions. However, they are very clear in their final conclusion: more transparency is needed, because the fact that lawyers/academics are hired to write legal texts together may well lead to conflicts of interest."
The two other nominees were:
- Lars Bové and David Adriaen with 'Postbus Luxemburg' (De Tijd)
- Fatma Taspinar and Wouter Heymans with 'It won't happen to me' (VRT)
The jury consisted of:
- Mr Gracy Saerens (jury president): director of communications, lawyer
- Staff member Kathleen Vercraeye: lawyer
- Ides Debruyne: Founder Fund Pascal Decroos, journalism.eu, VVOJ
- Mr. Elke Cloots: lecturer Media Law UA, lawyer
- Prof. Baldwin Van Gorp: professor of Journalism KU Leuven
The press prize amounts to €7,500 and has been awarded every three years since 2013. It aims to promote and reward the quality of journalism on law in general and court reporting in particular.
In 2017, Dirk Leestmans (VRT) won with the Panorama broadcast 'Euthanasia in prison'. Lars
Bové and Bart Haeck (De Tijd) received the first-ever Press Award in 2014 for their article series on
criminal assets.
Student Award
Besides the triennial press award, the OVB Student Award
was also presented at the New Year reception. This year, Selin Bakistanli was awarded the prize for her master's thesis 'From countertop to court.
Life and fate of the first generation of female law students (1882-1922)'. She went home with
€2,500.
The OVB has awarded the student prize every year since 2007 to promote social research at Flemish
universities with the legal profession as a subject.
Prosecution of human rights lawyers
The OVB's New Year's reception focused on the importance of the rule of law and the role of
lawyers. The OVB spotlighted four human rights lawyers. Nasrin Sothoudeh (Iran), Jiang
Tianyong (China), Mahienour El-Massry (Egypt) and Lê Quóc Quân (Vietnam) are being prosecuted because
of practising their profession as human rights lawyers.
"All over the world, even in Europe, lawyers are victims of stalking, physical violence,
threats, unjustified public criticism and fake news. They are wiretapped or
questioned regarding client files, have to endure abusive administrative checks,
unjustified disciplinary proceedings or other forms of harassment," President Edward
Janssens said during his speech.
Lawyers worldwide should be able to practise freely and independently, without external pressure
or fear of reprisals. Every citizen has the right to be defended by an independent and partisan
lawyer, without discrimination. But in practice, lawyers are still being threatened or hindered in
their work.