100+ Free Belgian Magistrate Aptitude Exam Practice Questions

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Vergelijkend Toelatingsexamen Gerechtelijke Stage (HRJ-CSJ, Belgium)

Practice Questions100 questions

2026 Statistics

Key Facts: Belgian Magistrate Aptitude Exam Exam

5 hours

Written case duration

MB 23 April 2024 (BS 2 May 2024)

60% / 60%

Written gate / oral certificate threshold

MB 23 April 2024

5 sittings

Maximum attempts (inscription without sitting does not count)

Ger.W. art. 259bis-9; 2026 Staatsblad call

NL / FR

Official sitting languages

HRJ-CSJ commissions

Belgium's HRJ beroepsbekwaamheid exam is a 5-hour written case plus oral (60%/60%) for experienced jurists seeking the magistracy. Official languages Dutch or French. This bank is an English MCQ study aid, not a translation.

Sample Belgian Magistrate Aptitude Exam Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your Belgian Magistrate Aptitude Exam exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Under Book 5 of the Belgian Civil Code, an obligation (verbintenis) is best described as:

A.A mere social expectation that a court may never enforce

B.A legal bond allowing a creditor, if necessary in court, to require a debtor to perform a prestation

C.A real right that follows the asset into the hands of every later owner

D.A criminal duty owed exclusively to the public prosecutor

Explanation: Article 5.1 BW defines an obligation as a legal bond (rechtsband) on the basis of which a creditor may, if necessary in court, require the debtor to perform a prestation. That civil concept is the starting point of the recodified law of obligations in force since 1 January 2023.

2Article 5.73 BW on good-faith performance of a contract provides, among other things, that:

A.Parties may contract out of good faith and of the prohibition of abuse of rights

B.Good faith governs only pre-contractual talks, never performance

C.A contract must be performed in good faith, each party behaving as a prudent and reasonable person, and no one may abuse contractual rights; any contrary clause is deemed unwritten

D.The judge may rewrite every price clause whenever one party later regrets the bargain

Explanation: Article 5.73 BW requires performance in good faith. Each party must behave as a prudent and reasonable person placed in the same circumstances, and nobody may abuse rights drawn from the contract. Any stipulation departing from that article is deemed unwritten.

3A long-term supply contract becomes ruinously expensive for the seller after an unforeseeable market shock the seller did not assume. Under article 5.74 BW (imprevisie / change of circumstances), the seller’s first statutory step is to:

A.Stop performing at once and treat the contract as automatically terminated

B.Ask the buyer to renegotiate with a view to adaptation or termination, while continuing to perform in the meantime

C.Claim that every price increase, however modest, dissolves the contract

D.Ignore the shock because Belgian law still rejects any hardship doctrine

Explanation: Article 5.74 BW still requires each party to perform even if performance has become more burdensome. As an exception, if five strict conditions are met (excessively onerous unforeseeable change not attributable to the debtor, risk not assumed, neither statute nor contract excluding hardship), the debtor may ask the creditor to renegotiate for adaptation or termination. During talks, performance continues.

4Consent to a contract is not valid, under article 5.33 BW, when it results from which of the following, provided the defect was decisive?

A.Only physical violence; economic pressure and mistake never count

B.Mistake, fraud, violence, or abuse of circumstances

C.A later change of commercial strategy by one party

D.The mere fact that a better offer appears the next day

Explanation: Article 5.33 BW lists the vices of consent: mistake (dwaling), fraud (bedrog), violence (geweld) and abuse of circumstances (misbruik van omstandigheden), provided the defect was decisive. Unless the law provides otherwise, the contract is relatively void, without prejudice to pre-contractual liability.

5A contractual exemption clause (bevrijdingsbeding) under article 5.89 BW is in principle valid, but it cannot lawfully relieve a debtor of liability for:

A.An ordinary slight fault in a purely pecuniary commercial deal, if the clause is clear

B.The debtor’s own intentional fault, an auxiliary’s intentional fault, or a fault causing physical or psychological injury, nor may it hollow out the contract

C.Any delay, however trivial, in a B2B contract

D.Force majeure that the law already treats as a ground of excuse

Explanation: Article 5.89 BW confirms that parties may, unless the law provides otherwise, agree that the debtor is wholly or partly relieved of contractual or extra-contractual liability. Limits include the debtor’s intentional fault, intentional fault of an auxiliary, a fault causing physical or psychological integrity harm, and a clause that empties the contract of its substance.

6Since Book 6 BW entered into force, a party injured by non-performance of a contract generally:

A.May never sue extra-contractually because the old concurrence ban (samenloopverbod) still applies

B.May, unless statute or contract provides otherwise, bring an extra-contractual claim, but the co-contractor may usually raise contractual defences, special-contract rules and special limitation periods — except for injury to physical or psychological integrity or intentional harm

C.Must always sue only in tort, because contracts no longer create duties

D.May sue extra-contractually only if the breach is also a crime

Explanation: Article 6.3, §1 BW abolished the classic concurrence ban. Extra-contractual rules apply between co-contractors unless statute or contract says otherwise. If the claim is for damage caused by non-performance of a contractual duty, the defendant may raise contractual defences, special-contract legislation and special limitation rules — except where the damage is an attack on physical or psychological integrity or an intentional fault aimed at causing damage. A criminal characterisation is no longer the key that switches off the contract.

7Book 6 of the Civil Code on extra-contractual liability entered into force on:

A.1 January 2023, together with Book 5

B.1 November 2020, together with Book 8 on evidence

C.1 January 2025

D.1 September 2026, together with the recodified Criminal Code

Explanation: Book 6 BW (Wet 7 February 2024) was published on 1 July 2024 and entered into force on 1 January 2025. It applies to facts capable of giving rise to liability that occur after that date.

8A building owner’s co-contractor used a subcontractor (hulppersoon) whose fault after 1 January 2025 damaged the owner. Under article 6.3, §2 BW, the default rule is that:

A.The owner can never sue the subcontractor, because of the old quasi-immunity of auxiliaries

B.The owner may bring an extra-contractual claim against the auxiliary, unless statute or contract provides otherwise; the auxiliary may generally raise the same defences as the principal, plus its own

C.The owner may sue the auxiliary only in contract, because a direct contract is deemed to exist

D.The auxiliary is strictly liable without proof of fault

Explanation: Book 6 abolished the quasi-immunity of auxiliaries. Unless statute or contract provides otherwise, extra-contractual rules apply between the injured co-contractor and the auxiliary of the other co-contractor. The auxiliary may generally invoke the same defences the principal could raise under §1, as well as defences from its own relationship — with the same integrity/intent exceptions.

9Special contracts such as sale, lease, loan, deposit, mandate, contracting (aanneming) and settlement (dading) remain, pending Book 7, principally in the old Civil Code. For a consumer sale of goods, Belgian law typically gives the consumer:

A.No remedy for lack of conformity once the goods have left the shop

B.A conformity-liability period of two years from delivery, with a short prescription running from discovery of the lack of conformity

C.A perpetual action that never prescribes

D.Only a criminal complaint, never a civil claim

Explanation: Consumer sale rules in the old Civil Code (art. 1649quater) give a two-year liability period from delivery for lack of conformity, and the consumer’s action prescribes one year from the day the lack of conformity was established, without extending beyond the liability period. That is distinct from the general ten-year personal-action period.

10A client hires a craftsman to renovate a kitchen for a fixed price, using the craftsman’s own labour and skill. That relationship is typically classified as:

A.Mandate (lastgeving), because the craftsman represents the client in legal acts

B.A contract of employment, because any paid work is an employment contract

C.Contracting / aanneming van werk, a special contract for a result by independent work, not representation

D.Deposit (bewaargeving), because tools are left on site

Explanation: Aanneming is the special contract by which an independent contractor undertakes to achieve a work or result for a price, without a relationship of authority. Mandate is representation for juridical acts. The distinction matters for liability, subordination and social-security characterisation.

About the Belgian Magistrate Aptitude Exam Exam

The examen inzake beroepsbekwaamheid is the HRJ-CSJ direct-access route to the Belgian magistracy for experienced jurists. Candidates solve a five-hour case in a chosen matter (obligations and property, criminal law, social law, and, when the commission so decides, persons-and-family, company or tax law, each including procedure), sit psychological tests, and take an oral on law, judicial organisation, magistrate deontology and motivation. Sixty percent on the written paper is required for the oral; sixty percent on the oral yields the professional-aptitude certificate. Official sittings are in Dutch or French. This practice bank is a free English-language MCQ study adaptation — not an official translation and not a substitute for case writing or the oral.

Assessment

Direct-access aptitude exam for experienced jurists, organised by the HRJ-CSJ Dutch and French nomination-and-appointment commissions under Gerechtelijk Wetboek articles 259bis-9 and 259bis-10. Written case (open annotated codes and Justel, five hours) plus psych tests plus oral. Official sittings are in Dutch or French. This bank is an English-language MCQ study adaptation, not an official translation and not a simulation of the 5-hour case or the oral.

Time Limit

Five hours for the written case

Passing Score

At least 60% on the written case to reach the oral; at least 60% on the oral for the getuigschrift van beroepsbekwaamheid

Exam Fee

Not published in the 23 April 2024 programme or the 2025-2026 Staatsblad calls (Hoge Raad voor de Justitie / Conseil supérieur de la Justice (HRJ-CSJ))

Belgian Magistrate Aptitude Exam Exam Content Outline

not-published

Chosen legal matter with procedure

Obligations, property and evidence; criminal law and procedure; social law; persons-and-family; company law; or tax, as offered in the session call

not-published

Judicial organisation, status and deontology

Court organisation, magistrate statute and ethics, motivation, and the nine basic competencies used in the psychological tests

How to Pass the Belgian Magistrate Aptitude Exam Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: At least 60% on the written case to reach the oral; at least 60% on the oral for the getuigschrift van beroepsbekwaamheid
Assessment: Direct-access aptitude exam for experienced jurists, organised by the HRJ-CSJ Dutch and French nomination-and-appointment commissions under Gerechtelijk Wetboek articles 259bis-9 and 259bis-10. Written case (open annotated codes and Justel, five hours) plus psych tests plus oral. Official sittings are in Dutch or French. This bank is an English-language MCQ study adaptation, not an official translation and not a simulation of the 5-hour case or the oral.
Time limit: Five hours for the written case
Exam fee: Not published in the 23 April 2024 programme or the 2025-2026 Staatsblad calls

Keys to Passing

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Belgian Magistrate Aptitude Exam Study Tips from Top Performers

1Practise structuring a case in three moves: relevant facts, legal grounds with procedure, then human and societal justification.

2Your chosen matter applies to both written and oral — do not switch mid-session.

3Keep Dutch and French court terms (zetel, parket, HRJ, getuigschrift) even when you study in English.

4This bank cannot replace writing an anonymous 5-hour case or sitting the oral.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the official HRJ beroepsbekwaamheid exam?

No. OpenExamPrep publishes a free English-language multiple-choice study adaptation. The official exam is a five-hour written case plus psychological tests plus an oral, organised by the HRJ-CSJ in Dutch or French.

How does this differ from the gerechtelijke stage exam?

The beroepsbekwaamheid exam is the direct-access route for experienced jurists and leads to a professional-aptitude certificate. The vergelijkend toelatingsexamen tot de gerechtelijke stage is a ranking exam for the two-year judicial traineeship aimed at younger jurists.

What is the pass mark?

At least 60% on the written case is required to sit the oral. At least 60% on the oral yields the getuigschrift van beroepsbekwaamheid. Candidates may sit at most five times.

How much does the official exam cost?

The 23 April 2024 programme and the 2025-2026 Staatsblad calls checked for this bank do not publish a fee.

In which languages is the official exam held?

Dutch or French, according to the HRJ-CSJ language-role commission. This bank is an English study aid, not an official translation.