Justice and Politics

Résumé du document

Governing is about keeping the balances of justice equal for all'. These are the words of former American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and it illustrates quite clearly a deep and indistinctable aspect of what Justice is supposed to be. Equal, fair and the same for everyone, no matter your social rank, your job or your social connections. Justice has been a fight for centuries. In France, this fight reached its highest point during the Revolution of 1789 which represented undoubtedly a rupture in the French history. To the reign of arbitrary and royal justice was substituted a more modern system, more equal, and independent from the power, in theory. Justice is supposed to be the most important thing in our society because, if we don't get justice, we don't get freedom or equality. It is because judges guarantee the respect of our rights that we know we are living in a state of justice/rights, or as the German jurisprudence says, a 'rechtstaat'. Therefore, it explains why the subject of Justice is at the heart of headlines. Everyday we talk about it, every important case attracts the attention of the media and the citizens, and there are always debates about improving the state of justice.

Extraits

[...] The Angolagate. What's the Angolagate? Concerns Charles Pasqua, a senator, former ministry, has been there all along the fifth Republic, former ally of Chirac and a really important member of the political life in France those last decades. The Angolagate, also known as the Mitterrand-Pasqua case, is an international political scandal over the secret sale and shipment of arms from Central Europe to the Gvt of Angola by the French Gvt in the nineties. The scandal has been tied to several prominent personalities. [...]

[...] There is also the fact that Justice has gained these last 2 decades an important presence in the media. Indeed, thanks to the “juges d'instruction” whose fight against corruption which really began in the nineties, enabled to send some corrupted politicians into jail, media are from now on granting a lot of attention to the judicial scenery and every important trial, every case involving a political personality attracts all the headlines and the coverings, as the Clearstream trial clearly illustrated. [...]

[...] All along the nineteenth and twentieth century Justice and magistrates had to fight to gain more rights, powers and independence, and gradually the system rooted in. Today the distinction between administrative and judiciary justice still exists but the system tends do get more and more difficult and complex with all the reforms and changes brought by the different Governments. First, it's interesting to look at the different problems existing in the judicial world today before looking at the big reform being prepared by the ministry of Justice. Many problems and many criticizisms exist nowadays. [...]

[...] There was a first reform in 2007 which did not cause many excitement and positive reactions from the magistrates, and now there's another one. Another reform among so many others A “juge de l'enquête et des libertés” will also be created, whose aim will be to replace the “juge d'instruction”, he will be able to oblige the procurers to pursue an inquiry or to investigate upon the asking of a lawyer or the convicted person. For many, this creation would just be a cover to calm things down about the “Parquet”. [...]

[...] The president is not opposed to that. Pasqua also pressed charges against the procurer Courroye, accusing him of having conducted an investigation only charge” although he was supposed to conduct it charge et à décharge”. And even though the trial in itself was not really followed by the media, the verdict, and the reaction of Pasqua attracted a lot of attention. And this trial is interesting to follow in that it is symbolic of the way political personalities always try their best to escape from their responsibilities, and how they always cover under their so-called duties and powers and how they are innocent victims of a mediatic and judicial manipulation. [...]