Without the professional conscience of magistrates, it is impossible to deal with divorces, custody or alimony at the Auch court, deprived of a dedicated judge since July 2022.
“For the litigants, this is simply unbearable! » A lawyer rails in the room of the Auch court. She has just learned that the hearing which must decide on parental custody has been postponed… until May. The reason ? The Auch court, since the retirement of Jean-Michel Dureysseix, no longer has a family affairs judge. It is now necessary to allow at least 6 months of delay to see a file move forward. Divorces, disputes over alimony or child custody, represent a very large part of the activity of the Auscitain court. Not enough, apparently, for the ministry to find a replacement.
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“The magistrates choose their position,” says the president of the bar association in Auch, Me Philippe Morant. That of Gers is open, but it does not attract any candidates…” A situation which has dragged on, since July 2022, and no announcement has come to reassure the lawyers, the magistrates or the families concerned. “The public service of justice appears to be very degraded, despite major announcements from the supervisory ministry,” notes the President. This is very worrying, because the system is becoming more and more blocked, despite everyone’s efforts. » Divorce procedures have been simplified, with easier exchanges between lawyers and judges, to move the procedures forward more quickly. For the rest, “we have to be patient”, concedes the lawyer, who pleads for the establishment of a protocol between magistrates and lawyers, to streamline hearings and make life easier for litigants, sometimes forced to wait for a whole day examining their file.
Always urgent
The most dispassionate family matters rarely remain so for long, lawyers know that. And the courts sometimes observe this, when the situation deteriorates to the point of reaching the criminal stage. “The faster it is, the less discord there is,” summarizes a lawyer from the Auch bar. People don’t understand the reason for this wait. And the solutions are more patches than real legal answers…”
The answer is often a mutual understanding under the aegis of the advice of both parties, to reach an agreement capable of satisfying everyone. “We try to reach an agreement, to write letters to give a slightly more official status. But we cannot offer anything better while waiting for a legal decision. When you are a single mother waiting for a pension to be paid, and you are told that you have to wait 6 months, it quickly becomes complicated! And in the case of childcare, it gets even worse. » But these amicable agreements sometimes come up against the refusal of one of the parents.
And in the latter case, situations can very quickly become inextricable. In the absence of any judgment ruling on childcare arrangements, pensions, etc. There is no possibility of coercion. Many Gers lawyers have had to deal with blockages, with one parent refusing to entrust the child to the other for months. No legal opposition is possible, no complaint for failure to present a child: “Without a court decision, we can do nothing,” sighs a lawyer. But where is the child’s interest in that? »
Conscientious judges
In the absence of a family affairs judge, and given that there is no indication of the arrival of a future incumbent, it is the magistrates stationed in Gers who manage the shortage. The court divided the additional work between 3 judges. Véronique Maurel, in charge of freedom and detention, deals with cases that do not relate to divorces. It is his colleague from Condom, Véronique Francois, judge of protection disputes in this local court, who manages separation cases. The president of the court, Philippe Rigault, navigates both areas…
A situation described as very complicated by the lawyers, who all salute the great professional conscience of the magistrates. “Fortunately, because the court decision is necessary to defuse very painful family situations. But they can’t work day and night! »
2023-11-04 16:33:12
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