Power outage at Justice Palace causes delays to hearings

A power outage at the Justice Palace in Brussels resulted in disruptions to services and hearings on Tuesday, according to a statement released by the justice ministry.

“Since the problem was identified, the ministry has been working with technical teams to identify the cause of the malfunction and find a solution as quickly as possible,” said spokesperson Edward Landtsheere.

“Technicians are on site and are doing what is necessary to restore the power supply. We are monitoring the situation closely and will communicate as soon as more information is available.”

The building remained accessible to staff, solicitors and visitors, but the outage caused certain hearings to start late or be postponed.

About 150 lawyers and members of the public were left waiting in the rain outside the locked entrance doors shortly before 9.00 because security checks could not be carried out.

Magistrates were able to enter the courthouse via another entrance.

Detainees who had been transferred to the courthouse in the morning returned to prison, while other scheduled prisoner transfers were cancelled.