Monaco Supreme Court refuses to suspend dismissal of Justice Minister

Sylvie Petit-Leclair, 69, retired from the French judiciary since 2022, was appointed Minister of Justice of the extremely wealthy micro-state in 2022. Her term was due to end in June 2025. But she was dismissed at the end of August, an ouster that she contests.

The Supreme Court of Monaco has rejected the request of Sylvie Petit-Leclair, the Principality’s Minister of Justice, to stay the execution of her dismissal, AFP learned on Saturday, September 14, leading her to denounce her dismissal once again. “arbitrary eviction”.

Sylvie Petit-Leclair, 69, retired from the French judiciary since 2022, was appointed Attorney General of Monaco in 2018 and then Minister of Justice of the extremely wealthy micro-state in 2022, and her mandate was due to end in June 2025. But she was dismissed at the end of August, an ouster that she contests.

In the interim order issued on September 13, which AFP has consulted, the supreme court justifies its decision by “the absence of serious danger” that the premature dismissal of Sylvie Petit-Leclair could have resulted in. This jurisdiction should, within two weeks, examine the request to cancel the dismissal.

In a press release, Sylvie Petit-Leclair, once again denounced, as she had done after the announcement of her dismissal, a denial of rights in the Principality. “I have all my esteem and sincere affection for the Prince [Albert II]. However, for several months, I have had the impression that certain influences no longer allow him to demonstrate the willingness, previously displayed, to support the proposals intended to strengthen the Principality as a state governed by the rule of law”, wrote the magistrate.

According to her, “Monaco is going through one of the most difficult periods in its contemporary history,” also considering that “Despite undeniable progress, the fight against white-collar crime and the crackdown on corruption still have much room for improvement.” She appears as a collateral victim of the power struggles taking place at the top of the Rock.

In 2023, after the so-called “Rock files” scandal, named after an anonymous website denouncing alleged collusion practices by those close to the Prince, Albert II dismissed his administrator of Crown property, Claude Palmero, triggering a legal war between the Prince and his former trusted man.

The strong men with the sovereign are now Salim Zeghdar, in the position previously held by Claude Palmero, and Christophe Steiner, chief of staff. The ouster of Claude Palmero had been interpreted as a victory for the local real estate magnate Patrice Pastor, whom the former property administrator wanted to oppose.

While the new Minister of Justice, Samuel Vuelta Simon, former public prosecutor of Toulouse, is due to take up his duties on 16 September, Sylvie Petit-Leclair’s entourage has made it clear that she has every intention of going to her offices on Monday morning, refusing to give in to the “impressed by attempts at intimidation” who does not “have not been spared for several weeks.”