Bruxelles veut mettre Varsovie à l’amende

La Commission a demandé mardi à la Cour de justice de l’UE d’imposer des sanctions financières à l’État polonais. Alexandre MARCHI/PHOTOPQR/L'EST REPUBLICAIN/MAXPPP
LE FIGARO : RÉCIT - La Commission européenne s’inquiète du fonctionnement de la justice polonaise.

Le torchon n’en finit pas de brûler entre Bruxelles et Varsovie sur l’État de droit. La Commission a demandé mardi à la Cour de justice de l’UE d’imposer des sanctions financières à l’État polonais. Il lui est reproché de ne pas s’être mis en conformité avec un arrêt de la justice européenne publié le 14 juillet ni avec les mesures provisoires que celui-ci édictait concernant la chambre disciplinaire de la Cour suprême, un organe sensé être indépendant mais sur lequel le pouvoir polonais a la main. «Les systèmes judiciaires de l’Union européenne doivent être indépendants et équitables», a souligné la présidente de la Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Comment, en effet, s’assurer du bon usage des deniers européens et que des poursuites seront lancées en cas de corruption, si le système judiciaire est tenu par un pouvoir en place et l’autonomie des juges bafouée? » | Par Anne Rovan | Publié : mardi 7 septembre 2021 ; mis à jour : mercredi 8 septembre 2021

Sous pression de Bruxelles, Varsovie promet de revoir sa réforme de la justice

LE FIGARO : DÉCRYPTAGE - Le bras de fer entre l’UE et le gouvernement nationaliste-conservateur semble cependant voué à se durcir.

Mateusz Morawiecki, premier ministre polonais, le 13 juillet, à la Commission européenne à Bruxelles. PASCAL ROSSIGNOL/AFP
Bruxelles

Entre Bruxelles et Varsovie, l’humeur est électrique. Si le gouvernement de Mateusz Morawiecki semble céder dans le bras de fer sur la chambre disciplinaire des juges polonais, le sentiment est celui d’une confrontation chaque fois plus frontale.

Justice, droit des LGBT, médias… Les différends se sont intensifiés ces derniers mois, avec comme point d’orgue la décision de la Cour de justice de l’UE (CJUE) du 14 juillet, ordonnant la suspension immédiate des activités de la chambre disciplinaire utilisée pour museler les juges. La Commission européenne avait donné à la Pologne jusqu’au 16 août pour appliquer l’ordonnance. Sans quoi, des sanctions financières seraient imposées. Gagner du temps » | Par Leonor Hubaut | mardi 17 août 2021

Réservé aux abonnés

La Hongrie et la Pologne s’éloignent encore des valeurs communes de l’UE : L’Union européenne s’inquiète des dérives de l’État de droit et multiplient les mises en garde face aux tentations autoritaires des deux États membres. »

Mariage gay : la justice étudie les conséquences de la loi
LE FIGARO: INFO LE FIGARO - Augmentation des divorces, changements dans la politique d'adoption, travail supplémentaire pour les communes… Le Figaro s'est procuré ce document qui fait le tour des changements concrets liés au projet de loi.

Le Figaro s'est procuré l'étude d'impact du gouvernement sur le mariage homosexuel. Ce document interne d'une cinquantaine de pages, daté d'octobre 2012, décortique les répercussions du projet de loi sur le droit, la nationalité, la fiscalité, les administrations ou encore la diplomatie. Il ignore cependant les enjeux sociétaux et les grands débats sur le bouleversement du droit de la famille, l'avenir du couple, l'intérêt de l'enfant. Cette étude recèle une foule de détails très concrets, à mille lieues du cliché du couple posant tout sourire sur le perron d'une mairie, entouré d'amis et de parents. En voici quelques extraits. » | Par Agnès Leclair | mardi 23 octobre 2012

Droit du Dirty Old Men
THE NEW YORK TIMES: SINCE Sunday, when Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, was arrested on sexual assault charges in New York, French politicians have been loudly expressing their horrorat his “violent” treatment at the hands of America’s criminal justice system. It must be a shock to them: the sight of a top French establishment figure being treated like an ordinary criminal is about as rare as a photo of the Queen of England in a bikini.

But they are not merely voicing their concern for an esteemed colleague; many of them are also thinking, “There but for the grace of God (or rather the grace of living in France and not the United States) go I.”

France may think it had a revolution, but in fact it just got a new, and even more powerful, elite. They believe themselves so indispensable to the running of the country that trying to topple one of them is a bit like threatening to shoot a prize racehorse for nibbling your lawn. You’re meant to shut up and let them nibble.

This is why the French establishment sees Mr. Strauss-Kahn — rather than the traumatized chambermaid the police say he attacked — as the victim. The same case would never have come out in the open in Paris. The woman would have been quietly asked whether she thought it was worth risking her job and her residence permit. She would have been reminded that it was her word against his, and frankly, whom would people believe? The witty, famous man with the influential friends, or the nobody? » | Op-Ed | Stephen Clarke* | Tuesday, May 17, 2011

* Stephen Clarke is the author of “1,000 Years of Annoying the French.”


MAIL ONLINE: DSK Shouldn’t Lead Women Claims Blonde Banker »

MAIL ONLINE: An Avalanche of Women Point the Finger at DSK »

MAIL ONLINE: A Whole Prison Wing to Himself: The Extraordinary Measures Being Taken to Ensure DSK’s Safety »

MAIL ONLINE: French Furious over US’s Handling of DSK’s Case, Claim French Law Is Superior »

Pat Condell: Justice for Osama

Douglas Murray: Jihad Against Justice
THE SPECTATOR: The control orders fiasco shows that our political class still isn’t serious about security

For a jihadi, Britain is one of the very best places in the world. In Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, overhead drones kill terrorists on a regular basis. In most democratic countries, politicians try to limit their enemies’ ability to operate — so one runs the risk of being thrown into prison, if caught mid-jihad. But not in Britain. Here, the Islamist insurgents have found that there are a hundred ways to run rings around our police and justice system. Nothing demonstrates this more spectacularly than the control orders farce.

Control orders are an inelegant system for putting restrictions on terror suspects, either because the evidence which could convict them is too sensitive to be used in a criminal court, or because European human rights laws prevent them from being deported. Eight people are being detained under control orders, with the suspects under curfew, electronic tagging, a travel ban or other restrictions. The system is understandably popular, but it seems certain that David Cameron will allow his Lib Dem colleagues to claim victory by altering the name and tinkering with the terms.

If this happens, it might be seen as a Lib Dem victory. But it will be the clearest possible evidence that the coalition government, like the Labour government before it, remains unwilling to deal with the problem which made control orders necessary in the first place: the fact that this country has been systematically failed by its legal, political and immigration systems. Once, foreign nationals who posed a threat could be deported. The European Convention on Human Rights has put a stop to that. >>> Douglas Murray | Saturday, January 08, 2011

Balthasar Garzon Wins Permission to Work at International Criminal Court
THE TELEGRAPH: Balthasar Garzon, the controversial Spanish judge currently suspended from his duties in his home country, has won permission work at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Spain's top judicial panel had suspended Mr Garzon on Friday pending his trial on charges he exceeded his authority by ordering an investigation into mass killings by the forces of former dictator Francisco Franco.

The suspension from his functions as a judge was widely thought in Spain to be an obstacle to a transfer to a foreign court but the judicial panel approved Garzon's request to spend seven months at The Hague court.

"Legal reasons could not be found to prevent the hiring of the judge as a consultant", Gabriela Bravo, spokeswoman for the judicial panel told reporters.

The Spanish judge, who won fame for his attempt to extradite former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet for human rights abuses, faces three separate charges in Spain's Supreme Court. >>> | Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Related articles here and here

Justice on London's Streets, the Jewish Way
THE INDEPENDENT: With his dark-blue uniform, earpiece and walkie-talkie, Nochem Perlberger could pass for a police officer as he patrols the leafy streets of London’s Stamford Hill neighbourhood. Like an officer of the law, he responds to emergency calls, visits crime scenes and pursues suspects.

However, he is a member not of the constabulary but of the Stamford Hill Shomrim Rescue Patrol, a group of Orthodox Jewish men who, for the past two years, have been “policing” the streets of their community in Hackney.

Set up nearly two years ago, the group now has 22 patrolling members, a headquarters and even a 24-hour emergency number, staffed by six operators, which residents call to report crime. “Every house and child in the community knows this number off by heart,” said Mr Perlberger, one of the group’s committee members.

In the five months since the Stamford Hill Shomrim hotline was established, they have dealt with more than 2,000 calls including break-ins, thefts and muggings. On average, they identify three to five suspects a week and hand them over to the police. >>> Mark Hughes | Monday, January 04, 2010

Sarkozy Blasts Swiss Justice Over Polanski Arrest
DAILY EXPRESS: French leader NICOLAS SARKOZY has offered his support to detained sex offender ROMAN POLANSKI, insisting a 76-year-old man should not have been arrested for crimes he committed 32 years ago. >>> | Saturday, October 17, 2009

Yvonne Fletcher and the Betrayal of Justice
THE TELEGRAPH: British prosecutors were told more than two years ago that they had sufficient evidence to charge two Libyans over the killing of WPc Yvonne Fletcher, according to a leaked report.

A senior lawyer carried out an independent review of the case on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), in which he said Matouk Mohammed Matouk and Abdulgader Mohammed Baghdadi could be charged with conspiracy to cause death.

Both men played instrumental roles in organising the shooting at the Libyan embassy in St James’s Square, central London, in 1984, the report said.

The secret report, which was conducted at the request of the Metropolitan Police, was completed in April 2007, just six weeks before Tony Blair, the prime minister at the time, held a controversial meeting with Colonel Gaddafi in Libya. The meeting formally opened trade links between Britain and the north African country.

The CPS said last night that two years on, the police had still not provided them with the final case against the men. It added that the investigation into the killing of WPc Fletcher, who was 25, was ongoing.

The fact that no further progress has been made despite the report will raise fresh questions about the nature of Britain’s vexed relationship with Libya since diplomatic relations were restored in 1999. >>> Christopher Hope, Gordon Rayner and Damien McElroy in Tripoli | Thursday, October 15, 2009

Another Shameful Surrender to Libya
THE TELEGRAPH: Telegraph View: The Government's behaviour has made Britain look craven and weak.

The cynicism and tawdriness of Britain's dealings with Libya were brought into sharp focus recently by the release of the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi. While ostensibly returned to his homeland on compassionate grounds, the affair drew attention to the murky dealings between London and Tripoli as part of a concerted international effort to end Libya's pariah status and halt its embryonic nuclear weapons programme.

It was long suspected that the process of Libya's rehabilitation involved a tacit agreement no longer to pursue the killers of WPc Yvonne Fletcher, who was shot while on patrol outside the Libyan embassy 25 years ago.

As our report indicates today, the principal responsibility for the lamentable failure to bring WPc Fletcher's killer to book appears to lie with Tony Blair, the former prime minister. In the summer of 2007, he visited Libya for talks with Col Gaddafi as part of the rapprochement. At this point, the Crown Prosecution Service had enough evidence to charge two Libyans with conspiracy.

Yet Mr Blair, no doubt dazzled by the trade and oil exploration opportunities on offer, did not make the resolution of this episode one of the conditions for continuing the process. Nor, when the release of Megrahi by the Scottish executive was being contemplated, did the British Government apparently urge that the quid pro quo should be the handing over of those responsible. While Libya was said to be unprepared to extradite its nationals, a precedent had been set in the Megrahi case for conducting a trial in a third country. >>> Telegraph View | Friday, October 16, 2009

NUMBER 10 – ePetition: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to urgently seek the extradition to the UK of the murderer of WPC Yvonne Fletcher. >>>

Lockerbie Bomber: Robert Mueller's Letter to Kenny MacAskill
TIMES ONLINE: The full text of the letter sent by the FBI director to Scotland’s Justice Secretary

Dear Mr Secretary

Over the years I have been a prosecutor, and recently as the Director of the FBI, I have made it a practice not to comment on the actions of other prosecutors, since only the prosecutor handling the case has all the facts and the law before him in reaching the appropriate decision.

Your decision to release Megrahi causes me to abandon that practice in this case. I do so because I am familiar with the facts, and the law, having been the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the investigation and indictment of Megrahi in 1991. And I do so because I am outraged at your decision, blithely defended on the grounds of “compassion”.

Your action in releasing Megrahi is as inexplicable as it is detrimental to the cause of justice. Indeed your action makes a mockery of the rule of law. Your action gives comfort to terrorists around the world who now believe that regardless of the quality of the investigation, the conviction by jury after the defendant is given all due process, and sentence appropriate to the crime, the terrorist will be freed by one man’s exercise of “compassion”. Your action rewards a terrorist even though he never admitted to his role in this act of mass murder and even though neither he nor the government of Libya ever disclosed the names and roles of others who were responsible. >>> | Sunday, August 23, 2009

Justice, Islam-style!
MAIL Online: A barber has been publicly executed in Yemen after he was found guilty of raping and killing an 11-year-old boy who came to his shop for a haircut.

Pictures of the execution Monday in the capital of San'a showed hundreds of people gathered around as Yehya Hussein was killed.

The images showed the barber lying face down on a large piece of red cloth, his hands bound behind him, as Yemeni police official stood over him with what appeared to be a machine gun.

According to the news agency, SAB'A, the barber was arrested in December 2008 and confessed during a January trial to raping the boy inside his salon, killing him and cutting his body to pieces before dumping it outside San'a.

Elsewhere in the country, a court sentenced seven rebels from a Shia Muslim sect to be executed after convicting them of causing deaths in clashes with army in 2008.

Hundreds of people died in the conflict and thousands fled their homes in battles between government forces and the rebels in the north, which have raged on and off since 2004.

The state security court also jailed for terms of 12-15 years another five of the rebels accused of seeking to install Shi'ite Islamic rule in the country, which borders the world's biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia. Justice Yemen-style: Paedophile who raped boy, 11, shot in the head in front of hundreds of spectators >>> | Monday, July 06, 2009

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Iran Is 'Guarantor' of Mid East Security
THE TELEGRAPH: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed that Iran is the 'guarantor' of security in the Middle East as his armed forces paraded in Tehran.

Iranian snipers in full camouflage take part in the Army Day parade in Tehran. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Speaking on Iran's Army Day, which featured a parade in the capital including the arresting sight of snipers turned out in full camouflage, Mr Ahmadinejad claimed: "Iran's armed forces are the guarantor of security in the region.

"Today the Iranian nation, with its religious armed forces, is ready to have a wide role in world management and to establish security based on justice across the world.

"The world should know that Iran is a nation of ideals and supports peace and security based on justice for all nations." >>> By The Telegraph’s Foreign Staff and Agencies in Tehran | Saturday, April 18, 2009

Dhimmitude Alert! Haj Shows Islam’s Message of Justice, Equality: Brown
Why do we keep sending these gut-wrenching messages of goodwill to the Muslim community when they are not reciprocated?

Will the Muslim community send the Christian community a message of goodwill at Christmas? I think we all know the answer to this question!

So for Christ's sake (no blasphemy intended!), stop sucking up to the Muslims, Gord! – ©Mark

SAUDI GAZETTE: LONDON – The British Prime Minister sent his “warm wishes” and greetings to British Muslims on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha.

Gordon Brown in his message to the British Muslim Community said, “For me, the inspirational thing about Haj is the great stirrings for justice that shows in the Ummah. When people are drawn from each corner of the world, inspired by a shared and ancient ideal to act as one in the service of a better world – then it summons in us a truly modern hope that we can build a global society characterized by fairness and cooperation and respect.” “At this special time, we can also reflect upon and celebrate the tremendous contributions of British Muslims to our national life,” he added.

Britain’s foreign secretary, David Miliband also sent his greetings. “As Muslims all over the world, including in Britain, celebrate with their families, it is a good moment to reflect on the message that Eid carries for us all,” Miliband said. “Eid Al-Adha commemorates the sacrifice and steadfastness of Prophet Abraham, forefather of Muslims, Christians and Jews alike. These two qualities, of sacrifice and steadfastness, are ones that must guide what we do,” he said[.] [Source: Saudi Gazetter] | December 10, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Anti-Hatred Laws Threaten to Be Anti-Justice
THE TELEGRAPH: At one stage during my childhood I took a bit of a shine to the word "hate". I enjoyed the sense of oomph that went with it, and I began to throw it around like candy at a pantomime.

Every time I declared that I hated someone, however, my grandmother would intervene with the phrase: "You don't hate them, you only dislike them." At the time I thought she was being pedantic: now, I can see that she was quite right.

As mature adults we are all agreed that hatred is a terrible thing, destructive to the holder and the object alike. Our Government is so eager to emphasise that hatred is wrong, indeed, that it has created a special category of crime called "hate crime", whose exponents will be punished more heavily than other criminals (presumably the ones who love us). The most recent proposal is that those who "incite hatred" against homosexuals could be guilty of a criminal offence punishable by up to seven years in jail. Anti-hatred laws threaten to be anti-justice (more) By Jenny McCartney

Mark Alexander