Marc Thewes, who teaches public economic law at the University of Luxembourg and administrative procedure as part of the complementary courses in Luxembourg law, has been nominated as chair of the Council of State, Luxembourg’s quasi-second legislative chamber. Library photo: Caroline Martin, Caro-Line Photography/Maison Moderne

Marc Thewes, who teaches public economic law at the University of Luxembourg and administrative procedure as part of the complementary courses in Luxembourg law, has been nominated as chair of the Council of State, Luxembourg’s quasi-second legislative chamber. Library photo: Caroline Martin, Caro-Line Photography/Maison Moderne

Luxembourg’s cabinet has decided on a reshuffle of the Council of State. Marc Thewes will succeed Christophe Schiltz as chair, who will become vice chair, and Alex Penning will join the body.

A game of musical chairs at the Council of State (Conseil d’État), Luxembourg’s quasi-upper legislative house: the government has proposed to the grand duke, who formally appoints members, that Marc Thewes, be named the council’s chair. He will succeed , who will become vice chair, replacing . The Council of State’s second vice chair, , is being considered for a second term in that position. With the appointment of as minister for social security and health, there was one post vacant, which will be filled by .

Marc Thewes

Marc Thewes is a lawyer specialising in litigation. A graduate of the Catholic University of Louvain, in Belgium, and the London School of Economics, he was admitted to the Luxembourg Bar in 1991. In 1995, together with , he founded the Thewes & Reuter law firm.

The firm has been in the spotlight in recent weeks over the controversy surrounding the ban on begging. The minister for home affairs, (CSV), justified his decision to authorise the ban by relying on an opinion requested from Thewes & Reuter, the same firm that had represented the City of Luxembourg in its appeal to the Administrative Court against the previous home affairs minister, (LSAP), who had banned the begging ban.

Gloden, in a response to a parliamentary question from (Piraten), justified the contract on the grounds that Thewes & Reuter “had already done a considerable amount of preliminary work in the context of the City of Luxembourg’s appeal against my predecessor’s refusal to grant approval. It was therefore logical to entrust the same study with the question of whether a different conclusion could be reached, on the basis of the points raised during the discussion”. The firm charged a fee of €3,100.

Alain Kinsch and Alex Penning

Kinsch has chaired the Luxembourg Stock Exchange since May 2023 and previously led the big 4 consultancy Ernst & Young Luxembourg from 2009 to 2020. He joined the firm after it absorbed Arthur Andersen, which was wiped out by the Enron debacle. Close to the DP, he made the headlines last September for having been invited--along with prominent DP and CSV politicians , , , and --to a party organised by the property developer .

Penning (ADR), who will be joining the Council of State, is a lawyer specialised in litigation. A member of the Luxembourg Bar since 2002, he founded his own law firm. He was president of the Luxembourg Young Bar Conference during the 2013/2014 judicial year.

He is best known for having been a founding member of ADR Jugend. From 2015 to 2024 he held the post of secretary general of the party, a post he handed over to Luc Reyter at the party’s national congress on 17 March. He was co-head of the list for the June 2023 municipal elections in Luxembourg City.

Originally published in French by and translated for Delano

Updated to correct a misspelling of Alain Kinsch’s name

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