[1] He was posted to Katanga Province and later sent to Bas-Congo to head the Prosecutor's Office (parquet général) at the Appeals Court in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa).
[1] He was posted back to Katanga after the creation of a second appellate court at Élisabethville (now Lubumbashi) as prosecuting magistrate (procureur général).
Rutten was appointed to Governor-General in 1923 following the resignation of Maurice Lippens after differences between him and the Ministry of the Colonies.
[1] Rutten's appointment marked a change in colonial policy as previously most governors had been selected from military backgrounds.
Louis Franck, however, selected Rutten because of his civilian background and because of his long personal experience in the Congo.