VZCZCXRO1538
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHDK #0451 1091016
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 181016Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY DAKAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0343
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS DAKAR 000451 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL AND INR/AA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINS KDEM ECON SG
SUBJECT: SENEGAL-THE RETURN OF THE SUPREME COURT 
 
REF: 07 DAKAR 2334 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  On April 8, the Senegalese National Assembly 
passed a law reforming the judicial system to reinstate a Supreme 
Court.  According to the government, this will streamline the system 
by allowing budgetary savings and harmonizing jurisprudence.  The 
Association of Judges called the reform a "prehistoric" move to 
reward a coterie of judges devoted to the ruling party.  End 
Summary. 
 
The Supreme Court is back 
------------------------- 
¶2.  (SBU) Law 20-2008, creating the Supreme Court, merged the former 
"Cour de Cassation" and the Council of State.  The Cour de Cassation 
was the highest Court of Appeals for criminal and civil cases while 
the Council of State had jurisdiction over Administrative and 
pre-electoral litigation.  One of the key results of the reform is 
that the Head of State will appoint the President of the Supreme 
Court who, as head of the judicial branch, will from now on be his 
sole interlocutor. 
 
 
The French model 
---------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) From its independence in 1960 to 1992, Senegal had a 
Supreme Court that was highly respected by Senegalese people.  But 
in 1992, arguing that judges needed specialization, President Diouf 
eliminated the Supreme Court and introduced a French model, which 
includes four high courts: the Cour de Cassation, the Council of 
State, the Constitutional Council, and the Accounting Court. 
 
A Hybrid System 
--------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Unlike the unified model of the '60s, the new Supreme 
Court will not rule on constitutional issues, which remain under the 
jurisdiction of the Constitutional Council.  The Accounting Court, 
responsible for ensuring transparent use of public funds, will also 
remain a separate jurisdiction.  This reform eliminates the duality 
of jurisdictions at the apex of the judiciary.  In France, the legal 
system is dual with, on the one hand, judicial courts and, on the 
other, administrative courts.  Senegal has unity in its lower courts 
but duality in its highest-level administrative and judicial courts. 
 Now the unity of the whole system has been restored.  The 
government has indicated that this is a first step in the reform and 
did not rule unifying all courts under one Supreme Court. 
 
Association of Judges Against Reform 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The National Association of Judges considers the reform a 
step backward. They argue that instead the government should create 
lower level administrative and regional accounting courts.  Regional 
accounting courts would then allow for the verification of the 
accounts of local governments, which the current Accounting Court 
based in Dakar cannot do with its limited resources and large 
responsibilities.  Deflecting criticism of this reform, President 
Wade himself said that the Council of State has only ruled on eleven 
cases in 2007 and that it was so inefficient that he could not 
justify its existence as a separate jurisdiction. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The move to bring back the Supreme Court is part of the 
symbolic response that the government is giving to those demanding 
the streamlining of government operations.  It has the merit of 
restoring unity as Senegalese institutions are not robust enough to 
warrant a separate system of administrative courts as in France. 
However, the reform fails to address the deep problems of 
corruption, the lack independence of judges, interference of the 
Executive branch, and administrative inefficiency.  The most needed 
reform is the elimination of the High Conference of the Judiciary 
(Haut Conseil de la magistrature); a body that is chaired by the 
Head of State and which manages the careers of judges (reftel). 
Without this reform, the judiciary will remain under the firm 
control of the Executive thus perpetuating doubts as to its 
independence and immunity from influence.  End Comment. 
 
SMITH