The way is clear for a preliminary investigation into the so-called “Gaardenhäischen” case, the Chamber of Deputies announced on Tuesday. It unanimously adopted a resolution to that effect.
The resolution adopted on Tuesday by parliament authorizes the State prosecutor at the Luxembourg district court to proceed with regard to Carole Dieschbourg, former Minister for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development, “to all measures useful for establishing the truth, which may take the form of a personal hearing, a search of his home or an expert measure requiring his personal participation, as well as the opening of a preparatory investigation in application of article 4 (1) of the law of March 3, 2023”.
The deputies also instruct their president to “transmit this resolution to the State Attorney General by post”.
Article 4 of the law of March 3, 2023 in fact requires the authorization by the deputies of the opening of proceedings against a member of the government, being worded as follows: “Investigation measures targeting a member of the Government which take the form of his personal hearing, a search of his home or an expert measure requiring his personal participation, as well as the opening of an investigation against a named person targeting a member of the government, are subject to the obtaining by the State prosecutor of an authorization from the Chamber of Deputies.
A law of temporary application
It is the end of an imbroglio which prevented the former minister from being able to defend herself in the case of the garden shed of Roberto Traversini, the former deputy and mayor of Differdange.
This elected déi gréng (like the minister) had launched renovation work on a garden shed (Gaardenhaischen in Luxembourgish) in the summer of 2019 without having ministerial authorization. This authorization had been granted to him ex post by the ministry headed by Carole Dieschbourg, where a search will be carried out.
The case had rebounded only last year, in April, with a request for the lifting of the ministerial immunity of the minister by the prosecution, followed in the wake of the resignation of the minister.
The prosecutor’s office, in accordance with the Constitution dating from 1868, had however no other choice than to transmit the Dieschbourg file to the Chamber of Deputies, so that it could make use of its right to accuse the members of the government. This had left the parliament in the embarrassment of the separation of legislative and judicial powers.
Only a law could solve the problem, which was done with the law adopted a few days ago. A law for the temporary surplus, since the new Constitution, which will come into force on July 1, finally subjects the members of the government to common law in the event of criminal proceedings.