Schepenen

A schepen (pl. schepenen) is a municipal office in Dutch-speaking countries. It has been replaced by the wethouder in the Netherlands itself but continues to be used in Belgium. Depending on the context, it may be roughly translated as an alderman, councillor, or magistrate.

The Dutch word schepen has its origins in the Old Saxon word scepino (meaning "judge") and is related to the German word Schöffe ("lay magistrate"). The word made its way into early Medieval Latin as scabinus in France.

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 (or "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.

In Flanders, the term schepen is the Dutch term used for a town alderman who serves on the executive board in the municipal government. Though there is no direct English cognate, the Dutch term schepen is generally translated into English as "alderman", "municipal councillor" or "town councillor".

Schepen has a slightly different meaning depending on whether the term is used in a historic context or in a modern political context.

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. 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. The executive board is referred to in Dutch as the "college van burgemeester en schepenen".

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