Unions of magistrates and lawyers will seize the Council of State against a government order allowing the use of videoconferencing in the assizes during the state of health emergency, he announced Friday, November 20, denouncing "
a degraded mode of justice
”.
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This ordinance, which entered into force on Thursday, authorizes the use of "
an audiovisual telecommunication means before all criminal courts
", including assize courts, once the proceedings are closed.
"
The health crisis offers in the matter an opportunity of choice to install an habituation to this degraded mode of justice
", write the Syndicate of the Magistracy (SM) and the Syndicate of the lawyers of France (SAF), classified on the left.
"
We will devote all our energy to preventing such a deviation from the very idea of justice, and will mobilize all legal avenues so that these villainous provisions are annulled
", they insist.
"
There is no intention of the ministry to continue such a device,
" responded the Chancellery to AFP.
"
It was created to adapt to a health context and allow justice to continue to operate, and its recourse must remain exceptional, and be justified by health reasons
," he said.
Possible recourse
The use of this order is possible up to one month after the end of the state of health emergency, that is to say for the moment until March.
On Thursday, the president of the special assize court for the 2015 attacks trial announced that he could use it.
The trial has been interrupted for three weeks while the main accused, who tested positive for Covid, is still not able to appear physically.
Ali Riza Polat could therefore follow the end of the trial by videoconference.
His lawyer Isabelle Coutant Peyre had said "
outraged that a Minister of Justice
(Eric Dupond-Moretti, Editor's note)
who has spent a large part of his life as a defense lawyer dares to sponsor a text that will deprive the accused in a trial of their rights of defense
”.
The hearing has been suspended since October 30, while the pleadings of the civil parties were in progress, and two weeks before the scheduled end of this historic trial.