“Our arms are falling,” reacts the lawyer for the Anticor association, who denounces a “political decision”

Jérôme Karsenti, lawyer for the Anticor association, speaks of a “huge suspicion” left by this acquittal pronounced by the Court of Justice of the Republic, and criticizes a “legally incomprehensible decision”.

“It’s a legally incomprehensible decision”reacts Wednesday November 29 on franceinfo Jérôme Karsenti, lawyer for the Anticor association, after the acquittal pronounced at the beginning of the afternoon by the Court of Justice of the Republic against the Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti , prosecuted for illegal taking of interests.

“When we have incomprehensible law, we have to look for the reasons, and the political reasons appear obvious to us”, attacks Jérôme Karsenti. The lawyer for the Anticor association has the “feeling that we have not gone to the end in this trial and that what supports the decision is political procrastination and a political decision”. Jérôme Karsenti recalls that“a criminal offense has a material and moral element”. However, he maintains, “the Court of Justice of the Republic tells us in its decision ‘the material element is perfectly characterized'”.

According to Anticor’s lawyer, “there is indeed a conflict of interests, an illegal taking of interests, but for the offense to be completely constituted, there must be the intentional element, the knowledge that the accused has of the offense he is committing, intentionality. Jérôme Karsenti thus attacks the logic of the Court of Justice of the Republic: “She tells us that Eric Dupond-Moretti, with the experience, the knowledge he has, the position he held, was not aware of committing the offense”. Faced with this reasoning, Anticor’s lawyer says that “on the side of the civil parties, we were totally amazed”since, he assures, “the decision is legally perfectly unmotivated”.

A “kind of stain on French justice”

Jérôme Karsenti denounces the “political nature” of the Court of Justice of the Republic, with “15 magistrates, including 12 from political ranks, senators and deputies”tied, which makes Anticor’s lawyer say that‘”we cannot trust him: you had 3 deputies and senators from the majority, 6 senators from the right, who regularly sign amendments with Eric Dupond-Moretti”underlines the lawyer of the Anticor association.

“The conflict of interest is the absolute fear of the politician and there is therefore a fairly broad form of understanding of what the conflict of interest is by saying ‘I too can one day be its victim'”, says Jérôme Karsenti. However, says the lawyer, “this perception, this incomprehension, has resulted in a decision that is unacceptable for democracy and which sends a very bad, disastrous message to the citizen and which means that the powerful or the miserable are not judged in the same way.”

Jérôme Karsenti speaks of a “huge suspicion” left by this acquittal pronounced by the Court of Justice of the Republic, “this kind of stain on French justice, this derogatory justice, which it is time to remove.” For Anticor’s lawyer, today there is no “no reason for there to be an exceptional jurisdiction”. Jérôme Karsenti calls for “the criminal act”and not “the political function” either “judged by an ordinary judge, who knows criminal matters”.