The General Secretariat of the Presidency informs that following the request of the Senate asking members of the Government to provide to the Senatorial Commission ad hoc the documents supporting their Haitian citizenship, the Council of Ministers, chaired by Michel Martelly, wants to support its conduct on the principles of right.

"Article 42 of the Constitution of 1987 proclaims that 'no citizen, whether civilian or military, can not be distracted of judges that the Constitution and the laws assigns to it'. Nationality is part of what constitutes the status of persons. Disputes on the status of persons fall within the competence of civil courts. They therefore remain the only competent to take cognizance of disputes concerning the nationality of members of the government. The Government therefore invites any person who holds evidence that some of its members are foreigners, under Haitian law, to assert them before the competent courts.

The Presidency remains respectful of the institutions of the Republic, however, within the limits assigned to them by the Constitution, particularly Article 60-1 of the Constitution according to which 'no power can, for any reason... go beyond the limits set for it by the Constitution and by law'. This Article prohibits, in effect, to a power to encroach on the competence of another power.

Consequently, the Government, gathered in Council of Ministers, has decided, in session held on 13 February 2012, not to grant the request of the Senate to provide documents relating to the nationality of its members.

The Presidency wishes that all stakeholders avoid to be distracted by false or ill-posed problems, and striving, preferably to solve the real challenges that stand in our path towards progress."

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-4955-haiti-politic-the-senate-commission-will-not-have-the-passports-of-the-executive.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-4952-haiti-politic-submission-of-document-of-nationality-postponed.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-4953-haiti-politic-the-passport-number-provided-by-senator-moise-is-not-that-of-martelly.html

HL/ HaitiLibre