Belgian Congo 53 ] NATIVES ; THE JUDICIARY this purpose can require two days or sixteen hours'work monthly from his subjects ; he is also employed in the collection of taxes , with sometimes unhappy results ; and his power to forbid the migration of his subjects is liable to grave abuse, since he can use it to prevent their obtaining employment unless he is well paid himself . It is in fact doubtful whether the chiefs in the Congo are likely to make satisfactory use of their powers . Experience, so far, has not produced very encouraging results.1 The Judiciary. — The reforms of the Belgian regime 2 have added to the number of the courts and improved their procedure. The European courts consist of (a) seven tribunals of first instance with unlimited civil jurisdiction , which are alone competent to hear criminal cases against Europeans punishable by over 5 years imprisonment ; (6 ) tribunaux du parquet, with power to hear any criminal case against natives, or against non-natives where the punishment cannot exceed five years' penal servitude, or is a fine subject to appeal to a tribunal of first instance ; they can dispose of any civil case if not over 100 frs. value, and, subject to appeal, of any case not over 600 frs. ; (c) tribunaux du police, composed of magistrats de carrière in urban areas, and of territorial administrators elsewhere, who can hear cases of offences by non-natives or natives, where the penalty does not exceed seven days' imprison ment or 200 frs. fine, and certain specified classes of other offences by natives ; the decisions of the former are subject to appeal, of the latter to revision by the tribunal du parquet. There are Courts of Appeal at . Boma and Elisabethville, which hear appeals in civil cases where the matter in dispute exceeds 2,500 frs. in 1 See Lannoy, L'Organisation coloniale belge, p . 91 , n . 1 . 2 Completed by the decree of August 11 , 1913 .