The Senate adopts Eric Dupond-Moretti’s reform for “faster” justice

This is the first green light given by the upper house of Parliament. The Senate, dominated by the right-wing opposition, adopted Tuesday, June 13 in first reading the bill for a justice “faster” carried by the Keeper of the Seals Eric Dupond-Moretti, who provides for an increase “unpublished” of the budget to nearly 11 billion euros in 2027. The orientation and programming bill of the Ministry of Justice 2023-2027, as well as the organic bill reforming the status of magistrates which accompanies it, are expected at the National Assembly during the extraordinary session in July. According to the Minister, the two texts “have the ambition to respond concretely to the expectations of our fellow citizens, first and foremost that of faster justice”.

In addition to the major budgetary effort, on which there was broad consensus, the bill ratifies the hiring of 10,000 people, including 1,500 magistrates. The Senate has increased the number of new clerks to 1,800 and planned the creation of 600 posts for prison probation and integration advisers (CPIP). To facilitate hiring, access routes to the judiciary will be reformed and opened up to new profiles. Despite some reluctance, the senators agreed to authorize the government to “clarify” by ordinance the drafting of the code of criminal procedure.

The reform also introduces two new features: experimentation with economic activity courts and centers specializing in the fight against domestic violence. A controversial provision allowing the remote triggering of cameras or phone microphones in investigations has crystallized opposition from the left. These senators also strongly deplored the absence of a mechanism to regulate prison overcrowding, the minister sticking to the “cap” set to build 15,000 additional prison places by 2027.