Canada
This article was added by the user . TheWorldNews is not responsible for the content of the platform.

French justice minister to go on trial for suspected conflict of interest -court

Author of the article:

Reuters

Reuters

(Adds context)

PARIS, Oct 3 (Reuters) –

Sign up to receive the daily top stories from the National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.

By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

France’s justice minister will stand trial before a special judicial body for suspected conflict of interest in two cases, a court spokeswoman said on Monday.

Eric Dupond-Moretti, who was one of France’s most famous criminal lawyers before President Emmanuel Macron made him justice minister, is accused of having used his position to act against personal rivals within the judiciary, which he denies.

The judicial body, the Court of Justice of the Republic, deals with suspected crimes or offenses committed by members of the government during the exercise of their functions. Since its creation in 1993, it has only held eight formal trials.

Past defendants before the jury, which is composed of lawmakers and judges of France’s highest court, the Cour de Cassation, have included former finance minister and current head of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde. She

was found guilty

of negligence over a government payout.

Dupond-Moretti joined the French government in 2020 after being a vocal critic of what he said were France’s excessively lengthy criminal trial proceedings and its overcrowded prisons. (Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Gareth Jones)