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Published on 2024-04-06 22:07:24
The former Minister of Justice, Ismaila Madior Fall, has issued a note regarding the cancellation of decrees by the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSM), emphasizing the impossibility of reversing the appointment of the first President of the Supreme Court. According to him, “it is impossible to reverse the appointment of the first President of the Supreme Court.” He considers that this would constitute “a first and a dangerous precedent” that requires the attention of the “New Guardian of the Constitution.”
In this note, Ismaila Madior Fall, also a law professor and former Keeper of the Seals, reacts to reports that the decrees appointing the first President of the Supreme Court and members of the Judicial Financial Pool (PJF) were repealed at the last CSM. He expresses his wish that the repeal measure, which he would prefer to call “withdrawal,” be reconsidered for several reasons.
Firstly, he argues that the repealed decrees were in compliance with the law, having been issued in a physical CSM meeting, whereas a simple online consultation would have sufficed. Additionally, these decrees were made within the mandate of President Macky Sall, before April 2, 2024, without contravening any constitutional provisions and aimed at ensuring the continuity of public judicial services.
Furthermore, according to the organic law on the status of magistrates, it is not possible to terminate the functions of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Prosecutor General of said Court without their consent.
Ismaila Madior Fall acknowledges that the President of the Republic can, if he wishes, modify the appointment of PJF members and their assignments through a new CSM or through an online consultation. However, he emphasizes the legal impossibility of revoking the first President of the Supreme Court, citing the risks of a dangerous precedent.
He therefore recommends the withdrawal of the repeal decrees to avoid a contentious issue of excess power, especially against a decree of a recently elected President, which could tarnish his tenure in terms of the highest judiciary.
Translation by:
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