Magistrates, objects of tension between Paris and Monaco
DECRYPTION – Six positions are to be filled by the summer but, against a backdrop of struggles for influence, the Élysée and the Rock cannot come to an agreement.
Will there be judges in Monaco this summer? For several weeks, a silent showdown has been going on between the Rock and France. Between next May and August, 20% of the number of magistrates administering justice in the Principality will expire, including the most important functions: the first presidency and the vice-presidency of the court of appeal, the public prosecutor and the vice- Attorney General of Monaco, as well as two magistrates of first instance. That is six to be filled, out of the small thirty that make up the Monegasque justice system. Demography obliges, the Monegasque magistrates represent only 40% of the workforce, and France supplements by seconding its own judges, under the convention of November 8, 2005 between the Republic and the principality. A convention which, in its article 6, provides that the choice of these judges and officials must be the subject of a diplomatic consensus between the two sovereign States.
But today, the Elysée seems to practice passive resistance…