The courthouse paralyzed by both insecurity and the strike
The exchanges of fire between the police and armed gangs have not ceased, or almost, from Monday to Friday. This situation of insecurity affects the proper functioning of the courthouse in Port-au-Prince, as well as the indefinite strike of magistrates which began on February 15, 2021, to the chagrin of litigants and inmates of civilian prisons.
Posted on 2021-03-16 | The Nouvelliste
Since February 15 of the current year, the judges have removed their gowns to demand that the executive comply with the Constitution in force and the withdrawal of the two decrees which arbitrarily put three judges of the Court of Cassation into retirement and appoint three others to fill the institutional void. Is there anything to debate the meaning of this decision of the associations of sitting magistrates?
Regardless of the conclusions, the result would be the same: cases cannot be dealt with within a reasonable time. Or simply within the legal deadline. Subsequently, access to justice is compromised by the fact that the magistrates do not provide the minimum service.
However, it is not only the unlimited strike of the magistrates which numbs the blindfolded lady. Insecurity overshadows the strike this week. As proof, “the doors of the bar are closed”. This is what the president of the Bar of the Order of Port-au-Prince, Me Marie Suzy Legros, informed the newspaper. Since Tuesday, bar employees could not frequent the space because of the automatic weapon concerts. Even the bar school had to change address temporarily.
Lawyers, especially young people, who have been unemployed for over a year, dare not walk towards the courthouse at the Bicentenary, the scene of clashes. Employees of the court of first instance and the prosecutor’s office in this jurisdiction can also not go to their workplaces this week. On Friday morning, 8:40 a.m., one of them confided that he was still observing to know whether to continue on the way to the court or to turn back.
For bailiffs, insecurity is even more important than a strike. At the start of the work stoppage, we could follow up with clerks and ask the bailiffs to serve orders or indictments that had already been drafted. “Now it’s almost impossible,” said one of the bailiffs. For some, there was calm for two days of the week. But it was hardly enough. Brave, reckless or financial situation requires, some risk their lives.
Justice, from one crisis to another. We are waiting for the outcome of
the unlimited strike of magistrates. Patience is also required with this police operation in the areas surrounding the courthouse in Port-au-Prince. It is to be hoped that a new situation, or that the problems which have not yet been resolved for years, will cause another body of trades to cease all work. These bodies being intertwined with each other, the dysfunction of one is capable of paralyzing the judicial system as a whole.
