The expectation was equal to the suffering. eight months later a historic strike by magistrates and clerks exhausted by a judicial system out of breath, the conclusion of the Estates General of Justice (EGJ) was the subject of particular attention within the institution. Postponed several times due to presidential and legislative elections, the submission of the summary report of this consultation finally took place on Friday 8 July. Chaired by senior civil servant Jean-Marc Sauvé, the independent committee made numerous proposals to the Head of State (see box) to try to remedy the state of “advanced dilapidation” of French justice.
New consultations this summer
Gathered in the large amphitheater of the Paris judicial court, the members of this independent committee recognized it straight away: the situation in the courts “is really very difficult”. In question, “failing public policies”. a succession of “disconnected reforms” from reality, “management flaws” and a glaring lack of “manpower” to manage the thousands of pending files and shorten processing times. However, these legal professionals refused to deliver a turnkey reform project to “revolutionize” the sector. If they issued concrete and ambitious proposalsas the recruitment of at least 1,500 magistrates over the next five years, the objective of their work is above all to “rethink” the functioning of the courts, they insisted.
It is now up to politicians to take up the subject. “It’s up to Parliament, the government and all the actors of justice to seize our proposals to see what follow-up to give them”, supported Jean-Marc Sauvé during the press conference. In a press release, the Elysée has already indicated that Emmanuel Macron had “asked the Keeper of the Seals to initiate consultation with all the players in the judicial world as of July 18” on the basis of this thick report of 216 pages. “These exchanges will make it possible to take, from the start of the school year, concrete and rapid decisions by the Minister of Justice as well as to implement in-depth projects with the necessary means that the programming law for justice will have to decline”, indicates this same press release.
Exercise limitations and fatigue
This new phase of consultation, launched in the middle of summer, is causing fatigue and incomprehension within professional organisations. The Union Syndicale des Magistrats (USM), deplores a “missed opportunity” and a waste of time after the six months of consultation that have just passed. ” The Sauvé report, which has just been presented, draws the same conclusions as those to which we have been alerting for more than fifteen years”. For their part, the Syndicate of the judiciary and that of the lawyers of France (SAF) are wondering: “What will a government retain from this report which has so far not taken the measure of the situation? “.
Questioned by a union official for the judicial protection of youth (PJJ) on the hearings late at night sometimes involving minors, the members of the committee recognized the limits of the exercise. “The report is not going to solve all the problems. But each of us must succeed in mobilizing both in terms of staff and organization, ”said Chantal Arens, first president of the Court of Cassation. Acknowledging that Justice had already been the subject of numerous reports in the past, Jean-Marc Sauvé wanted to conclude on a note of optimism: “Our report is certainly not the last, but it can help move the lines and trace a path”.
What are the main recommendations of the Estates General of Justice?
- Refocus the missions of judges
The committee proposes “a clarification of the missions of the judge”, which must be refocused on “his fundamental missions”. Furthermore, “it is essential that the bulk of future efforts be directed towards the first instance, where the allocation of resources and working methods must be rethought from top to bottom”, insists the committee.
- Additional means
The committee considers that there is a need “to recruit at least 1,500 additional magistrates (in addition to replacing those who have retired) over the next five years” and “to increase the number of clerks from 2,500 to 3,000 people” as well than 2,000 assistant lawyers and 2,000 agents.
- A rewrite of the criminal procedure code
Considered “excessively complex” and “illegible”, this code, which defines and frames the work of magistrates, clerks, lawyers and investigators, must be rewritten, according to the committee.
- Limit the use of prison
“The penalty should not be limited to a sanction, by deprivation of liberty (…) but must also, by guaranteeing individualized and multidisciplinary monitoring, promote the reintegration of the perpetrator and reduce the risk of recidivism”, specifies the report. “The sequence of prison construction programs cannot be an adequate response,” said the committee, which intends to put a brake on the construction of new prison places.