The union union of magistrates and the union of the magistracy wrote to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to share their doubts on “objective impartiality” of the Belgian Didier Reynders.
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How far is the distrust of magistrates’ unions with regard to Eric Dupond-Moretti will they bring them? In a letter addressed on April 21 to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and Vera Jourova, vice-president of the Commission and responsible for transparency and values, they question “objective impartiality” of the commissioner European to justice, the Belgian Didier Reynders, in his ability to examine “the serious attacks on the independence of French justice” which they denounce. These suspicions are based on “a certain proximity between Mr. [Nicolas] Sarkozy or his relatives, on the one hand, and Mr. Reynders or members of his party [the reforming movement], on the other hand”, he specified in this letter that Le Monde was able to read.
While the Minister of Justice is kept in office despite an indictment and a referral to the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) for “illegal taking of interests”, an unprecedented situation under the v E Republic, dialogue with unions having filed a complaint against him remains difficult. For the past two years, the Union Syndicale des Magistrates (USM) and the Syndicat de la Magistracy (SM), the two organizations most representative of the profession, have continued to denounce the attacks on the independence of the justice committed by M. Dupond-Moretti.
At a time when the two unions filed a complaint with the Court of Justice of the Republic, in October and November 2020, they sent two letters to Didier Reynders to draw his attention to the predisciplinary procedures initiated by the Keeper of the Seals ‘regard for magistrates with whom he had disputes when he was a lawyer. “We take note of the concerns you express,” wrote the European Commissioner on February 22, 2021 in a polite response. He tells them that the Brussels Commission “will carefully follow” the procedure before the CJR as well as the disciplinary surveys against the magistrates. A response deemed unsatisfactory by the officials of the two unions, who stay there.
suspicion of connivance
A year later, in April, they decided to relaunch the European Commission by addressing its president directly. This letter, signed by Kim Reuflet and Céline Parisot, respectively presidents of SM and USM, adds to the previous grievances new elements revealing “the structural weaknesses of the guarantees of independence of justice in France”. They refer in particular to the intervention of Mr. Dupond-Moretti, revealed by Le Monde, to have three judges withdrawing early 2022, including the investigating judge Serge Tournaire, from the annual list of appointments proposed by the services of the Ministry .
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