The nightmare continues for Olivier Duhamel. More than a month after being the subject of a complaint for "rape and sexual assault by a person having authority over a minor of 15 years", filed by "Victor" Kouchner, the brother of Camille Kouchner, the political scientist is again seized by justice. Indeed, as revealed The Parisian on February 19, 2021, the man accused of rape and sexual assault could be dismissed from his duties as a lawyer at the Paris bar, since justice has opened a disciplinary investigation. What is the difference with a classic survey? This immediately sanctions the presence of an employee within his company or his function. While Olivier Duhamel had taken the lead in resigning from the presidency of the National Foundation of Political Sciences and of the Le Siècle club, he had not however left his functions as lawyer and legal advisor.
"With his past that he does not dispute, should he have given up becoming a lawyer?"
As we can read in The Parisian, it is the ability to exercise one's profession as a lawyer that is called into question: "With his past that he does not dispute, should he have given up becoming a lawyer?", can we read. On this subject, Release provides more details on this complex legal process. According to article 183 of the decree of November 27, 1991, "any violation of laws and regulations, any violation of professional rules, any breach of probity, honor or delicacy, even relating to extra-professional facts, exposes the lawyer who is the author to disciplinary sanctions". In addition, the article in World published on January 4, 2021, in which the charges against Olivier Duhamel are listed, "would serve as a basis for any possible lawsuits the lawyer might face."
But what does Olivier Duhamel really risk? In view of the seriousness of the charges against the political scientist, the latter could be temporarily prohibited from practicing his profession, or worse, be totally struck off the bar from Paris. In addition, according to French law, disciplinary proceedings initiated against a lawyer are not subject to the classic rules of limitation applying to court records. Clearly, the notion of prescription that applies to Camille Kouchner's story in La Familia Grande does not apply in the context of a disciplinary investigation. In the meantime, Olivier Duhamel has a maximum of eight months before being determined on his future at the bar. For now, he remains presumed innocent.
Read also : "Haughty", "not amiable", "infrequent": Olivier Duhamel's neighbors testify