ADOPTION OF THE NEW PENAL CODE PROVOKES SATISFACTION AND CONCERNS

The Council of Ministers, meeting last Tuesday, June 24, after exchanges of correspondence between the advisor-presidents Emmanuel Vertilaire, Smith Augustin, Louis Gérald Gilles, and Fritz Alphonse Jean, the CPT Coordinator, proceeded to adopt the new penal code as well as the code of criminal procedure. These two documents, which were at the center of discussions during the council, were adopted by decree after deliberation, pending their official publication in the newspaper « Le Moniteur ». The agenda for this meeting also included a decree concerning the organization of a constitutional referendum planned for this year, which also received a favorable opinion. CPT's Satisfactions The non-voting advisor-president, Frinel Joseph, expressed his gratitude for the commitment of the advisors and their willingness to provide the country with new legal tools. According to him, they demonstrated great elegance. « By adopting, during this Council of Ministers, the Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as the referendum decree, they showed remarkable elevation of spirit and sense of duty. This solemn gesture will remain etched in the annals of our Nation, » he declared. Through this act of high responsibility, they averted the specter of moral decay that threatened our society, thereby allowing the democratic process to continue its legitimate course. « I thank them for having, as I humbly requested, lent an ear to the voice of wisdom, » concluded advisor Joseph, as indicated in a post on his X account, formerly Twitter. For his part, Emmanuel Vertilaire, representative of the Pitit Dessalines political party to the Transitional Presidential Council, expressed his great satisfaction after obtaining authorization to participate in the Council of Ministers, given the urgency of the situation. He also stated: « By this decision, I reaffirm my commitment to collegial governance, based on the constant search for consensus. No dictatorial will can supplant the collective demand for dialogue, balance, and respect for democratic principles, » he emphasized in a post on his account. Dissenting Voices The adoption of these new legal instruments by the Council of Ministers is not unanimous. It is generating reactions among certain civil society actors. Expressing strong concerns about the revision of certain articles of the modified 2020 Penal Code, former Senator for the West, Jean Renel Sénatus, says he eagerly awaits the publication of the new version. According to him, this Code should reflect the customs, social realities, as well as the practices and modes of operation of a rapidly evolving society. However, the former parliamentarian remains skeptical about the true depth of this revision, doubting that the recommendations made by certain jurists and experts in criminal law have been fully taken into account. Jacques Innocent