Toulouse: “Many magistrates deplore the loss of meaning of their mission”
A delegation from the Supreme Judicial Council spent three days in the courts of the Toulouse Court of Appeal. They met the magistrates of Tarn-et-Garonne, Tarn, Ariège and Haute-Garonne and took the pulse of the courts. Members of the delegation, Sandrine Clavel, professor of law and Cédric Cabut, deputy prosecutor, answered our questions.
What do you remember from your visits to the courts of the Toulouse Court of Appeal?
These jurisdictions are limited in number. There are few vacancies even if there is one, but at the slightest absence, for example in the event of sick leave, daily life becomes difficult. Colleagues say so even if the versatility necessary in these jurisdictions brings a wide, appreciable competence. In Albi and Castres, in particular, there is a lack of magistrates in view of the activity and all the courts are faced with an understaffing of clerks.
Not a really new problem.
But despite the recruitments, it does not get better. And we see that court clerks, often well trained and competent, no longer hesitate to change administration because their skills, better recognized, are then better paid.
In a column published in Le Monde, magistrates denounce their discomfort. What do you think ?
This does not come as a surprise. It has been a while since our visits, we have felt confusion among the magistrates. Politicians and citizens blame them a lot. They have to constantly apply new texts and, in the end, they work in difficult conditions, with limited means and yet it never works. They also hear that justice is “repaired” while the daily difficulties persist, or even increase. Like some of the formula, we gave justice fast sugars but we also need slow sugars.
More than 3,200 signatories, out of 9,000 magistrates, that’s a lot.
And among them many young people, some still listeners (students in training at the National School of Magistrates). Many colleagues deplore the loss of meaning of their mission. What are we used for? We are committed well beyond traditional working hours, but what is the point? With a real weariness in the face of criticism. And that goes beyond the question of means. It is also necessary to consider that the young magistrates are no longer ready to accept to sacrifice everything for their profession. Some, moreover, no longer hesitate to leave the body. This attitude is really new.
Albi: the suspended prosecutor, a solution … quickly
The Superior Council of the Judiciary, responsible for disciplinary proceedings against magistrates, is currently handling 17 disciplinary cases, a figure that is increasing. Among the files, that of the prosecutor of Albi Alain Berthoumieux, “suspended” since April.
Without commenting on a possible sanction, the file not being settled, Sandrine Clavel admits “that the situation will not last as it is”. “Even if a member of the general prosecutor’s office is acting, a solution must be found quickly.”
As long as this post is not vacant, it is impossible to appoint a new prosecutor. “We will do everything not to extend the deadlines further,” warn the two members of the CSM.
At the same time, citizens do not lack confidence in the justice system.
NOTsince June of a unique study on this question carried out by Cécile Vigour, research director at CNRS. Its report, the result of several years of work carried out with three other academics and the support of the Law and Justice research mission, is enlightening. In reality, the decline in confidence from which the magistracy suffers affects all institutions: figures such as those of the mayor or the deputy are equally concerned. However, even as this distrust of justice as an institution sets in, 70% of respondents express their confidence in judges. We must therefore compare this lack of confidence in the judicial institution and this confidence in those who work on a daily basis to dispense justice.
What is the role of the Superior Council of the Judiciary in the appointment of magistrates?
PFor appointments, we systematically meet in a composition where the magistrates are in the minority within the council (7 magistrates for 8 non-magistrates). It is then necessary to distinguish between the appointments of judges and those of prosecutors. For judges, there is first of all the case of “classic” positions in a court: children’s judge, vice-president in charge of instruction, etc. In this case, the Minister of Justice has the “power to make proposals. “. He is the one who submits the names of the judges to be appointed to the President of the Republic. However, he communicates his plan to us and we issue a compliant or non-compliant opinion for each magistrate that the Minister is obliged to follow. It is therefore forbidden to propose to the President a name for which we have given a non-compliant opinion. For certain specific positions (president of the court, first president of the Court of Appeal, etc.) it is we who recover the power of proposal. In this case, the Minister is kept out of the recruitment process: we broadcast the call for applications, select the candidates, hold the hearings… Then we directly suggest the persons to be appointed to the President.
For the prosecution, it is always the minister who has the power to make proposals. Moreover, our opinions do not bind him and he could theoretically propose to the Head of State a name for which we would have given a responsible opinion. However, for several years, the ministers of justice have undertaken to respect the advice of the CSM.