The ''Cour de Justice de la République'' (CJR, "Court of Justice of the Republic") is a special
French court established to try cases of ministerial misconduct. Its remit only extends to government ministers (or former ministers) concerning offences committed in the exercise of their functions.
[National Assembly website]
/ref> It was instituted by President François Mitterrand on 27 July 1993 following the infected blood scandal,[Agence France-Presse news article]
/ref> which saw three ministers, including then-Prime Minister Laurent Fabius, charged with manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
. Before that, ministers in France benefitted from a degree of judicial immunity. As of 2020, the court has formally charged ten ministers since it was established; five were found guilty.
French ministers can still be tried in a regular French court, if the alleged offence is not related to their ministerial duties. Notably, Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux was fined in 2010 for making racial slurs. On 3 July 2017 President Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...
announced his intention to abolish the court to have ministers tried by a regular Paris court, criticising the composition of the CJR.[(in French]
Suppression de la CJR : les ministres bientôt jugés selon le droit commun
France 24, 9 May 2018
Composition
Ministers tried before the CJR are heard by a fifteen-judge panel made up of three justices of the Court of Cassation
A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...
and twelve parliamentarians: six each from the National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
and Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
.[AFP-TV news report]
/ref>
Proceedings
Complaints against ministers or former ministers are lodged with the CJR's Petitions Commission, made up of seven justices drawn from the Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, the Council of State
A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...
, and the Court of Audit.
Cases
Two cases are currently under investigation by the CJR. The first concerns Éric Wœrth, who is being investigated for "unlawful conflict of interests" over the sale of a racecourse while he was budget minister. Then on 4 August 2011, the Petitions Commission said they would also greenlight an investigation into former finance minister Christine Lagarde over concerns about her part in a long-running scandal connected to the French tycoon Bernard Tapie. Other significant cases are:
*In 1999, the CJR tried former prime minister Laurent Fabius, former social affairs minister Georgina Dufoix, and former health secretary Edmond Hervé for their role in the ‘infected blood’ scandal. Fabius and Dufoix were found not guilty; Hervé was convicted but not given any punishment.libel
Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
charges.fraud
In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...
.fraud
In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...
over his part in the Sofremi affair.
See also
* National Court (Iceland)
*Judiciary of France
Status and organisation
France's independent court system enjoys special statutory protection from the executive branch. Procedures for the appointment, promotion, and removal of judges vary depending on whether it is for the ordinary ("") or t ...
Notes
External links
Information page from National Assembly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cour de Justice de la Republique
Judiciary of France
1993 establishments in France
Organizations based in Paris
Courts and tribunals established in 1993