The signatories of the column published in the newspaper “Le Monde” declare that they no longer want a “justice which mistreats the litigants” and also “those who work for its functioning”.
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An alarm bell. Correctional judges, children, substitutes … 3,000 magistrates and a hundred clerks denounced the deterioration of their working conditions and the lack of time to process cases, Tuesday, November 23, in an article published in The world.
“We no longer want a justice which does not listen, which reasons only in figures, which times and counts everything”, they write, scolding a “justice that mistreats the litigants, but also those who work for its operation”. In this text, they regret a “managerial vision of [leur] job” and underline the lack of time to process files.
The magistrates cite in particular overcrowded hearings, sick leaves which are on the increase among judicial staff, hearings closed without follow-up or the obligation to deal with divorce cases. “in fifteen minutes” without being able to give the floor to the parties. This situation generates a “discrepancy between our desire to deliver quality justice and the reality of our daily lives”, placing them in front of a “untenable dilemma: to judge quickly but badly, or to judge well but within unacceptable deadlines”.
“The magistrates can no longer take it. Justice is running out of steam and can no longer fulfill its missions”, wrote the Union Syndicale des Magistrates Tuesday in a press release relaying this forum. This call comes as the States General of Justice opened on October 18. The Independent Commission chaired by Jean-Marc Sauvé is expected to submit reform proposals by February 2022.