Schepen

A schepen (Dutch, pl. schepenen, French échevin, pl. échevins, German Schöffe, pl. Schöffen) is an official of the local government in Belgium. The equivalent in England is an alderman. In the Netherlands, a schepen is a wethouder.

Schepenen are chosen by and from the city council. The parties of the schepenen together with the mayor form the local government. The total number of schepenen depends on the size of the population of the community. A large city like Antwerp has ten schepenen, while Herstappe, the smallest community in Belgium, has two.

The position of schepenen can roughly be compared to the position of ministers in a national government. The task of a schepen is to assist the burgomaster in the governing of the city, in certain specified areas. Among these areas are often culture, education and spatial planning. To a large extent, schepenen can be compared to deputy mayors.

EU nationals residing in Belgium have municipal voting rights since the 2000 municipal and district elections and can be elected as members of a municipal (or district) council but may not become schepen/échevin/Schöffe or burgemeester/bourgmestre/Bürgermeister.

Origins

The word probably arose from the Latin work scabinus (member of a shipping bank). The schepen was a member (civil servant) of a class of judges (oordeelvinders) at the people's court (ding). Their judgements could only be affirmed by a majority of people present. Later on this mandatory duty decayed by making their judgements law even without this affirmation. In the Netherlands the terms schepen and schepenbanken are seen from the Middle Ages until 1796 (the end of the Ancien Régime).

Procedures

The number contemporary schepen offices depended on the municipality, and only the new municipality decree in Flanders fixed a maximum number. Each schepen had his own portfolio.

The schepenen were chosen from among the city councillors. They thus must satisfy and continue to satisfy all the conditions of eligibility to be a city councillor. For the elections of 2000, they served to own the Belgian nationality, but from 2006, this condition decays.

The schepenen were chosen during the installation-meeting of the new municipal council. The voting is secret. The persons chosen by an absolute majority (ie more than the half) are automatically chosen as schepen.

In the Netherlands schepenen became known as aldermen. The terms Schepenen was from 1795 used in the Netherlands for a town or city bestuurder. Schepenbanken was the old word for the local administration, including the local courts.