Circumstances and persons concerned

There is no impeachment procedure (penal procedure) as such for the President or the members of the Government. However, the Constitution institutes procedures coming close to if not guided by it. As regards the President, the Constitution (Article 68) states that he is not liable for acts performed in the exercise of his duties except in the case of high treason and is then tried by the High Court of Justice. As regards members of the Government, the Constitution states that they are generally liable for acts performed in the exercise of their duties classified as serious crimes or other major offences at the time they were committed, and that they are tried by the Court of Justice.

Modalities and procedure

The procedure of indictment of the President requires firstly the introduction in one of the two assemblies of a proposal for a resolution, which must be signed by a tenth of the members of that assembly, whose admissibility is assessed by its office. Once it has been declared acceptable, the resolution must be adopted as indicated by the two chambers for referral to the committee of inquiry of the High Court of Justice, made up of five magistrats from the Court of Cassition. On completion of these tasks, the Committee comes to a decision to refer the case to the High Court of Justice itself, which institutes a trial. The decisions of the committee of inquiry and the High Court of Justice are not subject to any recourse (order No 5 - 1 to 2 January 1959).

The Court of Justice consists of fifteen judges: twelve parliamentarians elected from among their ranks and in equal number by the National Assembly and the Senate, and three judges at the Court of Cassation one of whom presides over the Court of Justice. In contrast to the High Court of Justice, the Court of Justice may be called upon at the initiative of any person who claims to have been injured by a serious crime or other major offence committed by a member of the Government in the exercise of their duties, on the condition that a committee of inquiry has referred the charge for the purposes of submission of the case before the Court of Justice.

Consequences

The procedure of indictment before the High Court has not been applied to any President. On the other hand, since its creation in 1993, the Court of Justice has rendered judgements concerning four members or former members of the Government.

Have these procedures been applied?   Yes