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Supreme Court - Haiti Observer Blog

Supreme Court, Haiti Observer Blog. Read the following articles about Supreme Court


 

Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou starts Caribbean tour in Haiti

Haiti's continued recognition of The Republic of China as a body which governs itself was met by the Asian country's readiness to offer almost $16 million to the recovery of the Caribbean nation after the crippling earthquake experienced in 2010. As such, a visit from Taiwan's President, Ma Ying-jeou during his tour of those countries in the Caribbean and South America, of the 23 worldwide which support Taiwan's sovereignty, is a welcome one.

Met at the airport by President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, Ma took stock of what he could of the country during his one day visit and held talks with the Haitian President at the presidential office concerning the reconstruction of the Port-au-Prince Supreme Court building, the project to which the donation had been appropriated. The two laid the ceremonial first stone of the building being built by OECC, a Taiwanese company based in the capital, Taipei. The new courthouse will be in the style of the neo-colonial and will be situated near the National Palace, also destroyed by the earthquake.

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Jean-Claude Duvalier defied judge order in return was summoned to appear in Court

The former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier did not play his cards well with the head of the court of appeals, magistrate Jean Joseph Lebrun. He defied the judge order to appear in court on Thursday to face charges of corruption and human-rights violations during his 15-year rule and did not show up, sending his attorney instead, Reynold Georges. However, the judge who was not happy about that on Thursday summoned Jean-Claude Duvalier to appear in court.

Jean-Claude Duvalier was scheduled to attend a hearing to determine whether he should again face charges for human rights abuses committed during the 15 years of his regime.

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Ertha Pascal-Trouillot - The Haitian woman president

The year 1990 -1991 saw a woman adorning the seat of the president of Haiti and this was the first time it was happening in the history of Haiti. Ertha Pascal Trouillot was the ninth child of a family of ten children. At the age of 10 she was sent to be mentored under Ernst Trouillot, along with one of her brothers.

Judge for Many Years

Though she wished to pursue a career in science she was directed by her mentor to law and later into politics. He wanted to be with and this later led to the marriage of the two, even though he was 21 years her senior.

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Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Haiti Emile Jonassaint

Emile Jonassaint was born on May 20th 1913 and became the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Haiti and later served as the president for a short period. Earlier the military regime had forced Jean Bernard Aristide to move out of the country.

Crimes by the Army

After a few years from May 12th to October 12th 1994, Emile Jonassaint functioned as the Head of the Provisional Government. During his tenure it is alleged that some of the most inhuman crimes were meted out by the Haitian army.

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How Haiti's Court System Works

Haiti's court system is basically designed after the French system of civil law, the Roman Law and the Napoleonic Code. It is divided into four levels. The highest level is the Court de Cassation, which is also known as the Supreme Court. Under it are the Courts of Appeals, Courts of First Instance and Justice of the Peace Courts. Each level hast its own kinds of cases to hear and deal with.

The Court of Cassation is composed of a president, vice-president and ten judges. The Supreme Court president is usually chosen and appointed by the country's president. There are certain requirements for Supreme Court judges. One has to be at least 30 years old and should have a decade of law practice. Only judges who have served as a judge or a public lawyer for seven years are qualified for the Supreme Court seat. The highest court deals with matters involving law and decree unconstitutionality.

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Haitian President Emile Jonassaint

Haiti's transition to democracy took a long process and a long line of political leaders before it was fully achieved. In the 1980s and 1990s, Haitians and the government had to deal with several sudden changes in leadership as one president to the next were overthrown by coup d'états, revolts, and even foreign pressure. One of these individuals who were cut short from their presidency due to ongoing political turmoil was Émile Jonassaint, who served for a mere five months from May to October 1994.

Emile Jonassaint 's former administration was considered a puppet government of the military regime that has earlier removed Jean-Bertrand Aristide from office in 1991 after he won the first free elections in Haiti. The short five months under Jonassaint's temporary rule was met with chaos and violence between Aristide supporters and the military. In 1994, the U.S. government intervened and negotiated with the Haitian president to give back Aristide's presidency. He agreed and signed the famous Port-au-Prince Accord and maybe avoided the U.S.'s invasion over the country that was being torn by politics. He died at the age of 82 a year later.

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Ertha Pascal-Trouillot

Despite the changing gender roles and the growing feminist movement, female presidents or heads of state are quite rare in Haiti. One of these very few powerful women in history is former Haitian president Ertha Pascal-Trouillot. Politics has always been said to be meant for males as power and control are often associated with being a man. But as time went by, women began competing with this notion and have been made leaders and politicians along with men.

Pascal-Trouillot was born in a suburb of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince in 1943. Her father was an iron worker while her mother was a seamstress and was the ninth child of their ten children. The future president acquired a law degree from the prestigious École de Droit des Gonaives and was a judge for federal courts for more than ten years. She then became the first woman justice of the country's Supreme Court. And in 1990, Pascal-Trouillot was proclaimed as Haiti's temporary president after the successful revolt against former president Prosper Avril which put him out of office.

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Anel Alexis Joseph Stands By CSPJ

Anel Alexis Joseph has landed on a position wherein he can better help improve Haiti's judicial system. He was inaugurated as one of the new members of the Superior of Judicial Powers (CSPJ) in a ceremony at the School of Magistrates. He teams up with eight other members comprising the new panel as the President of the Court of Cassation.

Anel Alexis Joseph believes that before the CSPJ's establishment, the power that the judicial, legislative, and executive branches hold is not balanced. He said that the Constitution was not receiving the respect it deserves, while the Executive was undermining the power of the judiciary. With the new panel, all these issues are expected to be addressed as its establishment will give way to the separation of power among the three branches.

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