Rachida Dati seeks to return to judiciary before corruption trial
Former Justice Minister Rachida Dati has sought to return to the judiciary as a magistrate, as her corruption trial opens on 16 September. The Supreme Council for the Judiciary must issue its opinion within weeks.
Return to the courts before the criminal tribunal
Eleven days before her corruption trial opens, former Justice Minister Rachida Dati has sought to return to the judiciary, according to BFM TV. The Justice Ministry has confirmed to AFP that the appointment procedure will follow its normal course, following advice from the Supreme Council for the Judiciary (CSM).
Defeated in the Paris municipal elections in March, Dati, 60, and current Les Républicains mayor of the 7th arrondissement, was offered the position of "first deputy prosecutor at the central justice administration" within the Justice Ministry, according to information from Nouvel Obs. This central-level position was selected because she could not be assigned to the Paris Court of Appeal, a jurisdiction incompatible with her municipal office.
"Rachida Dati has sought her return as a magistrate, as she has the right to do, and will be assigned shortly in accordance with the standard transparency procedure for magistrates — that is, following the opinion of the CSM which the Justice Minister will follow", the Justice Ministry stated. A magistrate consulted by BFM TV specified that the CSM's opinion should come within two weeks to a month, after examination of any appeals from other candidates for the same position.
An old ambition, a real legal constraint
A graduate of the National School of the Judiciary in 1999, Dati has not practised this profession for around twenty years, having taken leave to focus on her political career. According to a source close to the matter, she had already wished to return to the judiciary when she left her position as Justice Minister, an ambition reaffirmed when she left the Culture Ministry.
In June, Le Canard Enchaîné revealed that she had directly asked Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin to obtain a magistrate position at the earliest opportunity. However, since she made this request, the law requires the minister to offer her a position: prosecutors are appointed by the Justice Minister, following advice from the CSM.
Trial from 16 to 28 September: corruption and abuse of influence
Rachida Dati will appear before the Paris criminal court from 16 to 28 September on charges of passive corruption and passive abuse of influence. She is accused of concluding an alleged corruption pact and engaging in illegal lobbying at the European Parliament, where she sat from 2009 to 2019, for the benefit of carmaker Renault and its former chief executive Carlos Ghosn, now in hiding in Lebanon and also referred to the court.
Between 2009 and 2013, Dati received 900,000 euros under a fixed-fee legal services agreement. The defendant argues that she only performed legitimate legal work. She faces up to ten years imprisonment and five years' ineligibility. Her lawyer did not respond to BFM TV's requests.
A matter of timing without clear answers
The motivations behind this request on the eve of the trial remain unclear. "Creating buzz", "bouncing back after her trial", "retaining a salary": these are just some of the hypotheses put forward by various sources on Saturday 5 September, without a definitive answer.
In the event of conviction at the end of the trial, it is unlikely that Dati will be able to remain in the judiciary. The Justice Minister will be able to refer the matter to the CSM — at any time — which will then begin a disciplinary procedure that could extend to removal.
Strong reactions within the profession and the left
On ethical grounds, the initiative is causing ripples within the judiciary itself. Ludovic Friat, president of the USM, the profession's largest union, told AFP that "the judicial system is being harshly criticised by political leaders, particularly on the grounds of ethics and the responsibility of magistrates", and that "this reintegration project, just days before a high-profile criminal trial concerning the person in question, sends a contradictory message".
Upon taking office, magistrates commit by oath to act with independence, impartiality, humanity, dignity, loyalty, integrity and honesty. Principles that several magistrates interviewed by BFM TV believe are undermined by Dati's return to their ranks, in an already tense context for the judicial system, particularly following the Lyhanna affair.
On the left, reactions were swift. On X, presidential candidate François Ruffin denounces "the corruption of the system". The Socialist Party's first secretary Olivier Faure believes that "wisdom would have dictated that this appointment wait for justice to be served".
Source: BFM TV