Citizenship award 2016: Jan Nolf and Michel Claise

Because it is one of the cornerstones of a democratic state, and because it is under pressure today, justice was chosen as the theme for the Citizenship Prize 2016. The Citizenship Prize 2016 will be awarded to Jan Nolf and Michel Claise. These two magistrates are each active in very different fields, but both work to protect the equality of all citizens before the law and defend the rights and duties of each individual.

Michel Claise

Michel Claise was born on 6 January 1956. He graduated with a law degree from ULB in 1979.

He worked as a lawyer for 20 years. In 1999, he passed the magistrates' examination. He succeeded Jean-Claude Leys as investigating judge in Brussels in 2001. Over the years, Claise has become the personification of the fight against financial crime. Among others, he handled the fraud files surrounding Swiss bank USB and British bank HSBC.

Michel Claise is a novelist. He scored high marks with his debut novel Salle des pas perdus (2006). In 2015, he published the controversial Essai sur la criminalité financière, Le club des Cassandre.

Claise is maître de conférences at the University of Aix-en-Provence.

Jan Nolf

Jan Nolf was born on 15 July 1951. He studied Law and Criminology at the University of Ghent. He was national chairman of the PVV youth in 1985 and 1986.

After working as a lawyer in Bruges for 10 years, he became justice of the peace in the Roeselare canton in 1987.

At the end of 2011, he took early retirement out of dissatisfaction. Since his retirement, he has been a columnist for various newspapers and magazines. On his website www.justwatch.be, he gives his opinion on current events within the judiciary.

He wrote several books, including Kwetsbaren in het nieuwe recht (published in French as Les personnes vulnérables dans le nouveau droit). His new book The Power of Justice will be published at the end of November.