Cour de Justice de la République

The Cour de Justice de la République (CJR, "Court of Justice of the Republic") is a special French court established to try cases of ministerial misconduct. Its remit only extends to government ministers (or former ministers) concerning offences committed in the exercise of their functions.[1] It was instituted by President François Mitterrand on 27 July 1993 following the infected blood scandal,[2] which saw three ministers, including then-Prime Minister Laurent Fabius, charged with manslaughter. Before that, ministers in France benefitted from a degree of judicial immunity. As of 2020, the court has formally charged ten ministers since it was established; five were found guilty.

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French ministers can still be tried in a regular French court, if the alleged offence is not related to their ministerial duties. Notably, Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux was fined in 2010 for making racial slurs. On 3 July 2017 President Emmanuel Macron announced his intention to abolish the court to have ministers tried by a regular Paris court, criticising the composition of the CJR.[3]