13/10/2021
On 8 October 2021, President Cathala welcomed at the Cour de cassation (Court of cassation) the President of the Central African Republic’s Special Criminal Court, Mr Michel Landry Louanga, the Vice President, Mr Herizo Rado Andriamanantena, and the Deputy Special Prosecutor, Mr Alain Ouaby-Bekaï.
The meeting is part of a study visit on court management, organized by the French National School for the Judiciary, in partnership with the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, aiming at the operationalization of the Central African Republic’s Special Criminal Court. Established in 2014 following an agreement between the Central African transitional government and the Organization of the United Nations, the Court’s mission is to investigate and judge the serious violations of human rights, which occurred in the Central African Republic since 1 January 2003, in cooperation with the International Criminal Court.
In line with the international strategy of the Cour de cassation (Court of cassation), the meeting gave the occasion to address some of the issues faced by the Central African Republic’s Special Criminal Court in terms of court organization. These includes expectation management of both local people and the international community, criminal strategy definition for the Prosecutor, Court’s financing, protection of victims, witnesses and their anonymity, as well as legal compensation.
Based on the lessons learnt from his experiences at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and at the International Criminal Court, President Cathala answered to the questions raised by the members of the Central African Republic’s Special Criminal Court.
In conclusion, it was agreed to further discuss and exchange on these various issues.
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