A schepen (Dutch; pl. schepenen) or échevin (French) or Schöffe (German) is a municipal officer in Belgium and formerly the Netherlands. It has been replaced by the wethouder in the Netherlands (a municipal executive).
The Dutch word schepen comes from the Old Saxon word scepino 'judge' and is related to German Schöffe 'lay magistrate'. In early Medieval Latin used in France, it was scabinus.
Originally, the word referred to member of a council of "deciders" – literally, "judgment finders" (oordeelvinders) – that sat at a mandatory public assembly called a ding ("thing" in English). Their judgments originally required ratification by a majority of the people present. Later, mandatory attendance (dingplicht) and ratification were no longer required.
Belgium
In Flanders, a schepen is a town alderman who serves on the executive board in the municipal government. It is generally translated into English as "alderman", "municipal councillor" or "town councillor", though none of these is an exact equivalent.[1]
Historically, schepen had different functions.
From the post-Roman era until the 19th century, a schepen was a 'judgment finder' (oordeelvinders). They sat in a mandatory public assembly, the Vierschaar, often a roofless building in which 4 benches were installed along the 4 walls. Later the name of the institute of the council of Aldermen became the Schepenbank. The Schepenen legislated (made laws), ratified treaties, and acted as judges.
Modern schepen are usually translated as "alderman", but unlike Anglosphere aldermen, schepenen serve together with the burgomaster as the executive power of the municipal government and not just elected councilors.
Each Flemish municipality has an elected town council. During the first meeting of a newly elected town council, council members vote by secret ballot to elect the schepenen from amongst their ranks.[2] An absolute majority (more than half the votes) is required for a schepen to be voted in. Once elected, the schepenen serve with the mayor on an executive board charged with the day-to-day management of town and city affairs, and also continue to exercise their legislative powers as town concillors. The executive board is referred to in Dutch as the "college van burgemeester en schepenen".
Schepenen are often assigned portfolio areas such as culture, education or city planning. They have several executive responsibilities relating to their portfolios and thus assist the mayor in governing the town or city.
The total number of schepenen in a town depends on its population.[2] A city like Antwerp has ten; whereas Herstappe, the smallest community in Belgium, has only two. Since a schepen is also an ordinary town councillor, the schepen must be re-elected to remain in the office of schepen. Since 2006, Belgian citizenship has not been a requirement for the position.
Historically, schepenen had administrative and judicial duties in a Dutch seigneury (heerlijkheid). When acting in an administrative capacity, a schepen was similar to an alderman or town councillor, and is usually called that in English.
When acting in a judicial capacity, the schepenen were often referred to as the schepenbank. One of the functions of the schepenbank was to pass judgment on criminals, thereby functioning as a jury or magistrates' bench. In this context, they are a sort of magistrate.[3]
Image of "schout and scheepenen van Alkemade" as written in a 1806 Dutch marriage document
The phrase schout en schepenen appears in many legal documents prior to the Napoleonic period, including the civil register of marriages. This phrase was used in both administrative and judicial contexts. If they were acting in an administrative capacity, schout en schepenen may be expressed in English as "the mayor and aldermen" (or a similar phrase like "the mayor and councillors"). If they were acting in a judicial capacity, schout en schepenen may be expressed in English as "magistrate's court" (or a similar phrase like "magistrates' bench" or "aldermen's court").
The office of schepen was dissolved by the Napoleonic reforms at the end of the Ancien Régime.
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A schepen Dutch pl schepenen or echevin French or Schoffe German is a municipal officer in Belgium and formerly the Netherlands It has been replaced by the wethouder in the Netherlands a municipal executive In modern Belgium the schepen or echevin is part of the municipal government Depending on the context it may be roughly translated as an alderman councillor or magistrate Contents 1 Name 2 Belgium 3 Netherlands 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksName EditThe Dutch word schepen comes from the Old Saxon word scepino judge and is related to German Schoffe lay magistrate In early Medieval Latin used in France it was scabinus Originally the word referred to member of a council of deciders literally judgment finders oordeelvinders that sat at a mandatory public assembly called a ding thing in English Their judgments originally required ratification by a majority of the people present Later mandatory attendance dingplicht and ratification were no longer required Belgium EditIn Flanders a schepen is a town alderman who serves on the executive board in the municipal government It is generally translated into English as alderman municipal councillor or town councillor though none of these is an exact equivalent 1 Historically schepen had different functions From the post Roman era until the 19th century a schepen was a judgment finder oordeelvinders They sat in a mandatory public assembly the Vierschaar often a roofless building in which 4 benches were installed along the 4 walls Later the name of the institute of the council of Aldermen became the Schepenbank The Schepenen legislated made laws ratified treaties and acted as judges Modern schepen are usually translated as alderman but unlike Anglosphere aldermen schepenen serve together with the burgomaster as the executive power of the municipal government and not just elected councilors Each Flemish municipality has an elected town council During the first meeting of a newly elected town council council members vote by secret ballot to elect the schepenen from amongst their ranks 2 An absolute majority more than half the votes is required for a schepen to be voted in Once elected the schepenen serve with the mayor on an executive board charged with the day to day management of town and city affairs and also continue to exercise their legislative powers as town concillors The executive board is referred to in Dutch as the college van burgemeester en schepenen Schepenen are often assigned portfolio areas such as culture education or city planning They have several executive responsibilities relating to their portfolios and thus assist the mayor in governing the town or city The total number of schepenen in a town depends on its population 2 A city like Antwerp has ten whereas Herstappe the smallest community in Belgium has only two Since a schepen is also an ordinary town councillor the schepen must be re elected to remain in the office of schepen Since 2006 Belgian citizenship has not been a requirement for the position Netherlands EditIn the Netherlands schepenen have been replaced by wethouders Historically schepenen had administrative and judicial duties in a Dutch seigneury heerlijkheid When acting in an administrative capacity a schepen was similar to an alderman or town councillor and is usually called that in English When acting in a judicial capacity the schepenen were often referred to as the schepenbank One of the functions of the schepenbank was to pass judgment on criminals thereby functioning as a jury or magistrates bench In this context they are a sort of magistrate 3 Image of schout and scheepenen van Alkemade as written in a 1806 Dutch marriage document The phrase schout en schepenen appears in many legal documents prior to the Napoleonic period including the civil register of marriages This phrase was used in both administrative and judicial contexts If they were acting in an administrative capacity schout en schepenen may be expressed in English as the mayor and aldermen or a similar phrase like the mayor and councillors If they were acting in a judicial capacity schout en schepenen may be expressed in English as magistrate s court or a similar phrase like magistrates bench or aldermen s court The office of schepen was dissolved by the Napoleonic reforms at the end of the Ancien Regime See also EditVoorleser Schoffe the German equivalent sepmistr the Czech equivalent scabino the medieval Italian equivalentReferences Edit Van Dale Groot Woordenboek Nederlands Engels a b 22 April 2004 Code de la democratie locale et de la decentralisation CDLD Art L1123 8 Wallex Retrieved 5 December 2022 For example see Simon Schama The Embarrassment of Riches and J L Price Dutch Society 1588 1713External links Edit Media related to Schepenen at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Schepen amp oldid 1128240500, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
