Magistrates, the march for judicial power

The quest for more significant power for judges in Madagascar should be basically held as a consequence of their current struggle with the HAT and their cold war with the national police department. The latest justice department´s national conference turned out 13 unprecedentedly ambitious resolutions. Judges call upon a state ruled by a genuine rule of law, with them in the leading roles.

Fight against the HAT´s excesses

Judges are intending to start with “addressing those deliberately challenging the rule of law” and jeopardizing its existence. The union of judges actually assaults the HAT from front. The  Rehavana case, named after the prosecutor killed by police forces in Toliara, provides Auguste Marius and his colleagues with the occasion to tackle their campaign. Judges decided to reject whatever direct orders from any justice minister.

They denounce the use of the court for political purposes and the lack of consideration when the executive power has no need of a judge. Politically motivated trials against the HAT´s political opponents, files related to fake putsch attempts, alleged destabilization, terrorism, weapon trade, murder attempts and other fictional crimes held as loopholes by the ruling power are now standing on the gallows.

The SMM Union goes further ahead and challenges a minority exploiting the country´s wealth while hiding behind a fictional judicial shield, namely the High Justice Court, still enshrined in the Constitution, but never capitalized. The union’s complaint against the Minister of Home Security is not likely to succeed in anything, for the cabinet happens to be the one supposed to give permission to proceed.

Institutional changes

Judges are longing a general judicial institution which is currently merely being represented by the High Constitutional Court. The point is, this time around, the erection of a Supreme Court deemed to stand countrywide head and shoulders above ever other courts.

The High Court of Justice is not to be put to death whatsoever. It would still be entitled to judge ministers, elected figures as well as the president. A Constitutional Court would put law drafts to the test and accept or turn down electoral results produced by the national electoral commission. A State Council would focus on complaints against the administration, any many other courts are expected to add up to the list …

The Supreme Court would eventually be supposed to defend the judicial power´s independence. In the run of the anti-democratic transition imposed since 2009, judges had to launch a general strike for the sake of breaking with their subordinate status granted by the HAT´s Minister. Courts do not fully recover innocence for so much. Corruption has long been besmirching their reputation, for young magistrates used to get unusually fast wealthy.

Transparency against corruption

Those suppose to judge are definitely not angels, for courts are famed for being a safe haven for corruption. Prior to being turned into a real institution and making reliable decision in political environments, the Malagasy justice has to recover first and foremost reliability.

As a solution to curb corruption, the SMM Union intends to denounce any of the ruling power´s figure´s led attempts to interfere with judicial investigation for the sake of having a suspect released or condemned. The administration will be entitled to denounce any such unfairness. Even an internal “Big Brother” will be erected and deemed to keep an eye on magistrates.

Systematically challenging verdicts is definitely off the point. Recovering transparency and reliability remains the main objective. The SMM Union holds these changes as compulsory in order to recover the citizens´ trust.

The HAT, its parliament and the electoral commission have all been put through without any undisputable legality. There could hardly be any better incentive to reform the whole judicial system in depth. But still, effective institutional and eventually constitutional changes will have to be passed by a parliament… a legal one.