Working visit by the Minister of the Interior to the Council of State
With several hundred appeals contesting the Minister of the Interior’s “corona” decrees, as well as the opinion of the legislation section on the pandemic law, one dares to hope that the Council of State carries out, in complete independence and impartiality, its missions aimed at guaranteeing the rule of law with which it is entrusted. In particular, preventing the government from violating the Constitution or appropriating prerogatives reserved for the legislature (Parliament).
Yet, despite the opinion of many jurists and courts contesting the constitutionality of the measures, out of hundreds of appeals the Council of State has contradicted the Minister of the Interior’s decrees only twice (the right to gather for religious reasons, and the right of operators of campsites and holiday parks to obtain the same conditions as hotels).
By consulting the Council of State’s website, one can see that the Minister of the Interior, who is responsible for the Council of State, made a working visit to the institution on 4 December 2020. Official purpose of the visit: the Council of State’s request for an additional annual budget envelope of €4,367,000.
Although the timing is surely a coincidence, one may wonder whether the Council of State can afford to carry out its mission in complete independence and impartiality when it comes to judging the decisions of the Minister who will precisely sign the budget increase it is asking for…
In other circumstances, we could have spoken of a flagrant conflict of interest, but here our only recourse is to have blind faith in the flawless functioning of our institutions.
Source:
Visite de travail de la Ministre de l’Intérieur au Conseil d’État
Photo source:
https://www.qwant.com/?t=images&q=aveugle+justice&license=public&o=4%3AF985BCF783709CD2C933ABB0F94E7BE410632073
