Hans De Waele
Lecturer
Hans De Waele is 46 years old and the father of four children. Since 2008, he has been a judge at the Court of First Instance of East Flanders, Ghent Division. He has always combined civil law with criminal law. In Ghent, he sat for 15 years in a collegial criminal chamber that adjudicates serious criminal cases (drugs, property crimes, vice cases,...), including more than 8 years as chairman of this chamber. In 2023, following the Sanda Dia case, he took the initiative to go to Ghent high schools to speak to our young people about justice and our rule of law. Since May 2024, he was elected as the new president of the Court of First Instance of East Flanders, Ghent section, so he now does fewer hearings and is more involved in the management of the court.