Thursday, Lionel Bourgoin, the director of the magistrature of Haiti (EMA) was with Jean François Thony, director of the National School of Magistrates (École nationale de la Magistrature ENM) of Bordeaux, to present the first batch of twenty Haitian judges will be formed during the next ten months.

Mr. Bourgoin has welcomed the solidarity of France, wwhich makes it possible to twenty Haitian listeners of justice to integrate promotion 2010 of the ENM along with 127 French and 38 students from 7 other countries. The reception of these 20 listeners and six Haitian trainers is financed by the Program of the United Nations for the development (UNDP-Haiti), the Mission of the United Nations for stabilization in Haiti (Minustah) and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

17 men and 3 women will follow for five months of the courses of theory to Bordeaux followed by five months of training course in jurisdictions of France, before an ultimate period of specific training in Haiti on the ground. This cycle of training must lead them back home, to practice the profession of judge.

Lionel Bourgoin, an alumnus of the ENM of Bordeaux, said "justice in Haiti has been devastated since the quake, including the court of Port-au-Prince destroyed and many judges died [...] haitian law is rooted in French law", he finds while wearing a sober look at the situation in his country: "We no longer president on the court of cassation. This is a problem in terms of independence. The reconstruction of a court must take precedence over the Presidential Palace !" regretting that the chief of the government [René Preval] slow to appoint the President of the Court of Cassation, a senior judge who is also chairman of the Higher Judicial Council (Conseil supérieur du pouvoir judiciaire CSPJ) and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the EMA. "This situation has paralyzed the judicial functioning and impedes the smooth functioning of the rule of law". Recalling that in Haiti, it is the president of the Court of Cassation which occupies by interim the functions of the president in the event of absence of this one.

See also:

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-1150-haiti-justice-judicial-system-malfunction.html

IP/ HaitiLibre