Senegal: what to remember from the conclusions of the court proceedings?

The Senegalese have high expectations of the “reform and modernization of justice”, a theme around which the national dialogue on the reform and modernization of justice took place, for a week, the conclusions of which were made public this Tuesday.

The observation is clear. The structural and functional weaknesses of the judicial system, a persistent politico-judicial crisis that the country has experienced over the last three years and above all the growing distrust of the population with regard to the judicial system have contributed to tarnishing the image of this power which , normally, must regulate the life of the nation.

Even if, it must be said, the refusal of the Sages of the Constitutional Council to follow the outgoing President Macky Sall in his desire to postpone the election and the validation of the candidacy of the current President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, then imprisoned, were hailed as great achievements of an independent justice system.

In any case, a wind of hope is blowing again over Justice in Senegal. This is the opinion of many observers who, after following the discussions during this dialogue which ended Tuesday June 4, 2024, do not fail to emphasize that this justice system experienced all the setbacks under the old regime.

The country’s new authorities are very keen on these reforms in the sector. This is also one of the priorities of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye who was imprisoned under the Macky Sall regime. He had promised “in-depth reform of justice” during his campaign for the presidential election on March 24, which resulted in his election as President of the Republic of Senegal, just ten (10) days after his release from prison.

For a week, lawyers, magistrates and even members of civil society, 450 legal professionals in total, met at the Diaminadio conference center to discuss reforms to be made to the justice sector in Senegal.

“One of the recommendations of these inclusive meetings desired by the President of the Republic is to decolonize justice,” indicated the Rapporteur of the Scientific Committee of the national dialogue on the reform and modernization of justice, Jean Louis Correa .

This Tuesday, the conclusions of this national dialogue on the reform and modernization of justice were made public. This report contains reform proposals accompanied by recommendations to reform the Senegalese judicial system.

Around ten key measures are contained in the recommendations resulting from this dialogue, to improve the functioning of Senegalese justice.

Among these recommendations, we note the establishment of a Constitutional Court that is more autonomous and open to profiles other than magistrates, instead of a Constitutional Council. This, according to the dialogue, would allow the judges who make up this court to no longer be exclusively appointed by the President of the Republic.

For the dialogue rapporteur, this is an opinion shared by all participants in the meeting. “But it’s not just a name change. This is a substantial change, that is to say in the methods of referral and the possibilities of referral,” underlines Jean Louis Correa.

And to specify that the Constitutional Court should not be a “retirement home”, but made up of active people.

There is also a measure to limit the power of the prosecutor who today benefits from broad prerogatives. “Because the public prosecutor, in his way of doing things, has a lot of powers and at times powers which are even illegal,” said the dialogue rapporteur.

The dialogue also recommends the establishment of a judge of freedoms to avoid the almost systematic use of preventive detention. “So the judge of freedoms and detention is a judge who could participate in better preserving, better defending freedom and better monitoring places of detention,” explains Jean Louis Correa.

A new organization of the Superior Council of the Judiciary was also proposed. This is to make it a deliberative body and no longer just consultative. Chaired by the Head of State in its current form, the debate has not yet been resolved on the role and place of the President of the Republic in this Council.

There is also the revision of the penal code, the family code, the digitalization of justice services and the construction of a new prison.

Concerning the sanitation of the prison environment, the dialogue noted that the prisons that exist in the country are not only dilapidated and date from the colonial period, but also overcrowded.

“And today, it is up to not only to reform the penal code to reduce the offenses which are punishable by prison sentences, but also to build new prisons. And we have narrowed down our concerns regarding the good proposal for the construction of a new prison in Gamyo, in San, very close to Dakar. We need to renovate old prisons and build new ones so that inmates are in very good conditions,” confides the rapporteur of the national dialogue on justice.

This also involves, according to him, the recruitment of magistrates for more investigation offices “because unfortunately the investigation offices are overcrowded. There are very few magistrates in Senegal, and more must be recruited for justice to operate quickly.”

The proposals and recommendations resulting from this work will be compiled in a final report which will be submitted to the President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Faye on June 17.

1. Establishment of a Constitutional Court

2. Limitation of the power of the prosecutor

3. Establishment of a judge of liberty and detention

4. Limitation of excessively long detentions

5. New organization of the Supreme Judicial Council

6. Revision of the penal code

7. Revision of the family code

8. Digitalization of justice services

9. Construction of a new prison

10. Criminalization of land offenses

Among the 10 recommendations formulated by the national dialogue on the reform and modernization of justice in Senegal is the new organization of the Superior Council of the Judiciary. But the problem arises of the presence or absence in this council of the President of the Republic and other people other than magistrates. Some of the participants find it unacceptable that the President of the Republic is part of this body.

These participants base their arguments “on the fact that the constitution of this country establishes the principle of the existence of three powers and the separation of these powers”, according to Jean Louis Correa.

“And therefore we find it unacceptable that the President of the Republic and the head of the executive are at the same time president of the Judicial Council, that the Minister of Justice is its vice-president. That they have the upper hand in the management of the careers of magistrates and therefore to use justice against opponents, activists and even the media,” notes the rapporteur.

And he adds: “So it is a strong request that we have made, in the same way as all the ministers of civil society and many academics”. Jean Louis Correa indicates that it is magistrates who want the President of the Republic to be part of the council.

“We don’t really know why but they should be happy to fight to be independent. But apparently, they want to always stay in the executive court,” he said.

For the dialogue rapporteur, these reforms can be quickly implemented for the happiness of the Senegalese if there is a political will to do so. He emphasizes that the old regime had started the work and that it is enough to continue it.

Referring to previous meetings on the same theme but which did not produce convincing results, Mr. Correa points out that those who lead the country today have suffered enormous repression during the last three years. And therefore are better placed to implement these reforms so that Justice can restore its image.

“The president and the prime minister still came out of prison to be where they are today. So we think they should be able to make these reforms. They called for the break and they have an opportunity to make the break, to ensure that the Senegalese have confidence in this institution,” he says.

Jean Louis Correa recalls that in a democracy, it is essential that it is justice which is responsible for arbitrating disputes between political parties, between citizens. “So citizens must have confidence in justice, the political class must have confidence in justice. And for that, these major reforms obviously need to be carried out as quickly as possible.”

The Senegalese, in any case, expect a lot from these reforms. The recommendations are thus made. The last word therefore goes to the President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Faye.