Big traffic jam to come in the courts: after the dismissal of hearings by the thousands to slow down the coronavirus, the progressive resumption of all the activities is preparing with apprehension in the jurisdictions, weighed down by a dizzying and unprecedented stock of pending files.
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Since March 16, courthouses have been reduced to dealing only with civil and criminal emergencies. Everywhere, non-priority hearings have been postponed, adding to the already substantial stock of un judged cases, after two months of a massive strike by lawyers against the pension reform. How many cases in total? The Ministry of Justice does not release figures. In the jurisdictions requested by AFP, the references are colossal: in Lyon, “28,000 civil cases” according to the president of the bar Serge Deygas; in Marseilles, "approximately 18,500 civil cases out of the 24,000 fixed and 1,700 criminal cases out of the 3,000" heard, according to the presidency of the court. In Lille, "the files are already sent back to 2021," warns a magistrate.
In the jurisdiction of the Paris Court of Appeal, "64 weeks of assizes" were postponed, according to the public prosecutor's office. Civil activity (family affairs, neighborhood or work-related disputes, etc.), which represented 2.2 million decisions rendered in 2018 compared to almost 800,000 in criminal proceedings, was almost stopped. In corrections, "70 to 90%" of the cases could not be judged on the merits, says Eric Mathais, president of the National Conference of Public Prosecutors.
"In apnea"
The restart of the “justice liner” therefore promises to be long and complex. In an interview with the Obs , the Keeper of the Seals Nicole Belloubet indicated that "a precise agenda will be established in the coming days" . But as of the announcement by Emmanuel Macron of a deconfinement from May 11, each jurisdiction began to build "after" , between the need to restart and respect for sanitary measures. "We are all in apnea" , says the president of the judicial court of Marseilles, Isabelle Gorce, who notably thinks about staggering the summons.
But a recovery under what conditions? "Will we have enough masks?" , wonders Eric Mathais. "What will be the access to the court for the litigant?" , wonders the Lille examining magistrate Marion Cackel. To relaunch the machine, the unions ask the Chancellery for time: "one to two weeks" without any hearing, except emergencies. Because if magistrates were able to advance on their files by telework, the personnel of registry could not record the decisions, lack of computer tools at their disposal. And they will have to reconvene the numerous dismissed hearings, without counting the influx to anticipate new requests, details Hervé B Tab, secretary general of the Unsa-Judicial Services.
Another point of attention: will the holding of assize trials be possible before the summer or September? Besides the unknown of childcare, how to set up juries when defections are to be expected and the sometimes cramped rooms do not allow to respect the barrier measures? To judge these cases, often involving several years of pretrial detention, within the deadlines, the ministry is considering an extension of the "criminal courts" without a popular jury, which have been tested since September in some departments to respond to the congestion in the assize courts. But they are composed of five professional magistrates, who will be over-solicited upon resumption, alerts the Syndicat de la magistrature.
Another avenue envisaged by the Chancellery: a reduction in judicial holidays. The National Bar Council (CNB), which represents 70,000 French lawyers, many of whom are under economic pressure, has even asked for a total suspension of summer holidays. Nicole Belloubet indicated that provisions contained in the orders of the state of health emergency would be used "for some time yet" , in particular videoconferences and procedures without hearing. It calls for developing "conciliation and mediation to settle disputes". The courts are preparing to prioritize litigation (cases with detainees, family cases, collective proceedings in particular) and to reconsider the advisability of criminal proceedings.
In Bordeaux, some accused may "benefit from a certain leniency with alternatives to prosecution for less serious crimes (slight damage, simple theft)" , or even a classification without further action with a reminder of the law for "the the most minimal cases ” , explains the prosecutor Frédérique Porterie. Will catching up take six months, a year? "We will take years to recover," said Nina Milesi of the Union of Magistrates' Union (USM).
