Florence Élie, the Protector of Citizens, following a preliminary investigation on the matter by the Office of Citizen Protection (OPC) has expressed deep concern to police and judicial authorities, following various complaints by compatriots denouncing the unfair and illegal character of negative certificates issued to them by the Office of Judicial Information (BRJ) of the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ).

The OPC emphasizes the importance of Certificate of good conduct, required by some public and private institutions at the time of recruitment. Candidates for elective offices are subject to the same rules not to mention the applicants for immigrant visas that are obliged to submit it to embassies.

The OPC believes that data collected at the police stations following the arrests "can in no way be the only reliable mechanism that can ensure the degree of morality and credibility of a person." She recalls that "such practices endangering the professional and political career of various compatriots, are contrary to the principle of the presumption of innocence, which is a fundamental right that guarantees the right to every person suspected of having committed an offense, not to be considered guilty before to be tried and sentenced by a legally constituted court."

This principle is enshrined in Article 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 14.2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which recognizes that everyone charged with a criminal offense is presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law. The fact for someone to be the subject of a police or judicial investigation can not be equated with the loss of integrity and morality.

Florence Élie, while recognizing the merits of the establishment of a central system of judicial intelligence, recommends that efforts be made by the Minister of Justice and Public Security so that data DCPJ, are in line with those available in the different Courts of First Instance (CFI) of the Republic. At the same time she also wants that the CFI can conduct a reform of their system of issuing criminal records that "very often is the subject of considerable criticism about their credibility."

HL/ HaitiLibre