Before the three magistrates of the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) responsible for hearing him on Thursday, the Keeper of the Seals, Eric Dupond-Moretti, was very clear: “I no longer hear, from now on, answering your questions”, claimed the former lawyer indicted for illegal taking of interests. He thus opposes his right to silence, a prerogative that all litigants have. This second hearing – the minister had already been heard in July – thus turned into a brief and virulent monologue against the judges whom he accuses of being “determined” at “dirty” his reputation.
Rare fact, in the wake of his statement, the minister published it in full in the columns of the weekly opinion. Almost immediate and equally corrosive response from the first president of the Court of Cassation, Chantal Arens, who “strongly regret”, in a press release published on Friday, “the remarks made by the Keeper of the Seals, whose mission is to guarantee the independence of Justice”. “Challenging the honor of the investigating magistrates, they contribute to weakening the judicial authority, pillar of the rule of law”, continues the highest magistrate of France.
Conflicts of interest
The CJR opened a judicial investigation in January 2021 after complaints from magistrates’ unions and the Anticor association, which denounced two situations of conflicts of interest since the arrival of Eric Dupond-Moretti at the chancellery, in July 2020 The first case concerns three magistrates of the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF): while the former tenor of the bar was targeted by an investigation by the PNF, he filed a complaint against them for “abuse of authority” and “invasion of privacy”.
Appointed Minister of Justice a few days later, he then withdrew his complaint, but seized the General Inspectorate of Justice on September 18, 2020 to conduct an administrative investigation. Part of the profession thus accuses him of wanting to be judge and party, as well as of endangering the independence of justice. The second case also relates to an administrative investigation carried out against a former investigating judge seconded to Monaco, who had indicted one of Eric Dupond-Moretti’s clients.
“Enmity”
While he was to be questioned by the magistrates of the CJR’s investigation commission, Eric Dupond-Moretti criticized “investigations conducted in a totally disproportionate manner” and said wait “serenely” his trial for “defend there [son] honor, and finally restore a truth”. “The enmity that you bear to me does not date from my arrival at the Ministry of Justice. She is much older […] and should have led you to be removed from my file”, he said, before lamenting: “Impartiality is not your subject.” He still denounces an instruction “biased” and failure to respect its “most basic rights”.
And to Chantal Arens to respond: “The investigating judges carry out their mission, in a collegial manner, in complete independence and in compliance with the law, their decisions being subject to appeal.”