French Justice Minister faces special court accused of abusing his power

Justice minister Eric Dupont-Moretti appears on Friday before France's Court of Justice of the Republic. He will be questioned and could be charged with abuse of power, setting a highly delicate precedent for a serving justice minister.

He denies the accusations that he used his position as Justice Minister to settle scores with opponents dating from his time as a high-profile lawyer.

Investigators spent 15 hours searching his office at the justice ministry on July 1, looking for evidence linked to the allegations, which relate to an administrative investigation he ordered against three magistrates.

Hybrid court
The court, a strange judicial-political hybrid, was created back in 1993 to address public anger that ministers whose actions and decisions caused hundreds of deaths during what became known as the contaminated blood scandal, were not brought to account.

In its highly controversial first verdict in 1999, former Socialist prime minister Laurent Fabius and his Social Affairs minister, Georgina Dufoix, both charged with manslaughter for their roles in the contaminated blood affair, were found “responsible but not guilty”.

At the same time, others involved in the scandal who were NOT ministers were tried in ordinary criminal courts and received prison sentences.

The court immediately came in for criticism. Judging ministers who make decisions ordinary citizens would never have to make is not straightforward but Public Law professor Cécile Guérin-Bargues, who has examined many of the court's judgements and written a book about it, says its existence creates a “two speed system”.

Witnesses are not obliged to speak under oath and CRJ decisions are reached after votes are cast in a secret ballot by three professional magistrates and 12 parliamentarians. There is no appeal system.

The 12 parliamentarians might be colleagues of the ministers on trial and in the case of Dupont-Moretti, two MPs from Emmanuel Macron's ruling LaRem party resigned from their positions at the CJR last week, citing a possible conflict of interests.

Covid cases ahead
Both President Macron and his predecessor François Hollande promised to abolish the court but never got round to it.

The court works slowly and hears relatively few cases but since the Covid-19 crisis, 166 complaints concerning ministers' handling of the pandemic have been lodged with the court.

Among them are cases concerning former Health Minister Agnès Buzyn, current health minister Olivier Véran and former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe .