The administrative court of Paris on Friday canceled the decree of April 2021 which had renewed the judicial approval allowing the Anticor association to intervene in justice in cases of the fight against corruption, indicated to AFP the president. of the association and the plaintiffs’ lawyer.
This decision makes the leaders of Anticor fear “very negative impacts” for several politico-financial affairs in progress. “The approval has been canceled with retroactive effect from April 2, 2021”, told AFP Elise Van Benden, president of Anticor since 2020, which was confirmed by Frédéric Thiriez, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, two dissidents of association.
A request for “new accreditation” soon to be submitted
Anticor intends to file two appeals before the Paris Administrative Court of Appeal, added the manager: one to challenge the substance of the decision and one “to request that the effects of the decision be suspended” in time. These appeals not being suspensive, “a request for new approval” will be quickly filed, specified the lawyer.
The association will hold a press conference in Paris on Friday at 4 p.m., in the presence in particular of “Nupes and LR deputies who support the association”, she added. Anticor’s legal approval allows it to initiate proceedings by filing a complaint with civil action, which leads, with some exceptions, to the opening of a judicial investigation.
It also allows him to become a civil party in anti-corruption proceedings already in progress and thus to access the file, to transmit documents, requests for acts or hearing of witnesses to the investigating judge.
The association, created in 2002, is currently involved in 159 ongoing proceedings, according to its president. Two other associations have this possibility: Sherpa and Transparency International. Anticor’s approval was renewed by decree in April 2021, after months of uncertainty.