"The Court can not ignore the ECOWAS judgment"

Lansana Diabé Siby disagrees with the defense lawyers' opinion on the need to cancel the proceedings because of the violation of UEMOA regulation 5. Which requires the presence of a lawyer as soon as the questioning of the mis en cause. The Attorney General of the Dakar Court of Appeals, who made his indictment on Tuesday, July 24, asked President Demba Kandji to cancel only part of the case.

"For my part, I would simply say that these minutes, which contain the hearings, may be omitted altogether for any hearing or confrontation which has not been the subject of the presence of a lawyer.All other documents annexed to the file remain valid. why, I do not agree when we are asked to cancel the procedure.One can punish the minutes that have made a violation without canceling the indictment, it being understood that the introductory indictment was also made on the basis of other documents, "he says.

In his indictment which lasted nearly half an hour, he also pointed out that the Court could not disregard the ECOWAS judgment, present in the file. "On this plane of nullity raised, the law says that the nullity you (the judge) can cancel all or part of the subsequent proceedings.In this case, Khalifa Sall appealed, the Court of Cassation s is pronounced, which gives the authority of res judicata.The judgment we must integrate it in our jurisprudence, "he says.

The record that contains the hearings can be dismissed

The magistrate parquetier also called the judge to sign the obligation he has to rule on the nullities raised by the lawyers of the civil party. "You can not fail to rule on the nullities submitted to your authority.On the ECOWAS judgment, we have always said that ECOWAS judgments give us an important jurisprudential judgment, unlike the European Court of Justice, which refraining from ruling on a case until all the appeals have been exhausted, the Court of Justice of ECOWAS accepts, notwithstanding the right of appeal, to rule on the decisions submitted to its Court. This Court is a Community Court, it is up to us, through the decisions rendered to bring them to the level of jurisprudence. "

So, thinks Lansana Diaby, the Court can not" not to disregard these decisions when the ECOWAS Court of Justice condemns the State for violation of human rights.We are obliged to pronounce.This judgment rejects the nullity of the lawsuits. (…) If today we talk about suspects and police custody, I believe that this debate is now outdated. The explanatory statement speaks of interpellation. He invites us to consider that as soon as the inquiry is called, the presence of the lawyers must be obligatory. As soon as a person is arrested, it is up to the Judicial Police Officer to mention on the minutes the quality of the arrested person. This debate is no longer relevant. We must comply with both the ECOWAS ruling and the authoritative circular. If the lawyer is not present, there must be mention that the arrested person has been informed of his right to have a lawyer. "

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