The legal profession is dying in Port-au-Prince

Of 24 investigating judges needed in Port-au-Prince, only three are currently serving their mandate

Lawyer Frantz Gabriel Nerette lost his entire portfolio of real estate clients, causing a loss of “five to seven thousand US dollars” per year.

In March, Maître Rose-Berthe Augustin temporarily closed his office and placed his files in a “secure” location.

“It’s a profession that is dying,” comments to AyiboPost Me Samuel Madistin, a leading lawyer who also reports having lost several clients.

Dozens of other lawyers in Port-au-Prince lose clients every month in a context of near paralysis of the judicial institution, due to insecurity and structural problems.

Already lameinstitutional justice almost no longer functions in the jurisdiction of Port-au-Prince since the last assault by armed gangs on February 29, 2024.

The start of the 2023-2024 judicial year was marked by the socio-political crisis, the “country lock”, followed by days of repeated protests against the government of Ariel Henry.

But dysfunction is reaching these areas with the launch of a strike by government commissioners last week.

Letter from the collective of Magistrats Debout d’Haïti addressed to the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Me Carlos Hercules.

These dysfunctions are not new.

The new government must restore security and then focus on resuming judicial activities. This is what Judge Marthel Jean Claude, President of the professional association of magistrates, recommends.

“Justice is at a standstill in the jurisdictions of Port-au-Prince and Croix-des-Bouquets,” notes the magistrate. Of the 24 investigating judges needed in Port-au-Prince, only three – Jean Wilner Morin, Merlan Belabre and Judge Jameson Simon – are currently serving their mandate.

The paralysis of the courts prevents compliance with the deadlines set by law for processing a case, creating a risk for lawyers of losing trials.

The situation also creates a problem of access to justice, worsening prolonged pretrial detention – a national scourge.

83.92% of the 11,837 inmates in the prison population are awaiting trial, according to a report from the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH) published on October 11, 2023.

Some prisoners have been awaiting trial for more than a decade, in violation of Haitian laws and international conventions.

“Since July 2018, there have been no criminal assizes with jury assistance in the jurisdiction of Port-au-Prince,” notes Me Samuel Madistin.

Of the eighteen courts of first instance in the country, only those of Jérémie and Hinche each organized a criminal assize session with jury assistance for the 2022-2023 judicial year, according to the RNDDH report.

The government commissioner at the court of first instance of Port-au-Prince, Me Edler Guillaume, did not respond to AyiboPost’s interview requests.

“When the tenant tells me that he will pay me in two or three months, I have no leverage,” lawyer Frantz Gabriel Nerette told AyiboPost. “Even if I send him a summons,” the university professor continues, “the client knows that I will not be able to summon him to appear in court because he is aware that justice does not work.”

Par Fenel Pélissier