The Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, found not guilty and acquitted by the Court of Justice of the Republic

The judges of the CJR, the majority of whom are parliamentarians, did not follow the requisitions of the prosecution, which had requested a one-year suspended prison sentence.

A highly anticipated judgment. The Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, tried for illegal taking of interests, was declared not guilty and acquitted, Wednesday November 29 in Paris, by the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR). “The Minister of Justice will be able to continue to carry out his work within the government team, in the service of the French. I am delighted,” reacted on X (ex-Twitter) the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne.

>> Follow the political reactions after the announcement of the acquittal of the Minister of Justice in our live

The judges of the CJR, in the majority of parliamentarians (12 of the 15 judges), did not follow the requisitions of the prosecution which had requested a one-year suspended prison sentence at the end of this unprecedented trial of a Minister of the Justice in action. “This is what we hoped for, this is what the law dictated. It is obviously a satisfaction, an enormous emotion (…) The Court of Justice of the Republic ruled that the Minister of Justice was innocent”Eric Dupond-Moretti’s lawyer, Jacqueline Laffont, reacted to the press.

No intentional element, according to the CJR

During the reading of the decision, which lasted around twenty minutes, the 62-year-old minister, in a dark suit, remained straight in front of the lectern, his arms crossed behind his back. Then he remained impassive at the announcement of his acquittal, and left the courthouse without making a statement to the press. He arrived shortly after 4 p.m. at the Elysée, where he was received by Emmanuel Macron.

The announcement of this acquittal is already beginning to provoke political reactions. The deputies of the La France insoumise (LFI) group notably called for the abolition of the CJR, “systematically biased inter-jurisdiction”. The court considered in its reasons that “the material element” of the illegal taking of interests was well constituted, but not “the intentional element”.

“At no moment”, Eric Dupond-Moretti did not express “an animosity, contempt or desire for revenge” towards the four magistrates whom he had criticized when he was a lawyer, and against whom he had opened an administrative investigation as Keeper of the Seals, declared the president of the CJR, Dominique Pauthe.