Nearly 400 magistrates signed a petition demanding Prime Minister Ariel Henry proceed with installation of new members for Haiti’s judicial council, Le Nouvelliste reported. The court hasn’t been functional since the mandate of the third judiciary ended on July 3.
While the new members have already been selected, the court’s chief justice René Sylvestre died after contracting COVID-19 in June, before their names were officially announced. Haiti’s president Jovenel Moise was then assassinated just weeks later.
The signatories of the petition ask that Henry to publish the names of those elected before the start of the judicial year, on Oct. 4.
Some human rights organizations critical of the way judges were selected by Moise oppose the installation of the new members. Read more.