Her application was refused, although no law or regulation explicitly prevented the admission of women to the bar. Her appeals to the court of appeal in December 1888 and, in November 1889, to the Court of Cassation were unsuccessful, but widely reported in the Belgian and foreign press.
The woman's application for bar membership was rejected, despite there being no explicit legal or regulatory barrier. Her appeals to higher courts in 1888 and 1889 were unsuccessful but received considerable coverage in the press.