2023-04-21 10:10:32
It was one of the legal counter-attacks launched by the Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, against the proceedings initiated against him by the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) for “illegal taking of interests”. A priority question of constitutionality (QPC) had been raised by his lawyer, Patrice Spinosi, concerning the search of the premises of the Ministry of Justice, on 1is July 2021. On Friday April 21, the Constitutional Council dismissed it, judging it “inoperative”.
To fully understand the stakes of this QPC, which came in support of the request for the cancellation of the search at the Chancellery, we must return to this day in the summer of 2021 when for fifteen hours, magistrates of the CJR – special jurisdiction in charge to try the ministers for offenses committed in the exercise of their functions – accompanied by about twenty gendarmes had therefore searched the ministry. The Minister of Justice is accused of having, a few weeks after his appointment, ordered the General Inspectorate of Justice to carry out administrative inquiries, a preliminary step to disciplinary proceedings, against magistrates with whom he had been in opposition as than a lawyer.
The Constitutional Council ruled in a reduced formation since two of its members did not take part in the debates: the former minister of Edouard Philippe, Jacques Mézard, and the former chief of staff of Eric Dupond-Moretti, Véronique Malbec. Councilors were not to comment on the merits of the search or whether or not it was disproportionate. The point of law raised by Mr.e Spinosi was to establish whether a search in a ministry, place of exercise of executive power, did not contravene the separation of powers, a constitutional principle. Similarly, the question was whether the legislator did not disregard his office by not providing for specific measures governing searches in ministries (concept of negative incompetence). “What is the value of the principle of the separation of powers when it is invoked for the benefit of the executive power? This is the central issue of the priority question of constitutionality posed to you by the Minister of Justice.summed up Me Spinosi during the April 11 hearing.
Divergences d’analyses
This audience, moreover, was special. The General Secretariat of the Government (SGG), representative of the Prime Minister, did not share Ms.e Spinosi and did not support the QPC of a minister in office. A complicated situation to say the least. During the hearing, Benoit Camguilhem, representative of the SGG, did not develop his reasoning orally and referred to his written observations. Way, surely, not to show the differences of analysis with Eric Dupond-Moretti and to avoid putting him in difficulty.
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