Haiti - Justice : The OPC asks the Ministry of Justice to comply with the Law

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Haiti - Justice : The OPC asks the Ministry of Justice to comply with the Law
10/08/2013 10:20:13

The Office of Citizen Protection (OPC) takes note of the organization of Criminal Assizes and the holding of special correctional hearings during the judicial year 2012-2013. While acknowledging the weight of such face the vercrowding in prisons, the OPC believes they should not be assimilated to an effective response to the problem of prolonged pretrial detention which is a source of judicial insecurity, impunity and profound human suffering especially in violation of the provisions of Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the UN Standard Minimum Rules of the United Nations for the treatment of detainees.

In the process, the Office of Citizen Protection, on the basis of complaints submitted to it and under its self-referral capacities, is the spokesman of the main demands of the plaintiffs, lawyers and detainees in particular who face the inertia of the Executive in its obligations of execution of court decisions.

Such actions are not only an abuse of power, but especially a hitch to the guarantee enjoyed by the thing supremely judged. Articles 26, 27 and 27.1 of the Constitution moreover refer to the repair of the damage caused by this violation by the State.

While the Ministry of Justice has a monopoly on the application of the penal policy of the Government, the OPC regrets its clear interference in the publication of the circular dated 30 April 2013 emanating of the Directorate of Prison Administration (DAP) addressed to the Deputy Regional directors, in which an injunction is made to all heads of establishment to obtain the permission of their superiors in the Ministry of Justice before any enforcement of "mains levées" and habeas corpus.

Invoking the requirements of the Constitution enshrining the independence of the judiciary, the OPC recommends that this circular is withdrawn immediately and that public prosecutors close all courts of the territory take all steps to ensure that the remedies available to them, to be exercised in a timely manner.

Therefore, having the prerogatives to enforce the rights of individuals in custody in police stations, as well as those detainees in prisons, the OPC asks the Ministry of Justice to comply with the Law.

HL/ HaitiLibre