This is the scandal of the beginning of this year 2023. And it concerns the Haitian judicial system, which is already criticized and has little credibility in the eyes of the public. Indeed, the Superior Council of the Judiciary, the regulatory and administrative body of the Haitian judicial system, has just made public the minutes of its professional retreat that was held from January 11 to 13. During these meetings, the technical secretariat had to rule on the files of more than 69 magistrates, including judges and government commissioners, transmitted by the Technical Commission of Certification (CTC) for the certification or not of sitting and standing magistrates.
At the end of this retreat, the report of the technical secretariat is damning. “…At the end of the analysis or processing of these 69 files, there is a number of 31 certified magistrates and 28 non-certified magistrates” reveals the report.
The uncertified magistrates are accused of serious facts such as: lack of moral integrity, abuse of authority, facilitation of enlargement of notorious criminals, insufficient academic qualifications, drunkenness among others.
In this report, which has already been forwarded to the Minister of Justice for the necessary follow-up, are names known to the Haitian judiciary dealing with cases that have been in the news, such as Brédy Fabien, Gary Orelien, Ikenson Edumé, Ramoncite Accimé, Yvon Jean-Noel and the current Government Commissioner of Port-au-Prince, Jacques Lafontant.
This case, which is causing a stir in society, is a slap in the face for the judiciary, according to commentators and analysts who see little progress and independence in such a “corrupt and rotten” system.
While the case is causing a wave of reactions and criticism, the government commissioner of the capital, the famous Jacques Lafontant, who in an interview with colleagues on Monday, January 17, 2023, at the Public Prosecutor’s Office, declared, and I quote: “I am indebted to two people: Jesus Christ in Heaven and Ariel Henry,” specifying beforehand that no one would know how to “force his resignation” despite the scandal.
It should also be noted that the minutes of the technical secretariat of the CSPJ also include the names of the 31 magistrates certified by the council. These include the current dean of the Port-au-Prince court of first instance, Judge Chavannes Etienne, Wilfrid Brutus, dean of the Fort-Liberté court of first instance, Merlan Melabre, Jean Claude Dabrésil, Myrlande Borgella.
Editor: Pierre Philor Saint-Fleur