New episode of the legal and political soap opera about obtaining approval from Anticor. On Wednesday, November 6, the Council of State rejected the appeal of the anti-corruption association, which challenged the decision of the administrative appeal court of Paris. In a ruling of November 16, 2023, the latter confirmed the decision of the Paris administrative court, adopted on June 23, 2023, to annul the approval obtained by the association on April 2, 2021. Administrative justice had been appealed by a former member excluded from the association and a member who breaks with the management.
Since 2015, the accreditation procedure allows associations certified by the executive to become civil parties in court cases. This constitution allows access to the file, request investigative acts, but also forces the prosecutor’s office to open a judicial investigation and refer the matter to an investigating judge and, finally, request compensation during the process.
The granting of this approval, granted by the Government for a period of three years, requires meeting certain conditions: having existed for at least five years, gathering sufficient members, justifying its experience in the fight against corruption and having internal functioning in accordance with its statutes.
However, the decree renewing the approval of Anticor, drafted by Jean Castex in April 2021, stated that there was “a doubt about the selfless and independent character” of the association. In question, the revelation at the time by the press of important donations from businessman Hervé Vinciguerra, close to former socialist minister Arnaud Montebourg, which, according to the association’s detractors, were intended to finance certain precise procedures, which Anticor denies. .
Cautious strategy
By its decision, the Council of State “confirms the ruling of the Paris Administrative Court of Appeal which ruled that the approval granted to this association in 2021 (…) “It was illegal.”specifies the jurisdiction in a press release. This retroactive cancellation of the decree of April 2, 2021 “therefore it becomes final”continues the Council of State, which specifies that “for the period before September 5, 2024, it is solely up to the criminal judge to rule on the consequences”.
Due to this decision, it is likely that Anticor will be withdrawn from the process in which it had become a civil party between April 2, 2021 and September 5, 2024, the date of publication of a new decree granting it a new approval. . Requests for acts that may have been carried out during this period, such as a testimonial hearing or an expert opinion, could also be deleted from the files.
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