At Port-au-Prince in Haiti, this Monday, the grounds of the Port-au-Prince Court of Appeal, the sacred sanctuary of the law, have been defiled by an intervention of the DCPJ (Central Directorate of the Judicial Police). The arrest of Me Osnel Antoine, a member of the Mirebalais Bar Association, on the orders of Judge Benjamin Felismé, represents a direct attack on the legal profession and a flagrant violation of the laws in force.
The abduction of Mr. Osnel Antoine is a systematic violation of the 1979 Decree. Mr. Antoine's arrest not only flouts judicial courtesy, but also violates the mandatory provisions of the Decree of March 29, 1979, governing the legal profession:
1- Insult to dignity (Article 52): By forcibly removing Mr. Antoine's robe in public, the DCPJ agents committed a degrading act. The robe is not simply an article of clothing; it is the legal emblem of the profession. To infringe upon this emblem in the exercise of one's duties is a direct insult to Article 52, which mandates respect for the dignity and honor of lawyers.
2- Obstruction of the free exercise of the profession (Article 51): The decree stipulates that lawyers are free to practice their profession. Arresting a lawyer as he prepares to assist his client (Victor Profane) is a clear obstruction to the continuity of the justice system and the rights of the defense.
3- Contempt for the Bar Association: In accordance with tradition and the spirit of the decree, any coercive measure against a lawyer must first be communicated to the President of their Bar Association. The brutal execution of this warrant without regard for the Mirebalais Bar Association constitutes a breach of the hierarchical and ethical chain.
In addition to the decree on the legal profession, this arrest violates the principle of the sanctity of court hearings. The intervention of the judicial police within a Court of Appeal to arrest a lawyer in the midst of a judicial mission constitutes a clear abuse of power, a violation of the judicial system, and a desecration of the Temple of Justice.
Judge Benjamin Felismé, by issuing a warrant executed under such conditions in a land case, disregarded the principles of functional immunity that protect lawyers within the courtroom for their words and actions related to the defense.
This abduction sets a dangerous precedent for the rule of law. We denounce in the strongest possible terms:
• The illegality of the procedure with regard to the 1979 decree.
• The public humiliation of a legal professional through the forced removal of his robe.
• The flagrant violation of the rights of the defense, depriving a litigant of his counsel at the very moment of his representation.
If the law is no longer a shield for those who uphold it, it becomes a weapon of oppression in the hands of those who pervert it. We demand the immediate release of Mr. Osnel Antoine and administrative sanctions against those responsible for this judicial desecration.
The robe is inviolable; justice is not a hunting ground!
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By Max Wood Cangé, Attorney at Law
