why the non-renewal of its approval is controversial

The association’s approval, which allows it to intervene in legal proceedings, has not been renewed by the government. The NGO denounces a “political” decision.

The Anticor association has lost its approval. The government had until Tuesday, December 26 at midnight to decide on the renewal of this sesame. The executive therefore did not do so, which amounts to the loss of this judicial approval. A key that has concretely enabled Anticor since 2015 to take legal action in cases of alleged corruption and breach of probity, particularly in the event of inaction by the prosecution. Without approval, the NGO can no longer become a civil party.

Anticor, created in 2002, is involved in dozens of cases, some of which are famous and high-profile, such as, most recently, the complaint against the Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti. The opposition immediately stepped up to the plate, mainly on the left, to denounce the non-renewal of its approval. Here’s why this case is controversial.

The association is at the forefront in numerous legal cases

Anticor’s pedigree and feats of arms are known. The association is renowned for sticking its nose everywhere, as soon as there are suspicions of corruption or conflicts of interest. She was thus involved in ultra-media and ultra-sensitive issues, with political-judicial ramifications, such as the awarding of the Football World Cup to Qatar or the investigation into Alexis Kohler, the secretary general of the Elysée. . Anticor also intervened in the Russian aspect of the Benalla affair, the sale of Alstom’s energy branch to General Electric and in the Bygmalion affair. She had also filed a complaint against Eric Dupond-Moretti, finally acquitted by the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) at the end of last November.

Anticor was also on the bench of the civil parties in the trial of fictitious jobs at the Paris town hall, in September 2011. Its lawyers had argued for more than two hours. Jacques Chirac, former mayor of the capital, was finally sentenced to two years in prison. The Anticor name is linked, in total, to nearly 160 procedures. With the loss of this approval, these procedures do not stop but the association will no longer be able to file a civil claim.

The government has given no explanation

The government has not yet justified this non-renewal of the association’s approval. Nothing obliges it to do so in the procedure: the government had until Tuesday midnight to decide. He did not do so, which therefore constitutes an implicit refusal.

The Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, had withdrawn from any decision, due to the involvement of Anticor in the procedure before the CJR. It was therefore up to Elisabeth Borne to decide, but the Prime Minister in turn deported herself, on December 24, because she could be concerned by two cases brought before the courts by the association, on the Triangle tower in Paris and highway concessions. The decision was therefore made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which therefore did not respond to Anticor’s renewal request.

The non-renewal comes after more than two years of procedure

Anticor’s very first judicial approval was issued in 2015, for three years. It was renewed without problem in 2018. It becomes more complicated in 2021: after several months of uncertainty, the Prime Minister at the time, Jean Castex, renewed the approval, but with reservations. Subsequently, in June 2021, two dissidents from the association took administrative action to challenge this renewal, arguing that Anticor would not respect the conditions of independence, disinterested character and information of its members. Two years later, on June 23, 2023, the Paris administrative court ruled in their favor and annulled the 2021 decree, signed by Jean Castex. Anticor then filed an appeal.

On November 16, the Paris Administrative Court of Appeal (CAA) confirmed the cancellation of the approval. During the hearing in October, the public rapporteur nevertheless spoke out in favor of annulling the administrative court’s judgment. And the Prime Minister herself had estimated that the Paris administrative court had committed “an error of law as well as an error of interpretation” by canceling Anticor’s approval. She noted that the NGO had put in place measures concerning the transparency of donations and their control by an auditor.

Without waiting for its appeal to be examined, Anticor filed a new application for approval in June, after the cancellation of the previous one. And it is to this request that the government had to respond before Tuesday at midnight.

The association denounces a “totally political decision”

Me Vincent Brengarth, the association’s lawyer, criticized Wednesday December 27 on franceinfo “a totally political decision”. “I am outraged by this decision which is a blow to the fight against corruptionhe continues. We do not know the official reasons why the government did not intend to renew the association’s application for approval.” This confirms in his eyes “the inanity of the approval procedure, in which those in power can alternately be censors of the actions of associations and called into question”.

“This decision does not surprise us”reacted for her part Élise Van Beneden, the president of Anticor, on franceinfo. We are well aware that our actions against corruption deeply annoy the government.”

The association announced on Wednesday morning its desire to contest the government’s decision. According to a diplomatic source contacted by France Inter, this rejection of approval does not prevent Anticor from reporting cases to the courts and filing a complaint. “We were preparing for the possibility of the approval request being rejected”, confirms Me Vincent Brengarth. But Me Brengarth expresses doubt about the association’s ability to relaunch an investigation when the courts do not take it up themselves.

The opposition and part of the legal community are outraged

This non-renewal was immediately denounced in political circles, mainly on the left. “Stupefying, revolting, disturbing”reacted the deputy (LFI) for Seine-Saint-Denis Alexis Corbière, on the social network X. “The government is not fighting corruption, it is fighting Anticor”engaged LFI MP Raquel Garrido.

François Molins, honorary attorney general at the Court of Cassation, estimated, on “healthier for our democracy if it is not the government which decides on requests for approval but an independent administrative authority like the HATVP” (High authority for transparency in public life).