After a first half marked by controversy over the use of consulting firms and while the National Council for Refoundation opens in Marcoussis (Essonne), one of the gray areas of the Republic persists: the transparency of public contracts for the Elysée is still lacking. Indeed, despite a favorable opinion from the Commission for Access to Administrative Documents (CADA) in April, the Elysée Palace has still not made public the contracts for Emmanuel Macron’s first five-year term.
Beyond the ethical and political responsibility of the Presidency of the Republic in the face of this legitimate request, it is the question of the competences and the role of the CADA which is raised. The law of July 17, 1978 established a right of access to administrative documents of the State for the benefit of all citizens, subject to exceptions such as defense secrecy, the right to respect for private life or even medical secrecy. If the administration refuses to send the requested document, any citizen can contact the CADA. This commission, set up precisely to ensure that this right of access is respected, has in particular competence to make « avis » and rule on the communicable nature, or not, of the document required from the administration.
This is where the shoe pinches: the CADA, any independent administrative authority it may be, has no power to coerce the administration. If it can invite him to communicate the document, it can neither enjoin him to do it nor sanction him in the event of silence. In other words, when an administration refuses, despite a favorable opinion from the CADA, to communicate the document, citizens have no other choice but to initiate a heavy, complex and often long litigation procedure before an administrative court. This prospect discourages many of them and seriously undermines the effectiveness of the right of access to administrative documents.
Administrative darkness
The follow-up to the favorable opinions of the CADA is also a thorny subject. This is evidenced by the desperately empty page devoted to “Follow-up of CADA opinions” on its site, which remains ” under construction “ for years… Despite the theoretical obligation that weighs on the administration to inform the commission of the follow-up it intends to give to the opinion, the 2021 report of the CADA notes that less than two thirds of the administrations (61.5 %) actually follow. While journalists, parliamentarians and academics are constantly asking for documents that this administrative authority has nevertheless declared to be communicable, the administration has every opportunity to indicate that it does not intend to respond favorably to the request. The same report thus indicates that, among the responses sent, only 69.6% of the administrations indicated their intention to follow the opinion of the commission… which notes in passing that “this rate has been in constant decline for five years, which can only be deplored”. It is therefore urgent to act.
You have 39.81% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.